Trebbiano

Yeah.

So I believe there's technically 10 grapes that are legally allowed into these things, but, but typically most of the time we see a grape called Ugni Blanc either is or very closely related to like Trebbiano that we see in Italy.

This is I think like 90, 95% of cognac is planted out with Ugni Blanc.

Um, it is a very neutral, um, very dry, very acid-driven white wine.

Um, we also see Colombard planted in a lot of these places.

Um, specifically this is a crossbreeding with, um, I believe it's a Texas-based, uh, clone, but was, uh, was sort of bred in the, uh, late 1890s sort of to try and combat the phylloxera epidemic that was absolutely ravaging these regions.

Um, was the main grape in Armagnac.

I think Ugni Blanc is, is now pretty much in balance with that.

Maximum 40% Catarratto or Lucido.

It can have up to 10% Minello Bianco or Trebbiano or other native white grapes.

If you do Etna Bianco Superiore, 80% has to be Carricante with the other grapes, and it can only be from this small area on the eastern side called Milo.

The commune of Milo is the only place from which you can make Etna Bianco Superiore.

Located in the heart of Abruzzo, Valle Reale's vineyards are situated inside one of Italy's most beautiful national parks.

But does beauty equal quality? Today we're drinking Trebbiano di Abruzzo to see if this under-the-radar grape is a hidden treasure or a waste of your wine.

Welcome to Stop Wasting Your Wine, a wine review podcast dedicated to helping you discover great wines with great value for every occasion.

I'm Aaron and I'm joined once again by Colin and Joel.

Like we mentioned at the top, we're drinking Trebbiano di Abruzzo from Valle Reale, which if it's as beautiful as the region sounds, this is going to be a pretty good, pretty good wine, gentlemen.

Yeah, and if it's as fun as saying Valle Reale is, we're in for a real treat.

Is that right? Are we

But Joe, why don't you break down the details of this bottle for us

Thank you, Russ.

And, uh, we tried to find someone to, you know, a tenant to lease it till we, till we were ready with our product and, and, um, didn't happen, so we were just like, "Well, we can start a wine shop and, uh, incorporate our wines as we grow." So, and the, the whole thing about, uh, the Turtle Creek Olives and Vines, which is the name of the, the downtown building, is really focused on education and wine, you know, getting, uh, people out of their comfort zones to try different varietals, different styles of wine from different regions of the world, 'cause to, uh, to a lot of people it's kind of obscure grapes that we're growing out here, you know, Tannat, Montepulciano, Trebbiano.

A lot of people, they're starting to learn about them.

Maybe we can spend a minute talking about how the development of the vineyard played out.

... we have some outliers.

Yeah.

And Trebbiano is your only estate white?

Correct.

Better examples have enough concentration to age.

Orvieto in Umbria blends Gracchetto and Trebbiano.

Gracchetto contributes fruit and texture, while high yielding Trebbiano provides acidity and supports affordable production.

Frescati in Lazio is based on Malvasia and Trebbiana and is generally light, fresh and floral.

So taking a quick trip to Tuscany, we're talking here about Sangiovese.

And it becomes like a chemistry experiment of us going back and forth and saying, "No, that's too sweet.

This, let's mix in a little, you know, more ro- more Grenache, or more Ugni Blanc," or whatever, to really get a blending style about what we call our house style.

Yeah.

Um, which we've made some adjustments over the time.

And we are going to talk about an Italian grape varietal that I know you've never heard of.

It's called Trebbiano.

And it's not Trebbiano, but Turbiano.

And this is an interesting grape that kind of is indigenous to a certain area that we're going to show you the Italian map right here.

So if you go all the way up here to Lake Garda, and this is right near Verona, the very big city of Verona here, Romeo and Juliet.

But this is the same concept about traditional varieties.

So Chardonnay, the good place for Chardonnay is not the s- the good place of Trebbiano, for example.

So starting from this point of view, so plant the vines in the right place, make the right winemaking.

Then the wines that we have, of course depend of the variety, but if we are talking about in generally, are wines that in my opinions works, uh, very, very well with what the people is eating right now.

Black grape variety, okay.

Vidichio, Trebbiano, Aglianico, or Chardonnay?

Trebbiano, but let me work through this [laughs] 'cause I don't know.

Work through it.

I don't know how that one goes.

Um-

Okay

... number two is, uh, was Trebbiano.