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THE FOODS
The people of this mountainous Adriatic region are known as hearty eaters. The maximum expression of gourmandise was la panarda, a meal of 30 to 40 courses eaten through a day, an extravaganza no longer in vogue. Today's menus are robust and often pungent but rarely complex. Abruzzi is renowned for its chefs, though many made their reputations abroad.
The Adriatic provides shellfish, anchovies, mullet, octopus, cuttlefish and the varied makings of brodetto (a peppery soup for which each port has its own version). Streams and lakes provide trout, eels and crayfish. Yet what seems to be a healthy majority of Abruzzesi looks to the land for nourishment.
The basic elements are olive oil, tomatoes and the chili pepper called diavolicchio (among other local terms), which is used as generously here as anywhere in the south. The uplands around the highest peaks of the Apennines produce outstanding artichokes, cardoons, beans, lentils and potatoes and the nation's main supply of saffron. Some of Italy's finest olive oil is protected by the DOP of Aprutino Pescarese and Colline Teatine.
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THE WINES
In a nation of myriad appellations, Abruzzi offers wine drinkers refreshing simplicity. The long-standing regionwide DOCs for Montepulciano and Trebbiano d'Abruzzo have been complemented by an appellation for Controguerra, which takes in 12 types of wine.
Abruzzi, which is two-thirds mountains and one-third hills, boasts highly favorable natural conditions for grapevines. Growers favor the predominant Montepulciano and Trebbiano, while growing some highly productive vines (the region has Italy's highest average yields) for bulk wines and table grapes, and experimenting in an increasingly convincing way with outside varieties.
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