After an initial foray making a chilled red wine I went into the 2024 vintage with a clearer purpose and plan. Rather than working with Sangiovese I chose Montepulciano this time, inspired by classic examples of light reds suited to chilling from the Abruzzo region. I was hoping for something a bit juicier and softer but also fresher, and I think I’ve achieved that.
Fruit was machine-harvested and de-stemmed into a stainless-steel tank. The tank was cooled to delay fermentation, resulting in five days cold soaking of the berries with the juice. After pressing the grapes, the light but purple coloured wine fermented in stainless steel, and once complete was transferred to neutral French oak puncheons for malolactic fermentation. The wine was blended and bottled without fining or filtering in September.
There is as much montepulciano planted in the Abruzzo region than every other Italian region combined, which is significant considering montepulciano is the second most planted indigenous variety in the country. The two most common expressions of the variety are Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, and Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo. The former is a classic bold flavoured and coloured red wine, whereas the latter sits on a spectrum between rosé and light red. Cerasuolo means “cherry red” and thus I decided to name this wine ‘Cherry Pick.’
After an initial foray making a chilled red wine I went into the 2024 vintage with a clearer purpose and plan. Rather than working with Sangiovese I chose Montepulciano this time, inspired by classic examples of light reds suited to chilling from the Abruzzo region. I was hoping for something a bit juicier and softer but also fresher, and I think I’ve achieved that.
Fruit was machine-harvested and de-stemmed into a stainless-steel tank. The tank was cooled to delay fermentation, resulting in five days cold soaking of the berries with the juice. After pressing the grapes, the light but purple coloured wine fermented in stainless steel, and once complete was transferred to neutral French oak puncheons for malolactic fermentation. The wine was blended and bottled without fining or filtering in September.
There is as much montepulciano planted in the Abruzzo region than every other Italian region combined, which is significant considering montepulciano is the second most planted indigenous variety in the country. The two most common expressions of the variety are Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, and Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo. The former is a classic bold flavoured and coloured red wine, whereas the latter sits on a spectrum between rosé and light red. Cerasuolo means “cherry red” and thus I decided to name this wine ‘Cherry Pick.’
