La Lacrima di Tollo The area around Tollo in Abruzzo was once famous for the production of a very special wine. Called 'lacrima' (meaning 'tear drop'

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2 La Lacrima di Tollo The area around Tollo in Abruzzo was once famous for the production of a very special wine. Called 'lacrima' (meaning 'tear drop' in English) it gets its name from its production method: rather than being pressed, the grapes are simply left to exude their juices naturally, as if crying. This production method obviously produces much lower quantities but of very high quality and the wine was long considered fit only for noble families. The vine from which the grapes are produced did not originate in the region but comes originally from a little further south in Campania. However, it was particularly well-adapted to the geological conditions of the Tollo area where it flourished. Over time it spread north as far as Tuscany and the Marche, where it was for a time very popular, whereas the vine was replaced in Abruzzo by other non-native varieties such as the now ubiquitous Montepulciano variety (a red grape from Tuscany). Some local wine producers and enthusiasts are looking at ways in which this famous variety might be reintroduced in the Tollo area.

3 In a comment on Andrea Bacci s seminal work De naturali vinorum historia, A. Corungiu writes: Another fine wine, made from grapes produced in various parts of Campania, is known as lacrima (tear drop). It gets its name from the way it is produced: the very best grapes are placed in a vat but they are not pressed but left so that the juice oozes naturally, like tears. Sante Lancerio tells us that the wine comes from several villages and hamlets in the mountains of Somma, and the small quantity of wine produced by this method was considered for gentlefolk. In the mid-18 th century, Fra Bernardo Valera, a native of Giuliano Teatino, sings the Fra Bernardo Maria Valera( ) praises of the white wines of Castellammare and Prezza, as well as of the red of Tollo. He describes the location as A small village in southern Abruzzo, not far from the Adriatic, an agreeable place famous for its red wine, known as lacrima by the locals. Michele Torcia, in an essay of 1793, tells us that the lacrima was also to be found in the Conca Peligna and from further information supplied by Sante Lancerio we can surmise that the vine was grown throughout Abruzzo and as far south as the northern part of Campania, not far from Naples. The soil here seems to have been ideal for the cultivation of vines for both red and white varieties and the high quality wine found favour with the Spanish who it seems likely were responsible for their cultivation throughout the Vice-royalty. In

4 an important essay of 1836, G. Durini of Chieti tells us that: in the province of Chieti, the lacrima di Tollo and the wines of Ortona and Vasto are among the best and most sought after. For this reason, writes Durini, it would certainly be useful to extend the area of production of Lacrima, aleatico (a sweet Tuscan grape) and Montepulciano, and for white wines, malvasia and moscato. His recommendation is to extend the production of lacrima and the other varieties mentioned (and which today are grown in different areas in Abruzzo) but by concentrating on quality rather than quantity. Some two centuries later, Durini s observations sound prophetic. It s interesting to note, however, that even in 1836 Baron Durini calls the Tollo wine Lacrima not rosso rubino, and whilst the vine flourished around Tollo it had already disappeared in the Conca Peligna. But the gradual diffusion of Montepulciano in the second half of the 19th century did not favour the spread of lagrima as Durini had hoped, and all trace of this noble Tollo vine gradually disappeared from the records. There are many vines bearing the name lacrima today although there are different origins for their names. For example, lacrima Christi, lacrima nera, lacrima del Vesuvio, and finally lacrima nera di Morro d Alba which comes from an estate near Iesi. A commission was established in 1871 to distinguish the varieties of vine commonly grown in the province of Ancona, amongst which the lacrima was recognised and described in some detail. The vine had previously been described in detail also by Cosimo Trinci, an agronomist from Pistoia in the early 18th century. These two works indicate the northern limits of the vine at the height of its popularity, and hence it is possible to deduce that at this time the vine had spread from its origins in Campania, through Abruzzo and as far as Tuscany and Marche. Indeed in the mid-18th century, Bernardo Valera, writing in Siena, extols the virtues of the Tollo wine as superior even to the local wines of the Chianti valley and fit for consumption by noble families. The return of the lacrima vine to Tollo might be welcomed rather like the return of the prodigal son, so much of Abruzzo s vineyards having been colonised by varieties which are not native to the region. The authors cited above all tell us how well adapted the variety is to the local geological conditions in the Tollo area, and the Tollo winery must extend its famous range to include the production of lacrima. Any assistance that ARSSA and the regional wine producers organisation in Ortona will be significant and may well be the most important wine producing initiative of the last half century in Abruzzo. The return of the lacrima vine to Tollo might be welcomed rather like the return of the prodigal son, so much of Abruzzo s vineyards having been colonised by varieties which are not native to the region. The authors cited above all tell us how well adapted the variety is to the local geological conditions in the Tollo area, and the Tollo winery must extend its famous range to include the production of lacrima. Any assistance that ARSSA and the regional wine producers organisation in Ortona will be significant and may well be the most important wine producing initiative of the last half century in Abruzzo. (adapted from Franco Cercone, La lagrima di Tollo, Ediz. Qualevita, 2004).

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