Ortona

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The municipal territory of Ortona extends over 5,147 hectares, of which 3,418 — approximately 66% of the total surface area — are covered by vineyards.
• The topography is characterised by broad hill formations composed of Plio-Pleistocene deposits, originating from a marine sedimentary cycle between the end of the Tertiary and the beginning of the Quaternary.
• In terms of particle size, the formations are variable, with sandy clays in the upper part overlain by fine- to medium-grained siliceous sands, more or less clayey, with calcareous or clayey cement, interbedded with layers of silts, gravels, and clays.
• The resulting soil generally displays a loose, sandy-clay structure, of variable depth depending on slope and aspect, with low to medium water retention and scarce to modest levels of nutrients and humus.
• Mean annual rainfall is approximately 700 mm, with around 74 rainy days per year and the wettest period falling between October and December, while July records the absolute minimum with fewer than 35 mm.

• In 1200, a notarial deed was drawn up in Venice establishing a 'colleganza', a commercial contract between Venice, Ancona, Ortona, and Slavonia.
• In 1836, Baron Giovanni Nicola Durini declared that the wines of Ortona were the finest in the province and in Abruzzo, and among the finest in the entire Kingdom.
• The red wine is produced predominantly from the Montepulciano grape variety, while the white wine uses Trebbiano toscano and/or Trebbiano abruzzese as its base.
• The training system most commonly used in the area is the pergola abruzzese, although single and double trellis systems are increasingly widespread.

• The red wine displays an intense ruby colour, sometimes with slight violet hues, with aromas of red fruits and light spicy notes, a dry, appropriately tannic palate.
• The white wine is a pale straw-yellow in colour, sometimes with greenish highlights, with intense fruity aromas and a fresh, pleasant palate.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-IT-A1184
• Official trade body site — Consorzio Tutela Vini d'Abruzzo