Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenere Gamay Italy Abruzzo Terre Di Chieti

The deep blue colored grapes of the Carmenere varietal have their origins in France, where they are still listed as one of the elite grape varietals allowed by French law for the use in Bordeaux wines, generally regarded to be the finest in the world. However, the use of Carmenere grapes in France has been dwindling for many decades now, and it has been in several New World countries where they have seen their renaissance. Although still mostly used as a blending grape, single variety Carmenere wines are greatly sought after as a result of their deep, complex aromas, stunning blood red color and the fact that the grapes, when processed at optimum ripeness, carry some fascinating flavors, including chocolate, tobacco, and spicy cherry notes.

The French wines of Beaujolais are widely regarded as some of the finest table wines in the world. This is due in part to the qualities of the Gamay grape, from which they are made. Gamay produces beautifully, juicy, rounded and gulpable red wines, usually drank young and full of their natural fruit character. However, it would be a mistake to say that Gamay is limited to easy-drinking, soft wines - it’s a highly flexible and versatile grape, capable of producing aged wines of serious complexity and structure, full of expression and fascinating characteristics.


The majority of Gamay wines from France are labeled under Beaujolais Villages or Beaujolais, and these are the standard table wines we’re used to seeing in French restaurants, at bistros, and at our local wine store. Usually great value for money, these are the light, slightly acidic examples of what the grape can do. Far more interesting are those Gamay wines from the 10 cru villages, just north of Beaujolais, where generations of expertise and a unique soil type made up of granitic schist result in far more unique, complicated wines. The best examples of Gamay feature intense aromatics, all black fruit and forest fare, and are worth cellaring for a few years.

There are few countries in the world with a viticultural history as long or as illustrious as that claimed by Italy. Grapes were first being grown and cultivated on Italian soil several thousand years ago by the Greeks and the Pheonicians, who named Italy 'Oenotria' – the land of wines – so impressed were they with the climate and the suitability of the soil for wine production. Of course, it was the rise of the Roman Empire which had the most lasting influence on wine production in Italy, and their influence can still be felt today, as much of the riches of the empire came about through their enthusiasm for producing wines and exporting it to neighbouring countries. Since those times, a vast amount of Italian land has remained primarily for vine cultivation, and thousands of wineries can be found throughout the entire length and breadth of this beautiful country, drenched in Mediterranean sunshine and benefiting from the excellent fertile soils found there. Italy remains very much a 'land of wines', and one could not imagine this country, its landscape and culture, without it.

Situated on the east coast of central Italy, between the mountains and the sea, Abruzzo is a wine region which has the best of all possible worlds. Beautiful and varied terroir, with blazing sunshine and cooling breezes blowing off the Adriatic, history and modernity, and an independent spirit supported by generations of tradition and expertise. This is a wine region with a serious past, stretching back to the very origins of wine production in Europe - the Etruscans were the first to cultivate vines here, and the Romans lent their industrious and forward-thinking minds to viticulture in Abruzzo, something which is still felt today if you wander among the villages and vineyards.

Abruzzo has over 90,000 acres of land dedicated to wine production and grape-growing, and is the fifth most productive wine region in Italy. The majority of viticultural activity takes place in the hillier regions, where the microclimates are ideal for the historic vineyards, particularly around the sub-region of Chieti, which produces plenty of sunny and characterful wines ranging from Pinot Grigio to Sangiovese and crowd-pleasing Merlots. The climatic conditions of Abruzzo are particularly favorable, with this region seeing a fine balance of rainfall and sunshine, allowing for a long and bountiful ripening season which sees the grapes reach full ripeness and provides plenty of expression of terroir.

Abruzzo has one DOCG, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Colline Teramane, where we find beautiful blended red wines made from Montepulciano and Sangiovese varietals. It also has three DOC regions, based around these red grapes as well as white varietals such as Trebbiano.