white grape · regional specialty
Pecorino
Italy, Marche/Abruzzo
Say it
peh·ko·ree·no
The name means “of sheep” in Italian.
On the palate
applepearlime zestchamomilesea spraywhite blossoms
How you spot it blind: zesty orchard fruit with chamomile and a saline snap
The story
After near abandonment in the 1970s, old vines around Arquata del Tronto survived; in the 1980s Guido Cocci Grifoni took cuttings in Pescara del Tronto and in 1990 released a varietal wine, and in Abruzzo Luigi Cataldi Madonna followed with an “Abruzzo Pecorino” in 1994. Offida Pecorino became a DOCG in 2011.
Where it lives
Abruzzo, Italy · Marche, Italy · Lazio, Italy · Umbria, Italy
Shows up as
still whitesparkling
If you like this, try
Trebbiano →Passerina