Pecorino might be better known as an Italian cheese, but it is also the name of one of central Italy’s most interesting white wine grapes.
Making dry white wines with plenty of freshness it typically combines citrus and orchard fruit with floral, herbal and sometimes salty or savoury flavours. However while it has the acidity you might expect from a crisp Italian white, Pecorino can also have surprising weight and concentration.
It has an interesting history too, as it was close to disappearance, but luckily for is was revived during the late 20th century.
So, below you’ll find everything you need to know about this small but mighty Italian grape, from what Pecorino wine tastes like and where it comes from to what to eat with it and whether it’s one you’ll want to add to your wine rack.
[Looking for a Pecorino to buy? We’ve picked six worth your money.]
Pecorino wine at a glance
- Colour: White
- Main regions: Abruzzo and Marche, central Italy
- Style: Usually dry, still white wine
- Body: Medium
- Acidity: High
- Alcohol: Usually around 12.5 to 14%
- Typical flavours: Lemon, apple, pear, white peach, flowers, herbs, almond and sometimes salty or stony notes
- Best with: Seafood, fish, pasta, vegetables and chicken
- Try it if you like: Verdicchio, Vermentino or Albariño
- Maybe skip it if you prefer: Rich, buttery, heavily oaked whites or noticeably sweet wine
How do you pronounce Pecorino?
Pecorino is pronounced peh-koh-REE-noh.
It is pronounced the same way as Pecorino cheese, and both names are connected in some way to pecora, the Italian word for sheep.
Exactly how the grape acquired the name is a little less certain, but we’ll get to the sheep shortly.
What is Pecorino wine?
Pecorino is a white Italian grape variety grown predominantly in the central regions of Abruzzo and Marche.
It is usually made into dry, still white wine and has a useful ability to combine ripeness with freshness.
Pecorino ripens relatively early and can build up plenty of sugar, which during fermentation is converted by yeast into alcohol. This means Pecorino can reach relatively high alcohol levels for a white wine, giving it more weight and body in the mouth.
At the same time, the grape naturally retains plenty of acidity. Acidity is what gives a wine that fresh, mouth-watering quality, so it acts as a counterbalance to the ripeness and alcohol.
In your glass, that means Pecorino can taste bright and refreshing thanks to its acidity, without necessarily feeling light or delicate. The ripeness brings fuller fruit flavours, while the resulting alcohol adds weight and body. It’s this combination that allows Pecorino to feel both fresh and surprisingly substantial at the same time.
At the simpler (and more affordable) end, Pecorino can make easy, citrusy wines designed to be enjoyed young. But give it a good site, lower yields and a little more attention in the winery, and it is capable of much more concentrated, textured and complex wines.
That range is worth remembering. Trying one £8 bottle of Pecorino doesn’t necessarily tell you everything the grape can do.
What does Pecorino wine taste like?
So, what should you actually expect when you pour a glass?
Citrus and orchard fruits tend to lead the way, particularly lemon, apple and pear, with riper examples moving towards white peach. Pecorino can also be quite floral and herbal, with notes of white or yellow flowers and herbs such as sage.
Then there is its more savoury side. Almond is a fairly classic characteristic, while some wines can have a distinctly salty or stony quality.
In a nutshell, look out for:
- Fruit: Lemon, apple, pear and white peach
- Floral: White and yellow flowers
- Herbal: Fresh herbs, including sage
- Savoury: Almond, salty and stony notes
Of course, you won’t find all of these in every bottle. Where the grapes are grown, how ripe they are when picked and what happens in the winery will all influence which flavours come to the fore.
What Wines Does Pecorino Taste Similar To?
One of the easiest ways to understand Pecorino is to compare it with white wines you may already know.
If you enjoy Verdicchio, there’s a good chance you’ll like Pecorino too. Both come from central Italy and combine plenty of acidity with citrus, orchard fruit and more savoury notes. Verdicchio is often a little leaner, with its characteristic almond note, while Pecorino can be riper, fuller and higher in alcohol.
Fans of Vermentino may also find plenty to like in Pecorino. Both can offer citrus, herbs and a slightly salty character, making them particularly good with seafood. Pecorino, however, generally has a little more weight and concentration, while Vermentino can feel lighter and more delicate.
Albariño drinkers should feel at home here too. Both grapes can produce fresh, high-acid wines with citrus and stone-fruit flavours and a salty or mineral edge. Albariño tends to be more overtly aromatic, while Pecorino can feel broader and more substantial in the mouth.
