Cantina Zaccagnini: wine, art and emotions

The Zaccagnini winery, now known throughout the world for its "vini dal tralcetto", was founded in 1978, located in a small Abruzzese village, Bolognano in the province of Pescara.
If you are wine enthusiasts and art lovers, this is the ideal place to spend a wonderful day in the company of the Zaccagnini family.
The first time I visited the winery I was astonished, fascinated.
Art everywhere, in every corner, in every room – nothing was there by chance, everything had a particular meaning.

I had the honor of being guided by the winemaker, the great Concezio Marulli, a truly exceptional person who conveys all his passion, a master of enology and viticulture. He showed me every corner of the winery, truly incredible…
A philosophy based on Wine and Art, respect for nature and above all on quality – no matter what you do, as long as you do it well.

I descended into the production area and realized that the art had not ended there… Massive machinery, filters, presses, crushers, fermentation tanks – in the production area a brilliant steel gleamed, leading into the packaging line, bottling machines, highly technological labeling machines; here nothing is left to chance, demonstrating that quality is achieved not only through human dedication but also through technology and cleanliness.
We then ventured into the bottaia, where a tomb-like silence and soft lighting reign, and the wine rests for long years – the atmosphere is pleasant and relaxing.
The tour concluded at the winery's belvedere, where I was able to admire the entire vine-covered landscape on an enchanting sunny day in mid-April.

Year of establishment: 1978
Owner: Marcello Zaccagnini
Winemaker: Concezio Marulli
Planted hectares: approx. 150
Bottles produced: 1,500,000
Main grape varieties: Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Pecorino, Passerina, Moscato, Cannonau
Main labels: "Dal Tralcetto" Montepulciano D'Abruzzo DOC, San Clemente Riserva Montepulciano D'Abruzzo DOC, Clematis Passito da uve Montepulciano d'Abruzzo IGT, Chronicon Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC, Plaisir Moscato di Castiglione Passito, Bianco IGT, San Clemente Trebbiano D'Abruzzo DOC, Myosotis Cerasuolo D'Abruzzo DOC, Yamada Pecorino IGT, Plaisir Passito da uve Cannonau

Those listed above are just some of the labels from Cantina Zaccagnini.
The Symbol: "Dal Tralcetto", available in the Bianco (Trebbiano), Rosato (Cerasuolo) and Rosso (Montepulciano) versions.
The Powerful One: among the many reds, the San Clemente Riserva Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC certainly stands out – a powerful wine at 14.5% alcohol, intense and persistent on the nose, round on the palate with great structure.
The Elixir: Plaisir Passito Bianco da uve Moscato di Castiglione 100% – the Castiglione a Casauria area in the province of Pescara is the most vocated zone in Abruzzo for the fullest expression of this grape variety. A true elixir of taste, rich, enveloping and velvety.
The Curiosity: Plaisir Passito Rosso da uve Cannonau 100% – the peculiarity lies entirely in the grape variety, not exactly typical of the Abruzzo region, and thanks to the studies and experience of the winemaker, surprising results have been achieved, producing a wine with the characteristic traits of this variety.

Well, what can I say… it was moving and unexpected. I could never have imagined what lay hidden within this estate – I truly recommend stopping by here to admire "the wine museum".