Pecorino

Also known as Vissanello.

Pecorino is a white Italian wine grape of the central Adriatic, grown almost entirely in Abruzzo and the Marche. Long nearly abandoned and only revived from the 1980s onward, it has become one of the most sought-after whites of the region. The name is usually linked to sheep (pecora) — either from flocks that grazed on the early-ripening grapes along their transhumance routes, or from the areas where it was traditionally grown. It should not be confused with the cheese of the same name.

It produces structured, characterful whites marked by high acidity and naturally high alcohol, with aromas of apple and pear lifted by a delicate herbal note of sage, thyme, and mint. In the Marche it reaches its highest expression in the Offida DOCG, where 'Offida' Pecorino is one of the appellation's three flagship typologies, and it also gives the varietal 'Falerio Pecorino' of the Colli Ascolani.