If Sauvignon Blanc is your usual white, Pecorino is also worth exploring. Both can offer high acidity, citrus and herbal flavours, but Pecorino generally lacks Sauvignon Blanc’s distinctive grassy, gooseberry and tropical-fruit character. Instead, expect something a little rounder, with more orchard fruit and savoury flavours.
Finally, if Pinot Grigio is your go-to Italian white, Pecorino makes a good next step. Both can be dry, refreshing and easy to pair with food, but Pecorino generally offers more body, flavour and texture. Think of it as somewhere to go when you still want freshness, but want a little more going on in the glass.
| If you enjoy… | You’ll probably like Pecorino because… |
|---|---|
| Verdicchio | Both combine high acidity, citrus and savoury flavours, but Pecorino is often fuller and riper. |
| Vermentino | Similar citrus, herbal and salty notes, with a little more weight. |
| Albariño | Both are fresh and high in acidity, with citrus, stone fruit and a salty edge. |
| Sauvignon Blanc | Similar freshness, citrus and herbs, but without Sauvignon’s distinctive grassy character. |
| Pinot Grigio | Both are dry, refreshing Italian whites, but Pecorino generally has more body and flavour. |
Where is Pecorino wine from?
Pecorino is a native Italian grape with a long history in central Italy, particularly around the central Apennines and Adriatic side of the country. Its exact origins aren’t known, but today it is most strongly associated with Marche and Abruzzo.
It is an old variety, but one that came remarkably close to disappearing as it produces relatively small berries and naturally low yields, which wasn’t particularly attractive to growers when more productive grapes could give them considerably more fruit from the same amount of land.
Over the course of the 20th century, plantings declined until only small pockets remained and by the late 1970s, Pecorino had become something of a ghost grape. It still existed on paper, including as a permitted variety in Falerio, but in the vineyards themselves it had become extremely difficult to find.
Its fortunes began to change in the early 1980s, largely thanks to Marche producer Guido Cocci Grifoni. Encouraged by sommelier Teodoro Bugari, he went looking for the almost forgotten variety and eventually found old Pecorino vines surviving around Arquata del Tronto, high in the Sibillini Mountains.
Rather than simply preserving the grape as a curiosity, Cocci Grifoni wanted to find out what it could actually do. Cuttings were taken back to his estate and vines were trialled in different positions and exposures. This was particularly significant because Pecorino’s combination of high acidity and potential alcohol meant it had largely been valued as a useful addition to white blends. Cocci Grifoni instead believed it could stand on its own.
After several years of experimentation, the first commercial wine made entirely from Pecorino was released in 1990, with just 1,800 bottles produced.
It worked. Other growers became interested, plantings began to spread again through Marche and neighbouring Abruzzo, and a grape that had come remarkably close to slipping out of commercial cultivation found a new audience.
Pecorino in Marche
Marche sits on the eastern side of central Italy, squeezed between the Apennine Mountains and the Adriatic Sea. It’s a region of rolling hills, medieval hill towns and vineyards, with the landscape gradually falling away towards the coast.
It doesn’t have quite the international fame of Tuscany on the other side of the mountains, but when it comes to Italian white wine, there’s plenty going on here. Verdicchio is the region’s best-known white grape, while Pecorino is particularly important in the south and is central to the grape’s modern comeback story.
The key name to know is Offida Pecorino DOCG, produced around Ascoli Piceno in southern Marche. These can be some of Pecorino’s more substantial expressions, combining its trademark acidity with greater concentration and texture.
You’ll also find Pecorino used elsewhere in the region, including in Falerio.
If you’ve tried a straightforward bottle of Pecorino and want to see what happens when the grape gets a little more serious, Offida is a useful name to remember.
Pecorino in Abruzzo
Cross into neighbouring Abruzzo and you’ll find Pecorino’s other major home.
Abruzzo is one of Italy’s most mountainous regions, stretching from the high peaks of the Apennines, including the Gran Sasso, down to the Adriatic coast. Between the two are hills, valleys, olive groves and vineyards, sometimes with mountains on one horizon and the sea on the other.
That varied landscape gives growers plenty to work with. Vineyards can sit at very different altitudes and distances from the coast, which is one reason there isn’t a single Abruzzo Pecorino style.
Some are deliberately fresh and fruit-driven, made to be drunk young. Others have much more weight and texture, with lower yields, longer time on the lees or other winemaking choices used to build greater complexity.
Abruzzo is also likely to be where many UK drinkers first encounter the grape. Pecorino has become increasingly easy to find at the affordable end of the market, which is rather ironic considering its relatively low productivity was once one of the reasons growers moved away from it.
So while Marche is central to Pecorino’s revival story, Abruzzo has played a huge part in turning it from a rescued local grape into a wine that drinkers far beyond central Italy actually recognise.
