“Le montagne intorno fino all'eccelsa Maiella ordinavansi in file; e le loro cime, toccantisi in apparenza e per dubbie liste distinte appena, la immensità de' bacini accennavano del Biferno del Trigno e del Sangro, ne' quali tante altre minori valli convengono. Numerose borgate, quale in iscorcio e quale in prospetto, ad animar questa scena, coronavano Campobasso, se non che tolti dalla neve gli oscuri così de' boschi come de' tetti”
The sequence of mountains surrounding the great Maiella; their heights seemed to touch. The immensity of the basins of Biferno del Trigno and del Sangro, to which many minor valleys stretch. Numerous hamlets, some in distance some in prospects, to animate this scene, surrounded Campobasso and the snow on the woods like on the rooftops
-Michelangelo Ziccardi, historian and botanist
Molise’s average annual wine production of 35 million litres (17th in volume among the regions) includes about 12% DOC. Red wine accounts for about 75% of Molise’s production. The often-overlooked region of Molise, which was once an appendix of Abruzzi, gained official status in wine in the 1980s with the DOCs of Biferno and Pentro di Isernia. The sunny hillsides between the Appennines and the Adriatic show an aptitude for vines that has permitted Molise to begin to match on a small scale the quality of wines of its neighbours in Abruzzi, Latium, Apulia and Campania. The Dominant DOC of Molise applies to a mix of native Italian and international varieties, creating new possibilities for producers who have been striving to establish an identity with wine beyond the region. The rolling hills and the mild Adriatic climate favour wines of class, though the evidence in bottle is not as widespread as it might be. The IGT category of Osco or Terre degli Osci refers to the Oscan people who inhabited Molise in prehistoric times. The other IGT category is Rotae. IGT: Osco or Terre degli Osci. DOC: Biferno, Molise, Pentro di Isernia.