History of Montepulciano And Data from Abruzzo
The first traces of the Montepulciano grape date back to the 17th century, as it began to be called under its current title. Its first and most famous historical appreciation came under the leader Hannibal, Carthaginian general and statesman, who kept Rome in check for many years, reinvigorating men and horses with the wine produced in the “Aprutzi” territory.
For over two centuries a dispute over the authorship of the name “Montepulciano” raged on, between Abruzzo and Montepulciano city winemakers. The dispute ultimately ended with the identification of two distinct grape varieties.
The first production and marketing of “Montepulciano wine” was in 1821 in Pescara (presumably in Tocco da Casauria, where the Guelfi family resided). We have confirmation of this activity thanks to a piece of rare documented proof handwritten by the architect, Tommaso Camplone, from Pescara.
New viticultural and enological techniques allow Montepulciano to grow anywhere, but the best harvests are in Abruzzo. The Latin poet Ovid also sang about: “terra ferax Cereris multoque feracior uvis”, “fertile land dear to Ceres (goddess of wheat) and much more fertile for grapes”. In fact, in Abruzzo the yield per hectare is very high, 153 quintals per hectare, against the 109 recorded nationally in Italy in 2019.
Over the centuries, production has increased and a focus in the last decade highlights a generic increase in production with a smooth decline for DOC.
Abruzzo represents 6% of Italian wine production, 8% for the red wine segment and 10% of table wines. Representation in the DOC wine segment is limited, standing at only 4%, despite Montepulciano and Trebbiano d’Abruzzo being among the most important Italian denominations. For white wine there is an increase in Pecorino white wine, the first traces of which can be documented as far back as 1526.
The production of wine in Abruzzo in 2019 was in line with the historical average, and continues to maintain a strong connotation for DOC reds (mainly Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, 41% of the production of red wines is DOC), while in whites, the growth of Trebbiano has been more difficult (only 14% of whites are DOC).
White wine has shown continuous growth year by year thanks to common/table wine.
