Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOC

Historically, this is the wine of the Abruzzese people—a “cherry-colored” (cerasa) wine consumed daily by farmers who needed substance without the heaviness of a red. It is technically a rosato, but to categorize it with the pale, industrial pink wines of the north is a critical error. Authentic Cerasuolo is a deliberate wine made from the Montepulciano grape, possessing the visual density of a light red and a tannic grip that allows it to age for years.

The Terroir This wine thrives in the transitional zone between the Apennines and the Adriatic. The Montepulciano grape is naturally rich in anthocyanins (color) and tannins. To make Cerasuolo, producers often utilize cooler, higher-altitude sites where the clay soils are looser and mixed with sand. This allows the grape to retain the high acidity necessary for a fresh wine while achieving the high alcohol (often 14%+) that gives Cerasuolo its unique, substantial body.

How It Is Made The colour comes from a short maceration — typically eight to twenty-four hours on the skins, against the days or weeks a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo would take — and the disciplinare specifies the resulting hue rather than the technique, requiring a cherry red unmistakably darker than a Provençal pink. Two routes exist. The better producers pick fruit specifically for Cerasuolo, choosing sites and harvest dates for the purpose. The industrial route uses salasso, bleeding juice off early from a red fermentation to concentrate what remains, treating the rosato as a by-product of making a better red. The difference is obvious in the glass, and the first approach is the one worth paying for.

Grape Varieties Montepulciano alone, a minimum of 85% and in practice almost always 100%. No other variety manages the combination the style demands: deep pigment from thick skins, enough tannin to give the wine grip, and acidity that survives an Adriatic summer. It is the same grape as Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, and unrelated to the Tuscan town of Montepulciano, whose wine is made from Sangiovese — a confusion that has cost this region dearly in export markets.

The Critical Take Authentic Cerasuolo defies the market trend for colorless rosés. It should have color, structure, and alcohol. It is a wine of “energy and light” rather than heavy extraction.

At the Table The classic pairing is the one it was made for: brodetto, the Adriatic fish stew, where a white would be overwhelmed and a red would fight the tomato. Beyond that, arrosticini, pizza, charcuterie and hard sheep’s cheese. Serve at 12–14°C — cooler than a red, never fridge-cold — and do not be put off by a bottle with three or four years on it. Unlike almost every other rosato in Italy, this one improves.

Benchmark Producers Valentini, Emidio Pepe, Tiberio, Cataldi Madonna.