My wife and I are going to the Abruzzo region this May. We are looking to visit a couple of wineries while we are there. Are there any that members would recommend? TIA.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
17691 posts
Posted by
Abruzzo Mountains
1182 posts
Depends what part of Abruzzo, but in Pescara province my “house” winery is Guardiani Farchione in Tocco da Casauria. They’re on the 5th generation of the family winemakers and their wine is fantastic. Call ahead for a tasting.
Posted by
OP
Grande prairie., Alberta, Canada
76 posts
Nelly, thank you. How far in advance do you recommend booking a tour? I sent you an email a while back about the area, did you see it?
Posted by
Abruzzo Mountains
1182 posts
For Guardiani Farchione, a day or two in advance is fine, just to be sure they will be there and not out in the fields. Most Abruzzo wineries don't open a tasting room every day, just on request. GF does nice snacks with their wine tasting if you've called ahead. There is one fancy-pants winery I know of, Castorani in Alanno, which does more elaborate tours and tastings (and charge for them.) Their wines cost 3x anyone else's. Are they 3x better? No. But the owner is Abruzzo's only successful Formula 1 race car driver and he exports most of his product to Japan where they are willing to pay...
Tocco da Casauria has a number of wineries, all of them good. Chieti province is the largest wine producing area, but I'm not too familiar with their wines. Teramo province has the well-known and expensive Emidio Pepe. L'Aquila province has some large and good wineries, such as Cataldi Madonna. Too many! It's a very agricultural region.
We have a lovely deli and wine shop here in town called Via Roma. The proprietor is really expert at Abruzzo wines and local food products. They do lovely aperitivi plates and wine. Also occasional wine dinners. So be sure to stop by!
I recommend Slow Food's Wine Guide 2026 but I don't see an English edition atm.