Since 2011, a pioneering project in Abruzzo with amphora as one of the tools used to interpret the terroir
Atri, September 2026 – Fifteen years of research, experimentation and a continuous dialogue with the raw material. Since its first bottling in 2011, Cirelli (link) has incorporated amphora as part of its winemaking, beginning a line of research that over the years has become one of the winery’s most recognizable expressions.
“It was a pioneering choice for Abruzzo, born not from the desire to follow a trend, but from the search for a vessel that could accompany the grapes through vinification while allowing the character of the territory to emerge as clearly as possible” explains founder Francesco Cirelli.
A research journey that began in 2011
When Cirelli bottled its first amphora wines, the approach was still relatively uncommon in Italian wine and particularly in Abruzzo. Amphora became a research tool, used to explore the relationship between grape variety, soil, vintage and vinification.
Atri, in the heart of the Colline Teramane, is where this research took shape. The landscape of the calanchi and the clay soils contribute to a very distinct sense of place, which Cirelli has chosen to interpret through a contemporary approach.
It is within this relationship between territory and winemaking method that amphora finds its meaning. It allows fermentation and ageing to take place without adding the same aromatic influence associated with other materials, keeping the focus on the character of the grapes and their evolution.
The result is a wine in which amphora becomes a tool in the service of terroir. For Cirelli, this distinction is important: over fifteen years, what began as an experimental choice has become a true winemaking language.
One piece of the mosaic
Over the past fifteen years, the experimentation has consolidated and expanded, transforming amphora from a research tool into a structural component of the winery. Today, the estate has 25 amphorae and continues to use them for different interpretations of its wines, maintaining an artisanal approach and a constant focus on expressing the individual character of each grape variety.
“For Cirelli, amphora is not an end in itself, nor an isolated element of identity, but rather one piece of a much broader mosaic, founded on agriculture, biodiversity, soil and territory,” says Luigi Ulisse, CEO of the wine group of which Cirelli has been part since May 2025. “Its use stems from the desire to accompany the wine without overriding the character of the grapes, and it will continue to be a tool for research and interpretation: a contemporary language throug
The research developed since 2011 now finds expression in the Linea Anfora, (link), the project that best represents Cirelli’s long-standing experience with winemaking in this ancient vessel. The range includes Trebbiano d’Abruzzo DOC, Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo DOC (link), Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC (link) nd Abruzzo Pecorino DOC (link), alongside Trebbiano d’Abruzzo DOC Amphora 2022, (link), the expression of the group dedicated to extended ageing.
This Linea rbrings together fifteen years of experimentation with Cirelli’s exploration of Abruzzo’s viticultural heritage through a single winemaking language.
About Cirelli Wines (link)
Founded in 2003 in Atri, in the heart of Abruzzo, Cirelli is an agricultural estate that sees wine as the expression of a balanced ecosystem, where biodiversity, craftsmanship and a strong sense of place are the foundations of every choice.
The estate’s 22 hectares are home to vineyards, olive groves, fig trees, arable crops and livestock, creating a diverse agricultural landscape that reflects the balance of the Abruzzo countryside of the past. This approach led the estate to embrace organic farming from the outset, followed subsequently by biodynamic agriculture, as a natural development of its ongoing work to protect soil health and respect natural cycles.
The same philosophy is reflected in the cellar, where every production choice is guided by the desire to express the character of the terroir as authentically as possible. An emblematic expression of this research is amphora winemaking, introduced with the estate’s first bottling in 2011 and among the earliest examples in Abruzzo.
Today, Cirelli is internationally recognized as one of the most distinctive expressions of Italian artisanal winemaking, with a reputation built on the consistency of its agricultural vision and its ability to combine tradition, experimentation and a profound respect for terroir.
