September 22, 2026

Cerasuolo wines…and why we should drink more of them…

Cerasuolo – a wine style of two parts….

The name really does say it all. Cerasuolo is translated into ‘cherry red’. It comes from the latin word ‘cerasia’.

Of course, these are cherry hued wines from Italy – from light red coloured to deeper more purple hued. Theses wines come from two specific and protected Italian wine regions. The Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo wines comes from the Central Italian region of Abruzzo. Whereas, Cerasuolo di Vittoria is a wine that is specifically from Sicily.

Both are delicious. Both maybe a lighter option to their counterpart wines. Here are the differences:

Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo

This is a wine that primarily features the Montepulciano grape, it must be at least 85% of that grape variety. It was created as an officially designated wine in 2010. However, recently, this wine has become very popular and some have said it is one of the Italian regions with the fastest sales growth. And for good reason.

There is also a ‘Superiore’ designation that requires 90% of the blend to be Montepulciano. The name Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo DOC is a new name for an existing wine. Many Italian winelovers may know the wine as Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Cerasuolo.

The winemaking techniques that produce this bright cherry colour are those that produce rosé wines. That is where the wine maker limits the time the must, or fermenting grape juice, spends with the dark colour grape skins. The techniques used are traditional ones. According to a representative of the Consorzio di Tutela Vini d’Abruzzo “Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo is the most traditional wine of our region, so we have to protect this appellation.”

Made in the rosato style, is it a pink wine …

They are considered deeply coloured ‘rosato’ (rosé wines), or at its deepest, some could call them light reds. There has been discussion though about what colour hues should be able to be labelled as Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo DOC. Potentially, there might be new labelling terms coming as this style grows in popularity. Watch this space!

With either hue, Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo (and Superiore) should be drunk lightly chilled. It is your choice as to whether you want to drink it with food or not. From personal experience, it is a great aperitif.

Don’t forget to read ‘The Italian Red Revival… Part 2 It’s Going South’ for more information.

Cerasuolo di Vittoria

Cerasuolo di Vittoria is Sicily’s only DOCG status appellation. It is a red wine from the Island’s south-east. The two most important red wine grapes there are Nero d’Avola and Frappato. Nero d’Avola is without a doubt the grape many wine lovers will associate with Sicily. Watch out, though, for Frappato as it is very popular for summer drinking as a lightly chillable red wine.

To find out more about Nero d’Avola, please read ‘Nero d’Avola – Why you should be drinking Nero d’Avola’.

It is unsurprising then that those grape varieties feature in this wine. Other grapes grow in the region, however, they sell under the label of Vittoria DOC. Of course, Vittoria DOC also includes wines made from Nero d’Avola and Frappato that do not meet the strict regulations for Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG.

A grape partnership

The proportions of the grapes that define Cerasuolo di Vittoria make Nero d’Avola the focus grape. Frappato then, becomes more of a highlight. Nero d’Avola must represent between 50 – 70% of the blend. Partner grape, Frappato, then makes up the rest of the blend.

This makes sense when you consider that Nero d’Avola produces a bold red wine. It is redolent in cherry and plum fruit character, sometimes with a sprinkle of herbs. Sometimes you might find a note of liquorice too. And it is lush. The grape is a concentrated base for its lighter body blending partner.

Frappato really is the highlight grape in the blend with lighter tannins and a floral lift to the cherry character fruit. It also adds refreshing acidity to give the wine shapeliness. This lighter style comes from the grape having thinner skins than Nero d’Avola. By itself, it is also a fresh lighter style of red wine that deserves some limelight of its own.

The synergy

Together these wines produce a lighter style of red that does glow with cherry hues. However, it is not a rosé wine even if it may be lighter in colour than a typical Nero d’Avola.

There are also ageing requirements for the wines, as you might expect with this quality level. Some of those wines are carefully aged in oak of differing sizes depending on the desired style.

It pays to also remember that Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG wines make interesting cellar candidates.

What is the difference?

There is a difference between the two, in addition to the completely different regions of Italy. Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo is a lighter style of wine and tending toward light and chillable red wine or a rosato wine. It has a bright red cherry colour.

Whereas the Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG is a red wine with a bright hue. That Nero d’Avola does give a deeper purple colour. The wine is bigger in weight and cellarable too. The Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG perhaps has more in common with cherry aromas.

Wine recommendations

Tiberio Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo

Tiberio Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo is a great introduction to this style of wine. It is a pale ruby coloured wine with all the cherry, plum and floral fruit that you should expect.

To read a full review, please click here.