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Slow Food Presidium 
Few people know the Montonico grape, but its history is ancient and important, the first sources date back to the 1600.
Until the sixties the Montonico grape was widely spread in Abruzzo, but from that date on its cultivation area has been increasingly shrinking. Today it remains present mainly in the area of Bisenti and Cermignano where, even in the past, it had the greatest extension of cultivation. It has adapted well over the centuries to the area close to the Gran Sasso, growing at an altitude that can even exceed 500 meters above sea level.
Traditionally it was eaten fresh or passita and turned into wine, Spumante, Mosto Cotto, Vino Cotto, Passito, vinegar and was even used in the local confectionery gastronomy. It has in fact represented for centuries an important source of sustenance and income for the population of this marginal area located under the slopes of the Gran Sasso Mountain.
Francesca (Azienda Agricola Francesca Valente) and Matteo (Azienda Agricola Matteo Ciccone) have embarked on a journey to recover and safeguard this ancient native grape variety.
The exaltation and continuous search for quality are the foundations on which their project rests, respecting and protecting the surrounding environment.
A source dating from 1615 shows that a grape variety called Montonico was already being grown in the area around Bisenti, near Teramo, at that time. During the centuries, it was often cited as a very productive variety and good for eating. In fact it was always better known as a table grape than as a variety for wine. Over time it adapted well to the territory close to the Gran Sasso, where it grows even at altitudes above 500 meters. In fact it is a very vigorous vine, which thanks to its innate gift for adaptation has found its true identity here in this part of the world. The local adversities (cold winters and hard, pebbly, chalky soil) give the grapes their typical sensory characteristics. The variety forms a large, elongated bunch, with an almost cylindrical shape, and the berries are large and round with a thick, greenish-yellow skin.
Production area
Bisenti and Cermignano (Poggio delle Rose hamlet) municipalities, Teramo province
In Bisenti the word Montonico does not simply indicate the grape, it indicates a pervasive experience that involves the whole family, from generation to generation.
Last modified: 23 May 2022
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