Terresacre

Tenuta Terresacre is a modern Molise estate at Contrada Montebello, in Montenero di Bisaccia, on the coastal hills 270 metres above the Adriatic. A farming family with deep roots in the lower Molise countryside founded it in 2006. The estate works thirty-five hectares of Tintilia, Montepulciano, Falanghina, Trebbiano and Chardonnay. Its signature red is the indigenous Tintilia DOC. The family replanted Tintilia in the early 2000s, when the grape had nearly vanished. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate gave its 2009 Tintilia 90 points.

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Vineyards of Tenuta Terresacre on the lower-Molise hills above the Adriatic

About Terresacre

The estate's thirty-five hectares sit at 270 metres above sea level, in the lower-Molise countryside of Montenero di Bisaccia. The hills here are gentle, and the Adriatic breeze cools them. The spot matters. A sea climate takes the edge off the summer heat, and the same wind keeps the canopies dry through harvest. The legal entity is Società agricola il Quadrifoglio, and the cellar stands on the same farmland the family has worked for generations.

The modern estate was founded in 2006 by a farming family that had spent decades on this land before turning to bottled wine. Their decisive move came in the early 2000s, when they replanted Tintilia, the only red grape truly indigenous to Molise. The variety had nearly vanished in the 1960s, abandoned for higher-yielding alternatives on flatter ground. Terresacre put it back on its hills and made the Tintilia del Molise DOC the flagship of the cellar.

Tintilia is the estate's calling card, but the working vineyard is more varied. Alongside the indigenous red, the family grows Montepulciano, bottled as Rispetto, Neravite and the rosato Rosavite. There is Falanghina, in Oravera and in a single-grape Falanghina, plus Trebbiano for Orovite and Chardonnay. Nine wines and the estate Olea extra virgin olive oil come out of the cellar in a typical year. All of them are made from estate fruit and bottled at the cellar.

The Tintilia story is the one Terresacre tells most often. The grape was reportedly brought to Molise by the Bourbons in the second half of the eighteenth century. Winegrowing in the region runs deeper than that, though, back to the Samnites and the Romans. The name probably comes from the Spanish 'tinto', red wine. After the abandonments of the post-war decades, a small cluster of growers decided to put the variety back into production rather than let it slip away. Terresacre was one of them.

Recognition has followed. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate awarded 90 points to the estate's Tintilia 2009. That was an early signal that a near-forgotten Molise red could earn shelf space alongside more famous Italian denominations. The cantina is open all year for visits and tastings by appointment. Visitors walk the Tintilia rows and taste the wines with local Molise products.

Editorial · ItalianWines.co.uk

Plate I · MOLISE

Terresacre on the Molise wine atlas

Anchored in Frentania and Trigno Hills, the editorial heart of Molise.

Contrada Montebello, 86036 Montenero di Bisaccia, Campobasso (Molise)
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Visit & Experiences

3 bookable experiences at Terresacre

2 tastings and 1 tour, checked by our editors.

Cellar visit and estate tasting at Terresacre Tasting & Tour

Cellar visit and estate tasting

Guided visit of the Terresacre cellar at Contrada Montebello, followed by a tasting of estate wines paired with local Molise products.

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on terresacre.com

MeTe tasting for two at Terresacre Tasting

MeTe tasting for two

A couples' flight of estate wines, designed for two guests, run on request at the Tenuta Terresacre cellar.

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on terresacre.com

Tintilia Experience at Terresacre Vineyard Tour

Tintilia Experience

Guided walk through the Tintilia vineyards followed by a focused tasting of the estate's flagship red, Tintilia del Molise DOC.

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on terresacre.com

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Wines from Terresacre

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Wines for this winery are still being curated. Check back as the UK retailer selection expands.

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terresacre.net/
Contrada Montebello, 86036 Montenero di Bisaccia, Campobasso (Molise)
+39 0875960190
[email protected]

Common questions

  • Tenuta Terresacre sits at Contrada Montebello, 86036 Montenero di Bisaccia, in the province of Campobasso. The cellar stands on the lower-Molise hills, 270 metres above the Adriatic. It lies between the Trigno valley and the Biferno valley.
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