Cerasuolo is the Abruzzo way of making rosé: Montepulciano grapes vinified with brief contact between must and skins, or with the old saignée technique, to obtain a cherry-red wine, hence the name. For forty years it was a style of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo; since 2010 it has had an independent DOC, the first in Italy devoted to a rosé, with the same hill territory in the provinces of Chieti, Pescara, Teramo and L'Aquila.
The regulations require at least 85% Montepulciano, completed by other regional red grapes, and provide for a Superiore version with a higher minimum alcohol. It is a wine to drink young, within a year or two of the harvest.
The colour is deeper than many rosés, the aromas recall cherry, strawberry and red flowers, the body is full and the freshness marked. It is one of Italy's most versatile rosés at the table: fish brodetto, arrosticini skewers, pizza, cured meats and the summer cooking of the coast.
