POPOLI (Province of Pescara): After a winter with heavy snowfalls and a springtime with a “normal” climate, it was quite dry and warm till the harvest. There luckily was an intense rainfall during the last week of July which, added to the sandy-clayey soil of the vineyards and the flat position of the soil (of the vineyards at Azienda Filomusi Guelfi) favoured a complete and satisfying ripening of the grapes without interruptions.

Lorenzo Filomusi Guelfi owner of Azienda Agricola Filomusi Guelfi (Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC):”..we picked Chardonnay and Sauvignon on the 23-25 of August, Malvasia on the 9-10 of September, Pecorino on the 16 of September, Montepulciano for the production of Cerasuolo and Cococciola on the 28-29 of September and Montepulciano for the production of Montepulciano Rosso on the 4-10 October. The grapes were perfectly ripe at harvest. The grape yield was 11 tons/hectare for the Montepulciano vineyards with an “Arbour”(“Pergola”) training system, and 7-8 tons/hectare for the Montepulciano vineyards with and espalier training system and for the white varietals. We do not utilise chemical fertilizers and we use green manure instead (“Vicia Faba”). The analytical data of the wines are good. We produced the whole range of wines. We are evaluating the possibility of producing a “Cerasuolo Superiore”. 2012 is a good vintage and it could be compared to 2010…”