Pecorino is a white grape of central Italy's Adriatic side, grown in the southern Marche and in Abruzzo. It makes fresh, aromatic whites with citrus, herbs and a mineral finish, with more body and structure than most whites of the area, and it has become one of the success stories of Italian native grapes. It has nothing to do with the cheese of the same name.
The name comes from pecora (sheep). A popular explanation is that sheep, moving between mountain and lowland pastures, liked to eat the early-ripening grapes. Pecorino was almost extinct by the mid-twentieth century; in the 1980s, Guido Cocci Grifoni, a producer in Offida, replanted cuttings found in an old mountain vineyard, and other growers followed. Today it is widely planted in the Marche and Abruzzo.
Pecorino ripens early and has naturally low yields. It reaches high sugar levels while keeping good acidity, which gives wines with body and freshness.
Several Abruzzo IGTs, such as Colline Pescaresi and Terre di Chieti, are also used.
Young Pecorino is aromatic and crisp. Lees-aged and single-vineyard wines are richer and more complex, and the best age well for several years, gaining honeyed and nutty notes.
For the Marche style, start with an Offida Pecorino; for Abruzzo, an Abruzzo DOC Pecorino. Both are usually good value. Producers worth knowing include Cocci Grifoni, Clara Marcelli and Agricola Fiorano in the Marche, and Torre dei Beati, Ciavolich, Villa Medoro and Tiberio in Abruzzo.
Pecorino shares the central Adriatic with Verdicchio in the Marche and Trebbiano in Abruzzo. Read our best Marche wines, best Abruzzo wines, the Italian white wine guide, or browse the grape varieties index.