Italy
The aim of Cantina Valle Tritana, the firm behind the brand Capostrano, is to select and market products both of quality and favorable price, and it starts out with the Montepulciano wine from the Abruzzo region in Italy. The name chosen for the winery was not a coincidence, the Tritana Valley is located right in the heart of the Abruzzo region, in the foothills of the Gran Sasso Mountains. The surrounding area of the Tritana Valley has a special microclimate with warm days and cold nights. The considerable temperature differences between night and day, together with the favourable windy nature of the territory ensure a perfect microclimate for the growing of grapes of an extraordinary quality. The Montepulciano varietal has been cultivated in this area since ancient times and it still is an important part of the regional agricultural economy. Angelo Sansone’s project aims to contribute to the economic growth and cultural development of this area by enhancing the specific character of the local Montepulciano and Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. The line of affordable, accessible wines extends to Passerina and Verdicchio di Matelica from Le Marche region.
The history of the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wine has a special significance. In the 20th century this wine went through ups and downs before acquiring its present well-deserved status and international reputation. In the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s the wine production suffered from heavy damage caused by phylloxera. The vine growers encountered many difficulties in reconstituting the vineyards, and this led to the abandonment of the countryside and to the eventual emigration. Later on, the intensive growth of grapes, which were often used to enrich wines from other regions, experienced a period in which quantity rather than quality was the main goal. This, of course, did not take into consideration that the wines from Abruzzo could instead acquire distinctive features at a higher quality. The wine production of the province of L’Aquila, in particular, was important until the post war period, however insufficiently productive in quantitative terms and lost its importance in comparison with other areas of intensive production. Finally, in the last 20 years, new qualitative guidelines have favored the acquisition of a special character of Abruzzo wines, and have led to the growth of technical knowledge and of an economic and cultural awareness.
