Le Marche boasts a series of wines of unquestionable quality and excellent quality-price trade off. The endless selection of whites and reds is mainly due
to the structure of the region and its largely hilly and sometimes mountainous land. These factors are perfect for the production of wine-producing grape. Le Marche also benefits from its vicinity to the Adriatic Sea that impacts the micro-climatic characteristics and so the cultivated grapes. With around 24,000 hectares of vine, the cultivation of the grapes is now one of the most important agricultural activities in the Le Marche region, placing it in the upper echelons of the Italian regions known renowned for wine production. Are you ready to discover the top wines of Le Marche? Let's start!
Sipping from the north to the south
With production of around two million hectolitres of wine, mainly whites, Le Marche is undoubtedly one of the most important wine regions in Italy. It boasts no less than 19 DOC and 5 DOCG wines (Castelli di Jesi Verdicchio Riserva, Conero, Offida, Verdicchio di Matelica Riserva, Vernaccia di Serrapetrona).
Travelling Le Marche region from the north to the south, the first wines poured will be in the Province of Pesaro: the Bianchello del Metauro, Colli Pesaresi (white and red) and Pergola.
Moving down towards the Province of Ancona, you should fill your glass with the famous Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi and the Rosso Conero (both DOCG) or the particular Lacrima di Morro d’Alba.
Further south again, in the Macerata region, you can sample Vernaccia di Serrapetrona, Verdicchio di Matelica, Esino (white and red), Terreni di San Severino, Colli Maceratesi (white and red) and the San Ginesio.
Finally, at Ascoli Piceno, you can find some of the most interesting DOC wines of recent years such as Offida, Rosso Piceno and the Falerio dei Colli Ascolani.
The 5 pillars of drinking in Le Marche
Wine is the supreme drink in Le Marche region, so much so that it attracts numerous tourists from every part of the world just to sit around a table and enjoy a glass accompanied by a perfect panorama. The wine from Le Marche, whether it is white or red, is excellent at any time of day, from a family lunch to an aperitif with friends or a romantic dinner.
The choice is endless in Le Marche, and the wine list is full of perfumes, aromas and flavours.
What are the DOCG wines from Le Marche? The DOCG (Checked and Guaranteed Origin) wines number no less than five: Conero Riserva, Offida (Pecorino, Passerina and Rosso), Verdicchio di Matelica Riserva, Vernaccia di Serrapetrona and Castelli di Jesi Verdicchio Riserva.
The colour of the Conero Riserva
The Conero Riserva DOCG is generally of an intense and deep red, probably because of the vine lots located in the best positions, on the ridge of Mount Conero.
The Conero Riserva is a wine with a great structure to be consumed two years after ageing in large and small casks, even if it is often further improved with additional ageing in the bottle. A glass of this refined wine is perfect with many dishes, including grilled meat and particularly roast game with bay leaf. It is also ideal with cold meats, pecorino cheese and all mature cheeses.
The Offida Trilogy
Rosso, Pecorino and Passerina, these are the three wines included in the Offida DOCG produced in a land that exalts the potential of autochthonous vines to the best.
- Offida Pecorino is a white wine with a good level of acidity and structure. It is straw yellow in colour with greenish reflections. It has a distinctive and pleasant perfume, with floral notes. On the palate it is dry, distinctive, sapid, fresh and has a persistent aftertaste. This precious white wine is exalted with broth, a Le Marche specialty.
- Offida Passerina is straw yellow in colour with golden reflections. It has a pleasant perfume with fruity notes and citrus aromas. On the palate it is dry and yet fresh.
- Offida Rosso is created after an obligatory period of ageing of 24 months, with 12 months in wooden casks and the remainder in the bottle. The wine is dark red in colour tending towards reddish purple with maturation. The perfume is complex, with notes of red berries, liquorice and chocolate. The taste is balanced and soft.
Verdicchio di Matelica Riserva, the wine that comes from the sea
The Verdicchio is produced in the hills of the Macerata region close to Matelica. It is well recognised by its distinctive straw-yellow colour. It has an inebriating perfume and is generally full-bodied with a good structure.
This wine is very versatile, it can be consumed as an aperitif or combined with fish dishes with vegetables. It is an excellent accompaniment to fish soups, braised or baked fish. It is also good with white meats. It is a wine that is born in the hills but is shaped by the influence of the sea, given that the sea arrived that high many years ago. This has bestowed its special sapidity.
The three fermentations of Vernaccia di Serrapetrona
Vernaccia di Serrapetrona is the first DOCG in Le Marche region. It is dry and sweet sparkling wine. It is generally sipped with sweets as it exalts the flavour of dry pastries and biscuits. It is also perfect with spicy and semi-hard cheeses, as well as with more hearty or boiled meats with sauces. Vernaccia di Serrapetrona is the only wine in the world that is created through three fermentations.
The fame of Castelli di Jesi Verdicchio Riserva
Verdicchio di Jesi is by far and wide the most famous in Le Marche region and it is undoubtedly one of the best Italian (and maybe international) white wines. The grapes are directly selected on the vine favouring the lots that the experience of the wine-grower has proven to be perfect for maturation.
With delicately fruity olfactory notes, typical of the Verdicchio, the perfume then develops vegetable and mineral notes in continual evolution. Even more than ten years after harvest it maintains a tenuous colour with greenish tones such as those of the great wines. Verdicchio is wonderful with all the dishes of Le Marche cuisine and many fish recipes. It is also ideal with white meat, mushrooms and cheeses.
Verdicchio di Jesi is considered one of the best whites in the world, and in Italy it is the white that has been most awarded by the various trade guides.
So is it white or red?
There is no doubt that Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC and Riserva DOCG are the most well known of Le Marche wines. Produced in the centre of the region including the town of the same name, Verdicchio is often bottled in the classic amphora bottle.
The Verdicchio vine is also used for Verdicchio di Matelica, produced in a more inner part of the region. Verdicchio di Matelica is also available in the passito and sparkling DOCG varieties. The Apennine area of Serrapetrona is noted for the sparkling Vernaccia di Serrapetrona DOCG.
As stated above, there are also other quality wines from Le Marche region that boast the DOC label. These include Colli Pesaresi DOC (from a variety of white grapes including Verdicchio and Biancame or Sangiovese red), Conero DOCG, Rosso Conero DOC and Rosso Piceno DOC (from Montepulciano and Sangiovese grapes).
Other interesting wines in Le Marche region are the Lacrima di Morro d’Alba DOC, a red from the Province of Ancona. It is perfect with cold meats. Then there is the Offida DOCG, a wine produced in the Fermo and Ascoli Piceno areas in the Red, Passerina and original “Pecorino” varieties.
Le Marche: the wine cellar of Central Italy
Le Marche region enjoys a climate and a land that is perfect for the cultivation of vine and that over the centuries has permitted the selection of special strains and the creation of prized wines. Those visiting Le Marche can enjoy all of this in the bars, restaurants and wine bars or enjoy a unique experience sampling the wines in the many cellars of the wine-producing companies.
