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Rediscovering a Lost Grape — and Other Italian Wine Finds: Three Bottles Under $22 Prove Worthy

BY

A trio of Italian wines came to me recently, and I decided to hold a tasting of them with a friend. They hail from Fattoria La Valentina, a winery located in Spoltore (near Pescara, in the Abruzzo region), and they impressed with their value and integrity.

Valentina was founded in 1990 by Sabatino, Roberto, and Andrea Di Properzio, and the family is doing great things with Montepulciani d’Abruzzo, Pecorino and Trebbiano.

We tasted the 2015 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC ($14), the 2015 “Spelt” Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva DOC ($21), and the ’17 Pecorino Colline Pescaresi IGT ($16), beginning with the  latter, a 100 percent Pecorino that would be perfect as an apéritif, served with shrimp and other shellfish, or both.

A wine for pre-dinner enjoyment, and more.

Pecorino is a grape that nearly disappeared. It was popular in the 19th century, but its low-yielding nature led growers to shun it for other varieties. That has changed, thankfully, and the grape has been planted more and more during the past number of decades.

Here’s Beppi Crosariol writing in The Globe and Mail on the resurgence of Pecorino:

Its rediscovery reads something like the search for Homer’s Troy. Guido Cocci Grifoni, a producer in the Marche, had been scouring agricultural texts for references to fabled local heirloom varieties. Pecorino caught his fancy, and his subsequent search, in conjunction with a couple of agricultural experts, took him in 1982 to the hamlet of Pescara and a farmer named Cafini, who had been tending a vineyard 1,000 metres above sea level.

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The following year, Cocci Grifoni grafted cuttings from the property onto about 100 rootstocks at a vineyard in nearby Offida, now a key appellation for some of the best pecorino wines. The variety spread from there to such regions as Abruzzo, Umbria, Tuscany and Liguria. It even spawned its own book, The Rediscovery of Pecorino, published in 2009. Notable producers, besides the pioneering Cocci Grifoni, now include Cantina Tollo, Ciu Ciu, Costadoro, Poderi Capecci San Savino and Umani Ronchi.

The grape’s survival is our great fortune, and the Valentina Pecorino is a marvelous wine at $16. The vines here are 10-15 years old, and though 55,000 bottles were produced, there’s nothing mass market in the taste. It’s straw-yellow in the glass, with a floral bouquet… jasmine will come to mind.

Crisp, great minerality, refreshing. There’s no reason to overlook this bottle. Drink it now, and you and your guests will be happy.

From these grapes come some delicious wine. Get to know your Montepulciano.

Next, the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC. The grapes here were grown in soil containing lots of clay, and the vines are 25 to 35 years old. We tasted this one immediately after uncorking, and the dried sausage we paired it with was an inspired choice. This wine has a bold ruby color, a rather appealing hue, and the ripe cherry fruit is pleasing.

It’s a medium-bodied wine — stainless is the predominate fermentation vessel — and sees a mere 10 days of maceration. Enjoy this now with a pasta dish (Bolognese would be delicious).

We concluded our tasting with Valentina’s 2015 “Spelt” Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva DOC. This one is full of supple herbal and fruit flavors (a touch of heather, some dark cherry, perhaps a slight hint of licorice), and it spends 16 months in Slavonian oak, followed by almost a year in the bottle. The tannins here are balanced and nuanced. Open this 30 minutes before you drink it, and pair with grilled lamb, a rich meatloaf, skewers of beef and pork, or red-sauce pasta dishes.

A Montepulciano d’Abruzzo of extreme value. Drink with grilled lamb and relish the good life.

La Valentina is a name you’ll want to keep in mind when looking for quality wines at good price points, and the three here are ideal bottles with which to start.

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