Molise
The often overlooked region of Molise, which was once an appendix of Abruzzi,
gained official status in wine in the 1980s with the DOCs of Biferno and
Pentro di Isernia. The undeniable aptitude for vines on the sunny hillsides
between the Apennines and the Adriatic indicates that with a little more
effort Molise’s wine producers could match on a small scale the
quality of their neighbors in Abruzzi, Apulia
or Campania.
The recent DOC of Molise takes in a number of Italian and native varieties,
creating new possibilities for producers who are striving to establish
an identity with wine beyond the region. The rolling hills and the mild
Adriatic climate of Molise favor wines of class, though the evidence in
bottle has been scarce so far.
The IGT category of Osco or Terre degli Osci refers to the Oscan people
who inhabited Molise in prehistoric times. The other IGT category is Rotae.
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| Campobasso is the administrative center of Molise,
whose other province is Isernia. The region ranks 19th in both size
(4,438 square kilometers) and population (329,000). Vineyards cover 9,000 hectares, of which registered DOC plots total 350 hectares. Average annual wine production of 330,000 hectoliters (18th) includes 4.5% DOC, some 75% of which is red. |