Giulianova: its wines

 There are several historical documents and archaeological finds that prove the cultivation of grapevine in Abruzzo since very ancient time. But we cannot say that the beginning of winemaking in Giulianova was just the best. Giuliantonio, with his despotic government, imposed several taxes on food and made strict rules, one of those was just about grapevine. A document wrote in 1508 says:  "  Grapevine cultivation was discouraged , because of the property of the lands. Grapevines and grapes could be taken away by the Ducal  Bailiff  without remuneration for those which planted them and took care of the production. " . So at the time of the foundation in Giulianova there weren't  too much grapes to press or wine to drink, even if, in a first moment, to develope immigration in Giulia Nuova, Giuliantonio promised  houses and arable lands to be sown or to be planted with vines to all those people which went to stay in.  Surely after the age of Giuliantonio things went better because those privileges were abrogated . We don't know what it happened in the following years but at the beginning of 19th century the economist Fulgenzio Lattanzi (not a relative)  describing the backwardness of the agriculture of his province had good words for the agriculture of Giulia where, he said, "  Several our  Proprietors, big and middle, like Acquaviva and Trifoni, since the beginning of the century, had planted grapevines and  olives, but with modern methods... ".  And about wines he told us that in all Teramo province wines were made gathering very different grapes " white, red, of precocious and tardy vintage"  pressed all together  " in the most foolish way... all in fermentation, so, at the end, we don't know what we have: Montepulciano or lagrima Christi, Malaga or Cipro or Xeres, or those generous wines there were at the good time of Asinio Pollione! " . Otherwise in Giulia, with grapevines of  montonico, sangiovese and malvasia, were made very good wines.

Nowadays in Giulianova, even if there are no more grapes of montonico (only few hectars near the town of Bisenti are there) and some of those vineyards told by Lattanzi have been extirpated, because of CEE awards, there are a lot of good wines amoung which we can surely find the Lattanzi's wines.