Orefice translates as goldsmith. It’s also the name given to a house  established by five friends from winemaking families, who see the indigenous grapes of Abruzzo  as gold to be sculpted and guided into artwork in the bottle. Their independent vision has seen  them establish their winegrowing operation in the low hills set back from the Adriatic Sea, at  around 300m altitude – a sweet spot where they find the warm sunny days of the region are  tempered by cool breezes from both the sea and the higher hills behind them.   Giuseppe, Mirko, Emore, Maurizio and Francesco grow Montepulciano, Trebbiano, Pecorino  and Cococciola along with some sympathetic grapes from neighbouring regions. They work to  conserve freshness and acidity in this warm region, allowing the production of high quality, fruit forward wines with excellent structure.

 Cococciola (ko-ko-choh-la) is a  rare indigenous grape of Abruzzo,  with less than 1000 hectares of  the variety planted worldwide. It’s  known for its pronounced acidity  and herbaceous characters (a  little like Sauvignon Blanc) and  so is usually blended in small  ratios with Trebbiano to give it  brightness and lift. Here however  we see the roles reversed, with  just 10% Trebbiano added to 90%  Cococciola, a wine simply made  with stainless steel fermentation.  This is lifted and fragrant with  floral and citrus aromas and  hints of hay and mountain herbs.  On the palate it’s incredibly  bright and fresh – the citrus  and herbaceous notes joining  minerality and savoury almond on  the finish. Cococciola is Abruzzo’s  seafood grape, the perfect  accompaniment to spaghetti  alle vongole, mussels, baccala,  oysters and more, but you can  also partner this with fresh young  cheeses and summer salads.