Abruzzo’s Trebbiano: Breaking the mould

It’s fair to say that Trebbiano is not a glamorous grape. Widely planted throughout most of Italy, its reputation is one of a ‘workhorse’ variety with a largely neutral aroma and flavour profile. So how is it possible that one of Italy’s greatest white wines – Valentini’s Trebbiano d’Abruzzo – is also made from this variety?

The short answer is that it isn’t: to understand the gulf between Trebbiano’s reputation and its potential, we must understand that ‘Trebbiano’ is not one but a group of mostly unrelated grapes, tied together by similar characteristics rather than DNA, including Trebbiano Romagnolo, Trebbiano Giallo, Trebbiano di Soave (genetically identical to Verdicchio) and Trebbiano Toscana.

The principal variety in this group is Trebbiano Toscana. As the name suggests, its heartland is Tuscany, along with the other central Italian regions of Lazio, Umbria, Le Marche, and Abruzzo. Trebbiano Toscana is also grown further afield. It’s known as Ugni Blanc in France, where it is a key component of Cognac as well as a popular blending variety and is found as far away as Australia and California. Its high-yielding nature and good acidity has made it perfect for mass-production blends and value single-varietal wines. In Italy, it is a permitted variety in dozens of DOCs. Unfortunately, its use in these scenarios has not helped its reputation, and it is widely regarded (correctly or not) as a characterless variety.

Trebbiano d’Abruzzo

In Abruzzo, another Trebbiano can be found: Trebbiano Abruzzese. Here, on the Adriatic coast, this floral and fruity variety produces wines which differ stylistically from the largely neutral Toscana variety, capable of reflecting terroir and responding positively to various winemaking techniques.

Abruzzo has approximately 9,000 hectares of Trebbiano vines planted (compared to approximately 17,000ha for Montepulciano), with only 12ha declared as Bombino Bianco (see below).

The Trebbiano d’Abruzzo DOC was established in 1972, four years after the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC. Wines labelled as such must contain a minimum of 85% Trebbiano Abruzzese and/or Trebbiano Toscana, or alternatively Bombino Bianco, which some growers believe is the same variety as Trebbiano Abruzzesse. Other varieties permitted include Cococciola, Passerina and Malvasia. In reality, many wines in the DOC are made with Abruzzese as a very high proportion of the blend, if not 100%.

Winemaking

Like most wine regions, winemaking methods vary from producer to producer, but Trebbiano d’Abruzzo – whether fermented in stainless steel, amphora or oak – almost always spends time on its lees and undergoes partial or full malolactic fermentation.

The resulting wines, especially those made from low-yielding vines, can be textured and complex, with delightfully bright acidity and delicious flavours including green apples, stone fruits and tangy citrus – a combination that ensures the best examples will age well for a number of years.

The wines below are some top picks from the Trebbiano d’Abruzzo DOC, and we encourage you to track the top examples down as they not only offer fantastic value for money but will improve with age and are great with food.

Tasting Trebbiano d’Abruzzo: