Azienda Agricola Tiberio Trebbiano d'Abruzzo

Winemaker: Cristiana Tiberio

Appellation: Abruzzo, Italy

Grape Varieties:  Trebbiano

100% massal selection Trebbiano Abruzzese; 13.5% alcohol; limestone soils with gravel-sandy subsoils; altitude 350 meters; average vine age 65 years; hand harvested mid-September; free run juice only; fermented in stainless steel tanks using only indigenous yeasts; no malolactic fermentation; aged in bottle.

Transparent, brillant yellow with green tinges. Fresh aromas of apricot, grapefruit, jasmine and orange blossom, anise. Crisp and clean with zippy aromsa and flavors of green apple, anise and almond.

Pair with vegetable appetizers, freshwater fish and seafood, eggs and fried foods.

The story of Azienda Agricola Tiberio rings more like a new world tale than one from the old world of the ancient lands beneath the Majella and Gran Sasso mountains in Abruzzo. At 350 meters, twenty three miles inland from the seaside city of Pescara near the hillside town of Cugnoli, Riccardo Tiberio found an old plot of Trebbiano Abruzzese vines roughly 50 years old so impressive that he decided to change his and his family’s destiny.

The rolling Abruzzo hills, which slope down from the Apennines toward the Adriatic Sea are characterized by mild sea breezes and cool air currents coming in from the mountainous massif of the Majella. The region was home to ancient Roman villae rusticate, large organized agricultural entities, and grapes were among the many crops grown. Although the land is ancient Roman in history, Cristiana and Antonio have a modern perspective in the cellar and tend their vineyards with a farmer’s care.

In 2011, Antonio and Cristiana decided to uproot the international varieties and to replace them with more Pecorino and Trebbiano Abruzzese. They chose to use massal selections from their oldest vines because over the years they found that their massal selections gave much deeper, more complex, and altogether better wines than those made from clonal selections.

Tiberio’s Trebbiano Abruzzese vines are especially noteworthy as they are not just amongst the oldest in Abruzzo but because they are the real thing. True Trebbiano Abruzzese is rare; much of Abruzzo’s vineyards are actually planted to Bombino Bianco, Mostosa, and Trebbiano Toscano which were until very recently routinely confused with Trebbiano Abruzzese. However, while the four share similar features they are distinct varieties. Trebbiano Abruzzese is the most noble of the four, producing wines that while delicate and light bodied have greater depth and complexity. Also noteworthy is that Tiberio’s Pecorino vines, planted in 2001, are amongst the oldest in the region.