Raising a Glass to Abruzzo

A major earthquake hit Italy two weeks ago today. It was centered in the Abruzzo region, home to some of the easiest drinking, most readily enjoyable wines in the country. (Wine Spectator published an excellent piece about it on their web site the day after it occurred; click here to read it.) And while the recovery will take a long time, I’m doing what little I can to help out the people of Abruzzo by purchasing wines from there, cooking up some nice meals, and enjoying them as they were meant to be.

This isn’t out of the ordinary for me: I drink a lot of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo for both its wonderful food-friendliness and its absolutely charming character on its own. But now, there’s an extra incentive, a human incentive. And not only am I making it a point to buy wines from the region, but I am also raising my glass in a toast to the people who made the wine possible, and who are facing such hard times right now. Though the local wine industry seems to have escaped major harm, the people of the region have a long road ahead of them. Buying and opening a few bottles of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo seems like an appropriate way to recognize the tragedy, and to do a little bit to help from this side of the ocean.