Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Doc Anfora., Francesco Cirelli

Elegant, unusual Italian red, brimming with red plums and blackberries and fragrant with thyme.

The grapes are collected in boxes and carried to the cellar. Here grapes are de-stemmed and gently crushed. Then transferred into the clay amphoras where indigenous yeasts are leading the fermentation process. Grapes are plunged into the juice gently and quickly in order to prevent the extraction of the stronger tannins. The maceration process usually last around twelve days, after which the skins are separated from the wine and softly pressed. The wine rests and refines in the amphoras all the way through the malolactic fermentation. Wine is then aged in amphora for 12 months before being bottled.

Pair with a dish of rustic, smokey northern sausage, polenta and fresh fennel salad.