Pecorino elsewhere in the world
Pecorino is also grown in smaller quantities elsewhere in central Italy, including parts of Lazio and Umbria, and there are a handful of producers experimenting with the grape further afield.
But Pecorino remains very much an Italian grape, and plantings outside the country are still tiny by comparison.
So if you’re trying to remember its geography, keep it simple: Marche and Abruzzo are the two names that matter most.
What food goes with Pecorino wine?
Pecorino is an excellent food wine because its acidity can handle rich or oily foods, while its body means it doesn’t disappear as soon as something substantial lands on the plate.
Some of the best Pecorino wine pairings include:
- Seafood and shellfish
- Grilled or baked fish
- Fritto misto
- Seafood pasta
- Pesto and other herb-led pasta dishes
- Risotto
- Grilled vegetables
- Chicken with lemon or herbs
- Fresh and moderately aged cheeses
Its combination of acidity, citrus and savoury flavours makes seafood a particularly easy place to start.
The important thing is to take the style of your particular Pecorino into account.
A light, youthful bottle makes sense with prawns, shellfish or simply grilled fish. A fuller, more structured Pecorino can handle richer fish, roast chicken and more substantial pasta dishes.
What doesn’t pair well with Pecorino wine?
Pecorino is versatile, but not completely indestructible.
Very sweet dishes can make a dry Pecorino seem sharp or austere by comparison, while large red-meat dishes with heavy sauces are likely to overpower lighter versions.
Intensely flavoured mature cheeses can do much the same.
The more useful rule is to match the weight of the food to the weight of the wine.
Does Pecorino wine go with Pecorino cheese?
We know you were going to ask.
Yes, Pecorino wine can work very well with Pecorino cheese, although sharing a name isn’t what makes the pairing successful.
Younger, softer Pecorino cheeses are the easiest match. The wine’s acidity helps cut through the richness, while its fruit and savoury flavours sit comfortably alongside the cheese.
But the more mature the cheese gets, the less convinced we are by the pairing. A hard, intensely salty Pecorino Romano can easily overwhelm the wine, making even a fairly substantial Pecorino taste thinner and sharper alongside it.
So, Pecorino with Pecorino? Sometimes. Stick to younger, milder cheeses, but for the really mature stuff we’d reach for something else.
Why is it called Pecorino?
While we’re talking about the cheese, we might as well explain why they share a name.
Pecorino cheese takes its name from pecora, the Italian word for sheep, because it is made from sheep’s milk.
The grape’s name is also believed to have some connection with sheep, although exactly what that connection is isn’t certain.
The most repeated story is that sheep travelling along mountain routes during transhumance, the seasonal movement of livestock between grazing areas, would help themselves to ripe Pecorino grapes as they passed.
Other explanations connect the name more generally to the shepherds and flocks traditionally found in the areas where the grape grew.
It’s a lovely story, but one better treated as wine folklore than established fact.
Characteristics of Pecorino
| Category | Rating |
|---|---|
| Dryness | ★★★★★ |
| Body | ★★★☆☆ |
| Acidity | ★★★★☆ |
| Alcohol | ★★★★☆ |
| Fruitiness | ★★★★☆ |
| Food friendliness | ★★★★★ |
| Value for money | ★★★★☆ |
| Ageing potential | ★★★☆☆ |
Still have questions about Pecorino?
Here are a few more things worth knowing before you open a bottle.
Does Pecorino wine need to be chilled?
Yes. Pecorino is best served chilled, although not ice cold.
Around 8 to 10°C works well for lighter, younger wines, while fuller Pecorinos can be served closer to 10 to 12°C so that their aromas and texture aren’t suppressed.
How long does Pecorino wine last once opened?
A bottle of Pecorino should generally keep for around two to three days in the fridge once opened, provided you reseal it properly.
Fresh, inexpensive styles are likely to be at their best sooner, while fuller and more concentrated wines may hold up a little longer.
Can Pecorino wine age?
Yes, although it depends very much on the bottle.
Most should be drunk young within a year of purchase, but the more serious examples can be a different story.
The grape’s naturally high acidity gives it one of the important building blocks for ageing. Combine that with sufficient concentration and Pecorino can develop considerable complexity in bottle.
As it ages, some of the fresh fruit and floral character can give way to nuttier, honeyed and more savoury flavours.
Ready to try it? We’ve tasted our way through the bottles available in the UK to find the best Pecorino wines to buy, from affordable everyday options to bottles that show just how serious this once nearly forgotten grape can be.
Love discovering a new grape? Explore the rest of our Grapes 101 guides.