Rabasco "Cancellino" White 2022

This month we’re heading to Abruzzo - the land here produces a stunning variety of wines due to its diverse microclimates - whatever you’re in the mood for, you’ll likely end up finding it in one of the four provinces. Iole Rabasco is the woman behind Vini Rabasco - a small estate covering 3.5 hectares near Pescara in the heart of Abruzzo - the province closest to the Adriatic, only 40 kilometers away from Iole’s vineyards.

Being this close to the sea you can feel the influence of the Mediterranean microclimate, while proximity and soil provides salinity, the mild winters and warm summers give birth to fruit that’s never too ripe, striking a balance between tartness and sweetness - one that provides a freshness and joy in the wines.

Cancellino is the name of her Trebbiano d’Abruzzo cuvée, grapes grown on vines that are trained in the ancient Tendone method, a way that allows the plant to form a pergola as the leaf canopy develops and provides protection from the intense sun, undergo a short 24h maceration giving the wine a light shade of orange with a fermentation that is then being finished in stainless steel to retain the freshness of the fruit.

At only 9.5% ABV the result is a striking combination of fruitiness, salinity and savoriness. Notes of yellow apples, tart apricots, preserved lemon and chamomile with a hint of spice come through as it develops with air. 

For me, it’s Italian spring captured in a bottle and as we’re entering the second month of the gray winter season in New York - that is desperately needed. So when you pair it, think exactly of what you’d have sitting sea-side in Pescara - fresh seafood, a white bean salad, tomato pasta, and of course, lightly cured meats and salty aged cheeses.

Nico Haunold