Marche

Question 1

Climate / Growing Environment

Answer 1

Low hills rising from the coast and some higher zones.

Mediterranean with hot summers and little rainfall during summer. Inland more continental with dry autumns.

Soils are limestone and clay with a balance of being free draining and water holding to get the vines through the dry summer.

Question 2

Grapes

Answer 2

Sangiovese: 21%
Montepulciano:  19%
Verdicchio: 14%
Biancame: 6%
Trebbiano Toscano: 5%
Passerina: 4%

Question 3

Verdicchio

Answer 3

First four buds are sterile so vines need space and low densities. Late ripening and retains acidity . Needs a long time to ripen fully for high quality. but this exposes risk to late rain. Susceptible to powdery and downy mildew and botrytis bunch rot.

Pale lemon; med minus intensity of white flower, apple, lemon, fennel, almond with a slight bitter finish. High acid, med body. Range of quality.

Most entry level no malo to preserve high acid. Aged 4 - 6 mo in stainless and bottled for early release and consumption. Some put Riserva through MLF for creamier acidity. A longer season can produce high concentration and acidity. Riserva often aged on lees in old oak for texture not flavor. These can be aged for a decade or more developing dried fruit and mushroom.

Question 4

Verdicchio Denominacions

Answer 4

Castelli di Jesi Verdicchio DOC: In the low hills west of Ancona in a valley with clay and limestone producing floral fruity wines. 10x the size of the other. 98hl/ha max. Classico for the historic heart. Classico Superiore 77hl/ha. Riserva is a DOCG and requires min 18 mo aging (may or may not in oak)

Verdicchio di Matelica DOC: HIgher zone in foothills of Apennines protected from sea influence by mountains, hence continental climate (hot days cold nights). Longer ripening season and higher acidity. Sandstone with fossils and less clay than Jesi. 91hl/ha. Fuller bodied, higher acidity and less overtly fruity. Riserva requires 12.5% abv and 18 mo of aging (may or may not oak).

Question 5

Pecorino

Answer 5

White grape planted mostly in the south of the Marche and Abruzzo.

High disease resistance. Best trained long as it have sterile buds near the trunk. Clonal selection is focused on enhancing the low productivity.

Ripens early avoiding autumn rain. Tend to have high alcohol due to low productivity which can be balanced by high acidity.

Herbal notes (sage, thyme, mint), apple, pear, med body.

Can be sold as Marche IGT or if grown within limits and standards: Offida Pecorino DOCG. Some of these wines are released early to retain primary fruit while a minority are aged 12 - 18 mo in old oak texture. Growing in popularity.

Question 6

Passerina

Answer 6

White variety grown in Marche and Abruzzo.

Good disease resistance and high production. Ripens later than Pecorino so more vulnerable to autumn rain.

Naturally high acidity but loses this quickly once fully mature.

Ripe lemon, yellow apple.

Sold as Marche IGT or if grown within limits and standards: Offida Passerina DOCG.

Question 7

Biancame

Answer 7

Local white for local consumption

Question 8

Montepulciano

Answer 8

Often blended with Sangiovese with highest quality being 70% - 85% Montepulciano.

Resistant to botrytis bunch rot and downy mildew. Needs a long season to ripen (to avoid bitterness) but ripens unevenly within bunches. The leads to low quality or the need to select carefully.

Deep ruby. prone to reductive sulfur compounds during winemaking and requires frequent aeration to avoid off odors. Short (4 - 5 days) maceration for simple lighter wines and 20 for higher quality. But care taken to not extract too much tannin. Two styles:

Ripe med intensity cherry, with no oak, med body, med tannin (short maceration)
Pronounced with med plus red cherry and black plum, with oak and med plus tannin (long maceration) followed by aging in large oak.

Question 9

Marche DOCs

Answer 9

Rosso Piceno DOC: Montepulciano (35% - 85%) and Sangiovese blends. Covers a large area of the middle of Marche.

Rosso Piceno Superiore DOC: Higher quality designation that can only be grown in 13 townships in the Ascoli Piceno province in the south. Requires higher alcohol and min 1 year of aging.

Offida Rosso DOCG: 85% - 100% Montepulciano and aged 24 mo (12 of which in oak).

Rosso Conero DOC and Conero Riserva DOCG: dedicated to Montepulciano (min 85%). Riserve can only use Sangiovese for blending and 2 years of aging incl 1 in oak.

Question 10

Wine Business

Answer 10

Most sold in Italy with 1/3 export: US, CA, China, JP.

Verdicchio was cool but Pinot Grigio overtook it and now trying to establish a quality rep.

IMT: Instituto Marchigano di Tutela Vin is a consortium representing 75% of growers and 80% of production and promoting region.

Private: Umani Ronchi (70% exported) and Fazi Battaglia. Coops: Moncaro (exports 55%)