{"title":"De Sterlich","description":"What do the “hot” wine regions — like Beaujolais, the Jura, and Sicily — have in common? They all have ancient wine traditions and great terroirs, but also a more recent history of neglect sufficient enough to bring the price of vineyards way down. They also have at least one great inspiring figure who has shown the world what the local wines are capable of.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWhen you look at that pattern, you can only assume that the Italian wine region of Abruzzo can’t be far behind. Here you find a range of soil types on steep rugged slopes, often with views of the Adriatic Sea. Like, say, Mount Etna, you have that rare combination of Mediterranean sunshine and slopes that get covered by snow in the winters. No wonder the Estrucans made wine here even before the Roman conquest.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFast forward 2500 years, and you find the neglect: a wine region taken over by coops churning out industrial wines for supermarkets. Wine lovers looked elsewhere. Except when it came to Edoardo Valentini — the inspiring figure who showed the world that the greatest wines of Italy could be made from Montepulcano d’Abruzzo.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIt was on this scene that Roberto Fracassa and Alessandro Massacesi arrived, buying a beautiful property with olive trees, a bit of forest, and plenty of old vines. They named the winery De Sterlich, in honor of a local notable wine-maker of Austrian provenance who was famous for funding the Maserati car brand. They hired Professore Seghetti, the consultant behind the great wines of Valentini.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSince inception, they have worked organically and biodynamically. In the cellar everything is strictly traditional: ambient yeasts, aging in cement casks.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e","products":[],"url":"https:\/\/sf.flatiron-wines.com\/collections\/de-sterlich.oembed","provider":"Flatiron SF","version":"1.0","type":"link"}