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www.buyersandcellars.ca Cellar Profile
The winery was founded in 1969 as a cooperative between 20 individual growers in Abruzzo, one of Italy’s most productive wine growing regions. Today, there are 400 grower members with 700 hectares of vineyards. Soils here are calcareous clay, created by runoff from the towering Apennine Mountains to the west. The moderating influence of the Adriatic Sea to the east, as well as the cool evenings in spring and fall, help temper some of the hot days during the growing season. With an eye towards tradition, Novaripa produces wines made with indigenous grape varieties that have grown here for millenia—Passerina, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, Pecorino and old vines of the ubiquitous Montepulciano d’Abruzzo—along with international varieties such as Pinot Grigio. Buyers+Cellars is proud to represent Novaripa’s Agronika and Sagoma brands in Ontario.
Region
Abruzzo is an Italian wine region on the east (Adriatic) coast. In terms of quantitative wine production, it remains Italy’s fifth most prominent region after Sicily, Puglia, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna. The geographical makeup of Abruzzo is quite remarkable. A rugged, mountainous region with a lengthy coastline, its lush, green landscape is scattered with national parks and forests. Abruzzo is ideally situated between the Adriatic sea to the east and the Apennine mountain range and the Maiella massif to the west. The region is home to Gran Sasso, one of Italy’s highest peaks at 2912 masl. The high altitudes see dramatic diurnal temperature variations which, when combined with cool mountain air currents, moderate the temperatures in the vineyards situated on the slopes. This provides a perfect mesoclimate for vines, with the most favourable growing conditions being found in the low hills of Teramo, the Colline Teramane.
Vineyard
From select cooperative vineyards, sitting at an average of 250 masl. Planted in high density to stress the vines, the soils are a mixture of clay-marl, iron and shale. The Chieti region is one of the most densely planted in all of Italy, benefitting from the proximity of the Adriatic as well as the rain shelter of the Apennine mountains.
Varieties
Trebbiano is an Italian wine grape, one of the most widely-planted grape varieties in the world. It gives good yields, but tends to create undistinguished wines unless care is taken to ensure it ripens fully. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Also known as Ugni Blanc, it has many other names reflecting a family of local subtypes, particularly in Italy and France. In Abruzzo, winemakers are seeing extremely promising results crafting small batch versions, sometimes using oak aging. Chardonnay is the world’s most famous white wine grape and also one of the most widely planted, with the most highly-regarded expressions coming from Burgundy and California. Climate plays a major role in dictating which fruit flavours a Chardonnay will have. Broadly speaking, warm regions such as California tend to give more tropical styles. In Italy, Chardonnay is frequently used as a blending partner with indigenous varieties, to add weight and complexity.
Winemaking
Hand-selected bunches from vineyards throughout the Terre di Chieti are crushed and pressed into stainless steel, each varietal separately, where they are cool fermented with a selection of yeasts. After fermentation, the wines are sampled, then blended and aged in steel before bottling young and fresh.
Tasting Notes
A mixture of stone fruits and apple on the nose, quite aromatic for a Trebbiano-based wine. The palate has some weight, but is balanced by lively acidity. Flavours of Asian pear, apple and pomelo, with a crisp finish. There is a touch of sweetness here that makes this a wonderful pairing with lightly veined cheese, vegetarian stir fry or white fish with lemon and capers. It can also be enjoyed, lightly chilled, on a patio.