In most Italian kitchens pecorino is a sheep's milk cheese. On a wine label it means something else entirely: a white grape from Abruzzo and the Marche, on Italy's Adriatic side. Here is what Pecorino wine is, how the grape nearly disappeared, where it is made, what it tastes like and what to eat with it, plus the three bottles we bring to Ontario.
What is Pecorino wine?
Pecorino is a white grape variety, and the wine takes its name. Italy's national register of grape varieties lists it as Pecorino B. (B for bianco, white), admitted on 25 May 1970, with Vissanello as its official synonym. The production rules for Falerio describe Pecorino and Passerina as vines of very old tradition with clear roots in the Marche.
All three of our Pecorinos are dry whites. Apart from the word, the wine has nothing to do with the cheese.
Why is it called Pecorino?
Pecora is Italian for sheep. As The Globe and Mail put it, the root “means sheep, and it's commonly believed the sugar-rich variety was so dubbed because of its sweet appeal to woolly creatures.” The Cocci Grifoni winery tells the same story: the name probably comes from sheep grazing along the old drove roads and eating the sweet grapes. Nobody can prove it, but it is the explanation you will hear in Abruzzo and the Marche.
How was Pecorino saved from extinction?
The grape came close to vanishing. Figures from ISTAT, Italy's statistics office, shown on the national register, put Pecorino at 234 hectares in Italy in 1982 and just 87 hectares in 2000. By 2010 it had grown to 1,114 hectares.
The revival is usually credited to Guido Cocci Grifoni in the Marche. In the winery's own account, he learned of the old variety in 1982 and found original vines in a half-abandoned vineyard at Arquata del Tronto. After years of trials, his first Pecorino reached the market in 1990: just 1,800 bottles. Gambero Rosso credits his work with “effectively saving it from extinction”.
Where is Pecorino made?
Pecorino is bottled under several appellations in the Marche and Abruzzo. In each of the three main ones, a wine labelled Pecorino must contain at least 85% of the grape:
You will also see Pecorino under regional IGT labels, such as the Colline Teatine IGT on our fa'bene.
What does Pecorino taste like?
Expect a dry white with plenty of freshness. The Offida rules describe its Pecorino as straw yellow with greenish glints and a good level of acidity, and The Globe and Mail praised “its abundant, balancing acidity”. Cocci Grifoni recalls that, thanks to its high alcohol and acidity, many once saw Pecorino as a way to improve Falerio.
Our sommelier's notes for fa'bene describe an intense aroma with floral hints and ripe yellow fruit, then a fresh palate with good body and minerality. Fermented and aged in barrique, Nenna turns creamier, with ripe white fruit, citrus and spice.
Does Pecorino age well?
Better than most people expect from a white. After a tasting of older vintages, Gambero Rosso wrote that the difference between young Pecorino and wines with at least five years of age is enormous, and concluded that “the aging potential is superior to many red wines”. Our own cellaring guidance runs from 2 years for fa'bene to 9 years for Nenna.
What food goes with Pecorino wine?
Its acidity makes it an easy match for the table:
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Fresh, young bottles: fresh cheese, fish courses, seafood and pasta with a white sauce.
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Barrique-aged bottles: soft fresh cheese, Gorgonzola and salted anchovies, as our notes for Nenna suggest.
What temperature should Pecorino be served at?
Serve it at 10 to 12°C, cool but not ice cold, as our Topazyo and Nenna pages recommend.
Our Pecorino at Solo Cru
| Wine |
Appellation |
How it is made |
Alcohol |
Price |
|
fa'bene Pecorino 2025, Fattoria Teatina |
Colline Teatine IGT, Abruzzo |
Stainless steel, 2 months in tank and 3 in bottle |
13.0% |
$22.90 |
|
Topazyo Pecorino 2022, Gobbi & Mannochi |
Falerio, Marche |
Skin contact before fermentation, 2 months on fine lees |
13.5% |
$27.00 |
|
Nenna Pecorino Barrique 2018, Fattoria Teatina |
Abruzzo DOC |
Fermented and aged 12 months in 225-litre barriques, unfiltered |
13.5% |
$44.50 |
Prices are in Canadian dollars as listed in October 2026. Start with fa'bene for an everyday bottle, try Topazyo to taste the Marche side, and open Nenna to see how Pecorino changes with oak and time. For another fresh Italian white, read our Falanghina guide.
