The Field Guide
Central Italy
Everything between Tuscany and Naples, which is where most people stop looking. Five appellations on the other side of the Apennines, growing grapes that never needed a Super Tuscan to be taken seriously.
Four regions · five appellations
Central Italy
The history
Sagrantino was nearly extinct by the 1970s and came back on the work of a handful of Montefalco families; Pecorino was written off as lost until a single Abruzzo vineyard turned up in 1982.
The land
The Apennine spine runs down the middle. West of it, volcanic soil and Rome; east of it, hills falling to the Adriatic with sea air moving up them every afternoon.
Wine styles
Verdicchio's saline, ageworthy whites; Sagrantino's tannic, dark-fruited reds — among the most tannic wines made anywhere; Pecorino's firm whites and Cesanese's peppery lighter reds.
The underdogs to drink
Start with the grapes worth the detour. More guides land as we publish them.
Whatever you drink now, there’s an underdog you’d like more.
One overlooked wine at a time: what it tastes like, the famous one it can replace, and the catch. It’s the list our wine club will be built from.
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