Molise is Italy’s second smallest region (after Valle d’Aosta) by both area and population. It lies on the Adriatic coast, squeezed between Abruzzo and Puglia. Its capital and largest city is Campobasso. Molise remains unfamiliar to most tourists and to the wine world. It has no DOCGs, four DOCs (see map on this page), and two IGPs, with just 5,430 ha (13,400 acres) under vine. Output has been climbing in recent years, though, and in 2022 Molise produced a record 513,000 hl (5.7 million cases) of mostly table wine, more than 70% of which was red. The region’s primary grape varieties are Montepulciano (51%) and Trebbiano (12%).
