xtraWinexperience Abruzzo with Nestore Bosco

xtraWinexperience continues as we visit the Nestore Bosco winery in Abruzzo.

The winery is located in Nocciano, close to Pescara.

The attention of the winery is drawn to two beauties of the Italian Apennines: the Gran Sasso and the Maiella. The former is internationally renowned for its Calderon, Europe’s southernmost Glacier; the latter, on the other hand, is the second tallest massif and has recently been nominated an International Park.

We meet the winery’s owners, Nestore and Stefania Bosco, in this beautiful corner of Italy. We enjoyed a lovely walk through the vineyards and learned more about the history of this wonderful winery.

xw: This winery is nestled between the Gran Sasso and Maiella massifs. What effect, if any, does this particular location have on the wines you produce?

Nestore: The massifs are extremely important and play a key role in our vineyards. Nestore Bosco is a winery in the heart of Abruzzo. Our vineyards are surrounded by hills, but they are also exposed to winds. These two massifs shield us from the strongest winds, especially in the winter. This is critical for all of our vineyards, but especially for those located between Nocciano, where we are now, and Civitaquana, which is about three miles away from Nocciano.

xw: Our xtraWinexperience wants to tell the story of wine in Italy and discuss the relationship between the winery and the land. What is the history of Nestore Bosco and its relationship with the territory?

Stefania: Ours is unquestionably the oldest winery in Abruzzo. In fact, our family founded the winery in 1897. We are the fifth generation of winemakers in our family. We have a respectful relationship with the land and the territory, and recognise that it is our responsibility to protect it through sustainability. Since 2018, when we officially became an organic winery, sustainability has become our raison d’être.

This reverence for the land and the environment led our family to build a subterranean tunnel in the 1980s to store and mature the wines while avoiding altering the geography of the region.

This tunnel is now a tourist attraction and the heart of the winery, but it was built for a very specific reason: to make our operations more sustainable.

xw: How do you publicise your winery? Abruzzo is an unlikely tourist destination, and its wines are not well-known on a global scale.

Stefania: Certainly through winery tours and tastings. People from Abruzzo are well known for their hospitality, so we have made this trait our strength and our way of communicating with our customers and wine lovers about our wines. Being good hosts is the most important aspect of our job, and we welcome guests and wine enthusiasts. To that end, our tunnel has been renovated to house a wine museum.

We are opening the doors to our home to thousands of visitors when we open the doors to our winery. 

xw: what can we expect from a visit to Cantine Nestore Bosco?

Stefania: A typical winery visit begins with a tour to the subterranean tunnel. After all, it is the heart and soul of our winery! Tourists and wine enthusiasts can view our wines maturing, resting against the wall, geometrically aligned to maximise the space. We’d then arrive at the museum, which houses thousands of agricultural tools and items from the 1800s. The museum tells the story of our land as well as our family: attachment to the origins, the land, and wine-making. The ‘underground tour’ concludes with a visit to the barriques where our Montepulciano is maturing, and with a tasting of our wines, paired with local delicacies.

xw: Let’s get to the wines you’ve selected for xtraWine. What are they, what can you tell us about them, and why have you chosen them for us?

Nestore:  Abruzzo is a strong yet gentle land. It best represents everything Italy can offer: the climate, the sea, the mountains and the green valleys. 

Our first wine for xtraWine is our most important and well-known: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Pan.

It is part of our “bottom Top line.” The vinification is done in stainless steel with an extended maceration. The wine is then aged for at least 18 months in American and French oak barriques. Finally, the wine is refined for 12 months in horizontally lined bottles in our tunnel.

The Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Pan has a deep ruby red colour. It is a full-bodied wine with spicy notes that is persistent and appropriately tannic. It has flavours of plums and wild cherries on the nose. The label is what makes this wine stand out. It was created by the Italian artist Pietro Cascella to commemorate a long friendship with our family. The label depicts Pan, a Greek god who was half man and half animal.

The second wine we have chosen for xtraWine is the Pecorino I.G.P. Colline Pescaresi 1897. 

This wine was created to commemorate the establishment of our winery in 1897. The Pecorino is fermented in stainless steel at extremely low temperatures before being refined in bottle. It has a fresh bouquet. Ideal for the summer. It smells dry, fresh, and long-lasting.

Finally, we recommend Rosato Bosco Linea 1897.

This Rose is made from Motepulciano d’Abruzzo grapes and is vinified in stainless steel at controlled low temperatures with immediate separation of the pomace.

We chose it because it is one of those “just right” wines that we believe should be enjoyed during the summer. It is a very fresh and gentle wine that we believe should be included in our aperitifs or main courses.

Thank you for the lovely conversation, Nestore Bosco. Discover the wine from Antica Cantina Nestore Bosco now, and we highly recommend taking a tour of their winery!