Abruzzo is located halfway down the Italian peninsula, across the Apennine range east of Rome. Its capital is L’Aquila and its largest city is Pescara. In the wine world, Abruzzo is best known as the home of the Montepulciano grape. It has three DOCGs, seven DOCs (see map on this page), and two IGPs. In 2022, Abruzzo had its highest production level in recent times, possibly ever, at more than 3.1 million hl (34.8 million cases) of wine, but in 2023, Abruzzo was the hardest hit of all the regions by weather problems and downy mildew damage in the vineyards, producing barely 1.1 million hl (12.4 million cases). About 58% of production is red and nearly a third is at the DOP level. The region had 32,654 ha (80,700 acres) of vineyards in 2022. Its primary grape varieties are Montepulciano (57%) and Trebbiano (29%).
