Note di Piacere: Tasting of Abruzzo DOC Wines
Staff Writer - January 24, 2008
Note di Piacere (Pleasure Notes), is the name of the communication campaign dedicated to the DOC wines from Abruzzo and organized by the Agriculture Council of the Abruzzo Region, and the ARSSA (Regional Agency for Agricultural Services and Development). The first appointment is in Rome, then the itinerant wine tasting will pass through Milan, Turin, Verona, Florence and Bologna.
The guided tastings are
exclusively by reservation.
For information and reservations,
please call 06 45491984, or 06 99705682
"This campaign stems from the will to promote the regional DOC wines, in particular the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, which is the true wine symbol of our region," said the regional Abruzzo Agriculture Councilor, Marco Verticelli. "It is a high profile operation which requires great commitment, and it was made possible by the active collaboration of the professionals involved in each production aspect, with the local consortiums leading the effort, contributing greatly to the crystalization of a common strategy".
Thus the wines from Abruzzo will take center stage in six important Italian cities, starting from the country's Capital, with a free tasting open to the public, on Sunday, February the 3rd, from 4 to 9 PM. The location is the plush Palazzo Rospigliosi, at 43, Via XXIV Maggio. The event includes two guided tastings moderated by well known Italian wine and food journalists.
Eighty producers will present 160 labels representative of one of the most important vitivinicultural zones of Italy, which is mentioned in ancient writing by Roman authors, such as Ovidius, Polibius and Pliny the Elder. Abruzzo is among the top five producing regions, with over one million hectoliters (over 26.4 million gallons) of DOC wines, which represent the 8% of the regional production. The vineyards are cultivated in the area bordered by the Adriatic coast, the Gran Sasso and the Maiella Apennine peaks.
In the last two years, according to data provided by AC Nielsen, the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo has been the top seller in the large distribution chains, with 13 million bottles sold to Italian households. The quality/price ratio of this wine is a great source of pride in the Abruzzo enology.
The sales abroad are significant as well. In fact, about half of the roughly 100 million bottles produced yearly is exported, especially to Germany (23%), the United States (22%) and Canada (10%). In addition, the sales to England, the Northern European countries, and the Asian markets are expanding.
Back to the Note di Piacere series of events, the Agriculture Councilor, Marco Verticelli, said that "... with this initiative we want to introduce ourselves to wine lovers and professionals, and invite them to discover and experience our region, starting perhaps from the Enoteca Regionale d'Abruzzo (Abruzzo Regional Enoteca), located in the historic Palazzo Corvo in Ortona. There one can taste and purchase our wines helped by the kind and knowledgeable sommeliers of the Abruzzo chapter of the AIS (Italian Association of Sommeliers).
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