Wine: Zaccagnini Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
Country: Italy
Region: Abruzzo
Designation: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC
Brand/Producer:  Cantina Zaccagnini
Grape Varietal: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
ABV: 11.5%
Type: Red
Code: 1923

Tasting Note
Smooth, rich and fruity, with dark cherries, black fruits and plums. Full bodied and elegant. Intense ruby red colour with violet hues and a nose of cherries and black fruits. The wine is dry and smooth and perfectly balanced with robust taninns, rounded and delicious.

Producer
In the heart of Bolognano, a small town in the Abruzzo region, Cantina Zaccagnini was established in 1978. Starting from a family-run business, the winery has grown rapidly and steadily with the goal of “absolute quality, from cluster to glass”. The company now has more than 300 hectares of beautiful vineyards, well-kept and monitored at every production stage.
Marcello Zaccagnini, the dynamic director of the operations, has introduced sustainable ecologically-sensitive practices such as using minimal irrigation, reducing use of SO2 in winemaking and planting forests of oak to offset COs emissions produced by wine fermentation.
“Tralcetto” refers to the piece of wood tied around the bottle, which is actually a cutting from the grapevine of the vineyard in Bolognano,  Pescara. “Tralcetto dell’Amicizia”, literally means “the wooden stick of friendship”. Each tralcetto is hand tied on the bottle with locally sourced straw.

Winemaking
Grapes are pressed gently with skins macerating for a short time to extract the deep ruby and purple colour notes, but avoiding too much tannic influence. A few months in oak adds complexity on the palate and in the finish.

Fun Fact
The Tralcetto wines are a firm favourite in Harry’s Bar in Venice, one of the most prestigious venues in the city for wining, dining and celebrity spotting.

Food pairing
The high tannin content in Montepulciano means that it is best when paired with rich and fatty foods. It works well with roast pork, beef brisket, and shepherds pie as well as pasta and pizza with rich sauces.