With alcohol consumption down pretty much across the board, white wine - particularly fresh, accessible styles - is one of the industry’s few bright spots. And Italy has been successfully catching the wave. Regions as diverse as Friuli, Soave, Lugana and Gavi have upped their game whilst Alto Adige has reinforced its reputation as Italy’s leading white wine region despite its tiny size, with Pinot Grigio, Pinot Bianco and Gewurztraminer amongst the key varieties.
Cantina Tollo has spearheaded the push towards excellence in Abruzzo – a region not previously associated with it
One region which has somehow slipped under the radar however is Abruzzo, adjacent to Lazio in central Italy. Best known to British consumers as the home of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo - often the second cheapest, if not the actual cheapest, wine on pizza restaurant menus - this rugged mountainous region is also home to some of Italy’s most interesting yet unsung white varieties.
These include Trebbiano d’Abruzzo (aka Bombino Bianco), Passerina, Cococciola and Pecorino. All of these can be found on UK restaurant menus and supermarket shelves - a few are in the mid-range Tesco Finest range, produced by leading coop Citra and selling for under £10 a bottle - but it would be fair to say they have yet to make the sort of breakthrough that other varieties, from other regions, have.
This is something Riccardo Brighigna, head winemaker at Abruzzo’s Cantina Tollo, wants to change. Much of his focus has been on Pecorino – named after the sheep that feed on its grapes and whose milk makes Pecorino cheese. Although it probably originated in Le Marche and grows also in Lazio and Umbria, over the past few years Pecorino has become one of the Abruzzo’s most planted varieties – a remarkable about-turn after being rescued from near extinction in the 1980s.
Cantina Tollo has been one of the main drivers of the resurgence. Established in 1960, the cooperative now has 620 members working 2500 hectares stretching across Abruzzo’s diverse terrain, with an annual production of some 18 million bottles, half of which is Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.
Size hasn’t meant a drop in quality: for seven years in a row Berliner Wine Trophy has voted Cantina Tollo Italy’s Best Cooperative. Like the coops in Alto Adige it has spearheaded the push towards excellence in a region not previously associated with it and has already increasingly shifted towards organic production.
Now it has launched a new project called 10 Shades of Pecorino to highlight the variety’s potential in international markets and to encourage consumers familiar with inexpensive iterations of the variety to take another look.
A number of objectives: Riccardo Brighigna, head winemaker at Abruzzo’s Cantina Tollo
At a major tasting event in London in June, ten very different expressions of the variety were shown including in sparkling Martinotti form, organic with extended lees contact, blended with Cococciola in a semi-aromatic style, and amphora-aged. Tollo is also working with the variety in Italy’s smallest DOCG, Tullum.
“The reason behind expanding Pecorino’s production (to around 1.2 m bottles) and developing a wide range of styles is because it has proven to be highly versatile, allowing us to create different quality levels and styles. These have appeal to a broad spectrum of consumers in both off-trade and on-trade, and have increased its market appeal,” Brighigna says.
According to Brighigina, Pecorino’s key characteristics include a high and sustained acidity, even in warm vintages, and a low aromatic profile with herbal complexity that allows it to complement and balance a variety of dishes, from fish and vegetables to delicate first and second courses.
So how were the wines?
Pecorino: In winemaking, there are no particular difficulties
My favourites from the 10 Shades included:
Pecorino Spumante Brut is a simple but quite delicious sparkler made in the Martinotti (Charmat) method, quite aromatic with suggestions of peach and apricot on the toasty palate.
The Hedos Bianco Terre d’Abruzzo IGP 2024 is a new wine for Cantina Tollo, made in a semi-aromatic style that recalls high quality Provence Rosé, blending Pecorino with Cococciola; there is a pleasing softness to this wine, with elegant saline acidity supporting what is a quite complex palate.
It is a complete contrast to the Cantina Tollo Pecorino 2024, the flagship wine selling here for around £20, and now in its 20th vintage. Made from low yielding grapes, mostly small bunch, this is very textured and expressive and could frankly do with another year in bottle to express its full potential. 14% alcohol.
Different again is Feudo Antico’s Pecorino Tullum DOCG 2024, quite full bodied, organic and made in the Tullum DOCG; undergoing spontaneous fermentation, this is quite spicy, full bodied with a long finish and depth, thanks to the wine maturing for six months on its lees.
Feudo Antico’s Casadonna Pecorino Terre Aquilane IGP 2022 is quite delightful. Made in tiny quantities (just 3000 bottles) this is high-end Pecorino (just 3000 bottles were produced) in a fine wine made from grapes grown in a marginal climate at 840 metres altitude. Although it has pronounced acidity it is very balanced and has fresh aromas, with a long mineral finish. 13%.
So can we expect to see increasing amounts of Pecorino going forward?
One challenge is that it doesn’t like excessive heat or dryness – a problem with climate change even in mountainous Abruzzo – and thrives on significant diurnal temperature variations, with cool nights being beneficial. For this reason, more plantings at altitude can be expected especially in soils that hold water well, to preserve freshness and balance.
“In winemaking, there are no particular difficulties; however, during hot vintages, careful attention must be paid to avoid over-extraction of phenolics, necessitating gentle pressings, sometimes with whole clusters,” Brighigna says.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo - trying to overcome the dull image
With Pecorino going great guns, Brighigina is looking to up Cantina Tollo’s game in other areas, including boosting the rather dull image of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, which has also suffered from being confused with a very different wine from Tuscany – Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, made from Sangiovese. He is also seeking to widen appreciation of Cerasuolo di Abruzzo, the region’s light red/pink wine, also made from Montepulciano, boosting the region’s hitherto low profile in rosato wines.
“Cerasuolo, in its traditional versions, has the potential to partially replace red wines during the warmer months, thanks to its deep pink color and subtle phenolic grip, offering a fresh, appealing alternative,” Brighigina says.
In the longer term he hopes to expand plantings of Cococciola, despite the variety sounding not unlike the famous Cola drink, something he admits has made marketing the grape tricky. But he says it’s a worthwhile endeavor.
“The variety has low sugar accumulation, resulting in a moderate alcohol content. It shows excellent adaptability to climate change, with high acidity and the ability to maintain freshness even during heatwaves and drought conditions. Low phenolic development and low aromatic intensity, with notes of almond and chamomile, make it complement delicate dishes,” Brighigina says.
A tasting of a few Cococciola wines bears this out. A fresh Cantina Tollo Spumante made from 100% Cococciola suggests a pleasantly balanced wine unremarkable but with a nice fresh finish while the Cantina Tollo Colle Secco 2024 Terre di Chieti is a perfect aperitif style wine, with suggestions of soft peach and apricot on the palate and a pleasingly sapid aftertaste.
So does the variety have a future in the UK?
“In the short term, challenges include the difficulty of promoting a name that is hard to pronounce and not widely known. In the long term, we believe in its potential because a low-alcohol, high-freshness wine like Cococciola aligns well with future market trends focused on light, easy-drinking wines,” he says.
Brighigina adds that going forward, Cantina Tollo’s success in international markets at a time of unprecedented competition in selling wine will require working closely with wine educators, sommeliers and restaurants.
“Our wines are shaped by the climate conditions of the region, its mountains, sea, and natural parks, as well as our diverse soils and topographies. Understanding how these factors influence our wines is key to showcasing their potential.”
