A wine pilgrimage of sorts to Bolognano (PE)

I was best man at the wedding of two very good friends a few years ago. It was a great day and it was full of joy and laughter.

A year later, to celebrate their first anniversary they had a party in their house, put up a marquee in their back garden, and invited us all back to help celebrate with them.

It was a great night. Once again it was overflowing with fun, chat, dancing, singing and bucket loads of laughter.

It was 2007.

I’d spent a few weeks in Abruzzo that year and had fallen in love with the region. Back in Ireland I had my antennae out looking for signs that Abruzzo was recognised. It wasn’t. Nobody had heard of the region and the only way to help people place it was to say “the other side of Italy from Rome”. But whereas people didn’t have knowledge of Abruzzo itself they had become aware of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.

At that fantastic anniversary party G & F severed a red wine often referred to as “Twiggy”. It was wonderful. Perfect for the party, certainly easy to drink but also with lots of flavour and some complexity. But we were at a party so the fact that it tasted great was all that was needed. It was a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.

“Twiggy” is a nickname used in Ireland to refer to the Tralcetto range of wines produced by the Zaccagnini winery located at Bolognano (PE). These wines have a small twig attached to the bottle and hence the nickname. If you go to the Zaccagnini website you’ll see that “Twiggy” or Tralcetto is described as “intense ruby red colour with violet nuances; intense, characteristic bouquet of the primary grape aromas; fruity component, full-bodied and robust, well balanced with tannin and oak features”.

Well on the night of the party there was no way I was going to pick up on all those details. This is what I was able to tell about it – it went down very easily (perhaps too easily), it isn’t expensive (about €6.50 in Abruzzo, €14 in Ireland!), and everybody at the party liked it a lot.

Back to 2010.

We were back in Abruzzo having a great time as always and we realised we were around for the Cantine Aperte weekend, where 40 Abruzzo winemakers open their doors to the public. We looked through the list of wineries, spotting ones we had visited in 2008, the last time we were able to go along:

• Azienda Agricola Contesa Collecorvino (PE)
• Tenuta Torre Raone Loreto Aprutino (PE)
• Azienda Vinicola Talamonti Loreto Aprutino (PE)
• Azienda Vinicola Bosco Nestore & C Nocciano (PE)

But this time we decided to go a little further afield. We asked our local advisors and they suggested a few we hadn’t been to before: Azienda Agricola Filomusi Guelfi at Tocco Da Casauria (PE) – “you have to try their whites”, Tenuta Arabona at Manoppello Scalo (PE) – “eco friendly, small but good”, and lastly we were told to visit Azienda Agricola Ciccio Zaccagnini at Bolognano (PE).

“Zaccagnini? Isn’t that were “twiggy” comes from?” It certainly is. We felt it was fated that we should visit and see what else they had to offer. One of our many local advisors, who more often than not tend to steer us right, said if we get to Zaccagnini be sure to try or buy a bottle of San Clemente.

Weighing up the time we had available we decided to visit Tenuta Arabona and Zaccagnini and leave it at that. We hadn’t a full free day and when we go exploring or to someplace new we don’t like to be under time pressure. You never know what you’ll find or who you’ll meet that will make the day take a different and positive turn.

Tenuta Arabona was first on the long list of two and it was wonderful and welcoming. I’ll tell you about it in a later post.

But this was all about Zaccagnini and the connection between it and one of the best parties I’ve ever been to.

The first thing that struck me about Zaccagnini was its size. The second thing was that it was getting bus loads of visitors. This winery was in a different league to the other smaller cantine I had visited.  It was busy, with plenty of staff helping out.

I got a glass of their Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and walked around. Apart from the main reason I was there, the wine, I soon discovered that Zaccagnini supports art and music events during the year. Uvarte, “an event rich in famous artists”, is held each November. Emerging musical artists are supported by Marcello Zaccagnini and during the weekend of the Cantine Aperte bands are given the chance to perform as part of the Wine Will Rock You concert.

If you explore the Zaccagnini website you’ll find a music section where you can download two excellent CD collections. I’m listening to CD1 right now.

We wandered around the grounds, drinking a little Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, admiring the various pieces of art on display and feeling a little envious of those who could stay for the concert later in the day.

We followed the good advice we were given and bought a bottle of San Clemente for €16. I’m really looking forward to tasting it. It is described as “deep ruby red colour, limpid and intense; strong liquorice and forest fruits scents; full-bodied and robust, with a tannin component embraced by the grape’s aromatic weave”. Wow! If I get some of that when I try it I’m going to love it.

We brought it back with us to Dublin and when the right opportunity comes (and we’re not really very fussy at what constitutes a “right opportunity”) we’ll open it, treat it with respect, and savour every sip.

After all, it’s a chance to enjoy a little piece of Abruzzo in Ireland.

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