Trebbiano d'Abruzzo

This section covers Trebbiano Abruzzese only, under its VIVC passport (variety number 24748); it says nothing about Trebbiano Toscano or Bombino Bianco. VIVC records Trebbiano Abruzzese with a white (blanc) berry skin and lists Italy as its country or region of origin. The passport gives a pedigree confirmed by markers of '? X MOSTOSA': on this record one parent is Mostosa, and the other parent is unknown. WineWiki's VIVC-derived lineage data link no children or siblings to Trebbiano Abruzzese.

• VIVC prime name: Trebbiano Abruzzese; VIVC variety number 24748; berry skin colour white (blanc)
• Country or region of origin: Italy (as listed)
• Parentage: Mostosa x unknown second parent (pedigree confirmed by markers: '? X MOSTOSA')
• Offspring and siblings: none linked in WineWiki's VIVC-derived lineage data

The presence of Trebbiano in Abruzzo was recorded in 1856 in a monograph by Raffaele Sersante as widely grown and well known. Trebbiano d'Abruzzo was established as a DOC in 1972. Abruzzo's wine output has long been dominated by cooperatives and bulk operations, while a generation of family growers has steadily redefined quality.

• Raffaele Sersante's 1856 monograph recorded Trebbiano in Abruzzo as widely grown and well known
• DOC status established in 1972
• Abruzzo's wine production has long been dominated by cooperatives and bulk operations
• Emidio Pepe founded his winery in 1964; in the estate's own account, he believed before anyone else in the ageing potential of Trebbiano and Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Abruzzo is a narrow strip of land where the Apennines plunge toward the Adriatic. The DOC production zone covers the whole coastal and foothill hill belt of the region, widening inland in its central part to take in the Alto Tirino plateau and the Subequana and Peligna valleys, among others. The meeting of warm Adriatic breezes and cool mountain air produces wide diurnal swings, extending the growing season and preserving acidity. Soils range from clay-limestone ridges in Teramo to sandy alluvium by the sea.

• The production zone covers more than a third of the Abruzzo region, across communes in all four provinces
• Constant ventilation between mountain and sea limits disease pressure
• Soils range from clay-limestone ridges in Teramo to sandy alluvium by the sea

Trebbiano d'Abruzzo is straw yellow, more or less intense, with a delicate aroma marked by notes of fruit and flowers that reach mineral tones in more evolved wines. It ranges from dry to off-dry, with a pleasantly almond-tinged finish. As Ian d'Agata notes, true Trebbiano Abruzzese yields wines of "white flowers and stone fruit, a creamy mouthfeel, and citrusy minerality," provided it is harvested early to retain acidity and perfume.

• Profile set by the production rules: straw yellow, delicate aromas of fruit and flowers, dry to off-dry, with a pleasantly almond-tinged finish
• Wines from the zone's Trebbiano grapes are characterised by intense, fresh aromas and a pleasantly almond-tinged aftertaste
• Tiberio describes its Fonte Canale, from 100 percent Trebbiano Abruzzese, as very mineral, with green apple, apricot, tangerine and lemon peel and nuances of white flowers and anise

Under the production rules, the basic wine may be released from 1 January of the year after the harvest, and Riserva requires a minimum of 12 months' ageing. Wine that passes through or is kept in wooden vessels may show a light hint of wood. Valentini ferments its Trebbiano d'Abruzzo spontaneously with native yeasts and ages it in large, old oak casks, some dating to the 18th and 19th centuries.

• Basic Trebbiano d'Abruzzo may be released from 1 January of the year after the harvest
• Valentini: spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts, then ageing in large, old oak casks
• Riserva: a minimum of 12 months' ageing and minimum 12.5% alcohol, from a subzone only
• Wood is permitted: wine kept in wooden vessels may show a light hint of wood

Valentini, whose vineyards lie in Loreto Aprutino, makes a Trebbiano d'Abruzzo fermented spontaneously with native yeasts and aged in large, old oak casks; GuildSomm's Sarah Bray writes that no one has articulated the DOC's potential more clearly than Valentini. Emidio Pepe founded his winery in Torano Nuovo, near Teramo, in 1964, and the estate is biodynamically farmed. Tiberio's Fonte Canale is a single-vineyard Trebbiano d'Abruzzo that GuildSomm calls a benchmark: linear, mineral and built to age.

• Valentini (Loreto Aprutino): Trebbiano d'Abruzzo fermented spontaneously with native yeasts and aged in large, old oak casks
• Emidio Pepe (Torano Nuovo, near Teramo): winery founded in 1964; biodynamically farmed
• Tiberio: Fonte Canale is a Trebbiano d'Abruzzo from a 100 percent massal selection of the Trebbiano Abruzzese Fonte Canale biotype

Article 2 of the production rules requires at least 85 percent Trebbiano Abruzzese and/or Trebbiano Toscano. Trebbiano Toscano is the variety known in France as Ugni Blanc. A 2001 DNA study of seven Trebbianos, Trebbiano Abruzzese and Trebbiano Toscano among them, found a large degree of variability between most of the cultivars and suggested that they do not share a common ancestor. Trebbiano Abruzzese was for many years confused with Bombino Bianco, and the 1972 production rules listed the grape as Trebbiano d'Abruzzo (Bombino bianco). Jancis Robinson's grape guide holds that Trebbiano d'Abruzzo "is of mysterious origin and may be identical to Bombino Bianco", while GuildSomm's Sarah Bray writes that Trebbiano Abruzzese has only recently been disentangled from Bombino Bianco and Trebbiano Toscano.

• A 2001 DNA study of seven Trebbianos, including Trebbiano Abruzzese and Trebbiano Toscano, found a large degree of variability between most of the cultivars
• Trebbiano Abruzzese was for many years confused with Bombino Bianco
• Trebbiano Toscano is known in France as Ugni Blanc
• At Tiberio, field mapping and DNA analysis have been used to distinguish true Trebbiano Abruzzese from its long-confused relatives

Primary sources: https://www.vivc.de/index.php?r=passport%2Fview&id=24748 ; https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252F5%252F6%252FD.4988c9e5049ee5c6efb4/P/BLOB%3AID%3D20839/E/pdf?mode=download ; https://www.emidiopepe.com/en/family/ ; https://tiberio.it/en/fonte-canale-trebbiano-dabruzzo-dop/ Reference sources: https://italianwinecentral.com/denomination/trebbiano-dabruzzo-doc/ ; https://italianwinecentral.com/trebbiano_family/ ; https://www.guildsomm.com/public_content/features/articles/b/sarah-bray/posts/abruzzo-renaissance-terroir ; https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/grape-varieties/white/trebbiano Last verified 2026-10-27