2069) Did You Know Series (56): i) Brief History of "The Marches" Wine growing Region of Italy; ii) "Verdicchio Dei Castelli di Jessi (DOC) Wines (Moncaro)" iii) Verdicchio di Metallica (DOC) Wines (Casa Fosca):
This post continues our journey through the prominent wine growing regions/countries and their popular wines. Links to other interesting posts in this area are given at the end of this post.
The Marches Wine growing region of Italy is a synthesis of all the fundamental elements which make up the country - history, art, culture, landscapes and food and wine connoisseurship.
Presently, the Marches is among the most important wine producing regions of Italy.
"Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi" Wine:
"Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi" is a white-wine DOC located in the Marches region of central Italy.
One of the most famous and historic Marche appellations, these dry white wines are made from the ancient Verdicchio grape variety.
The Marches - An ancient history of Quality Wines - A brief:
Verdicchio wine has long been considered as the strongest in the Mediterranean as the vintners and vine dressers of this region have been experimenting with their products for well over 3,000 years.
Rome - the "eternal city" had not been founded at a time when most ancient populations settled in "The Marches", which was already an excellent wine-producing region, particularly in areas of Southern Central Marches, as is evidenced by findings of "vitis vinifera grape" pips, carbon dated to the VIII Century BC in the burial grounds of the Picenum near the city of Metalica.
The virtues of wines from the Picenum territory (referred to as the orchard and vineyard of Rome), were chronicled by the great writers of the Latin Empire like Pliny, Strabonium and Columella.
The territory of "The Marches" was conquered and settled by various ethnicities - the Umbri and Etruscans in the mountain areas and Celtic peoples, such as the Gaelic Senones, considered and envied as wine maestros by the Romans in the Central North.
It is for this reason, that Emperor Domitian uprooted the vineyards from their zone of origin in France in the First Century AD.
Legend has it that when the troops of the King of the Visigoths, Alaric (370-410), marched on Rome, they drank barrels of Verdicchio to maintain their strength. It is believed that when Alaric sacked Rome in 410 AD, he took with him 40 wine-skins which contained a forbear of Verdicchio.
In the early Middle Ages between Gothic, Longobard and Franco invasions, wine growing and production in "The Marches" - and throughout Italy - suffered an onerous stagnation.
The Renaissance, however, brought back large scale quality production.
Local historians like Nicolo Attucci, Andrea Bacci and Francesco Scacchi chronicled the emvied wines of "The Marches" from the Picenum territory to the lands of the Dukes of Montefeltro around Pesaro - pre-eminent ones being the Verdicchio wines of the Castelli di Jessi (Castles of Jessi) and Matelica which as the birth-place of Frederick II of Svevia in 1194, contributed to the fame and presitge associated with these wines.
The 17th Century Enlightenment saw advances in wines in this region and during the two successive centuries products from "The Marches" from Piceno to the Conero, particularly the "Verdicchio" to the "Bianchello di Metauro" wines entered the elite circles of the most renowned wines in Italy.
"Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi" & "Verdicchio di Metalica":
Verdicchio means "little green one", a name which holds true for the wines it makes in central Marche.
The name " Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jessi" means the "Verdicchio of the Castles of Jesi".
The name refers to the numerous hilltop villages that dominate this region, surrounding the central town of Jesi. The wine-producing zone encompasses the hilly territory around the town of Jesi in the province of Ancona. This area features many medieval fortified villages/fortresses – the "castelli of the DOC title".
Communities such as Staffolo, Cupramontana, Montecarrotto, Castelbellino and Castelplanio are some of the main ones. They have balconies offering breathtaking views of their surrounding landscapes.
This Marche coastal region, when seen from above, resembles a giant hair-comb. Numerous river valleys cut through limestone and run east-west to the Adriatic. Cooling sea breezes blow unimpeded up these valleys from the coast.
The Marches region of central Italy is where the best Verdicchio grows.
Verdicchio is a white wine grape variety that has been cultivated for hundreds of years in the Marche region of central Italy. It is a versatile variety, used both for light, easy-drinking table wines, and for more complex, age-worthy examples. It has been appreciated by critics as being one of Italy's best white wine grape varieties, and is found in vineyards across the country.
These are typically straw colored with pronounced green tinges and have a correspondingly "green" aroma profile, leaning towards herbaceous notes and fresh apples. This is complemented by crisp acidity and a pleasant, slightly bitter aftertaste redolent of toasted almonds.
As well as the dry whites, other forms of Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi are also made. These include dried-grape passito wines, which may be either sweet or dry, and foaming spumante.
Verdicchio from Jesi and its neighbors is markedly softer and more rounded than that produced in Matelica just to the south. Verdicchio di Matelica usually needs several years of aging to relax its sharper character. In contrast Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi is approachable within the early months of its life.
Original "Castelli di Jesi" Amphora-shaped bottles:
Old Castelli di Jessi wines came packaged in an unusual amphora-shaped bottle which won a design competition in the late fifties. The amphora shape has been more streamlined now.
"Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC)" Appellation:
"The Marches" has two DOC titles for varietal Verdicchio wines - "Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi" and "Verdicchio di Matelica".
These wine labels of two Verdicchio wines in my collection are titled "VERDICCHIO dei Castelli di Jessi" and "Verdicchio di Metalica".
They bear the appellation "Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC), which is a Certificate that the wines have been produced by the vintners in the standard method acceptable by Government Laws & regulations and meets with the aging requirements.
In 2010 "Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Riserva" was separately given the higher DOCG status, in which "G'stands for "Guarantita" - meaning the the styles of the wines made are in conformity with the standard regulations/practices.
At present the regulations require that the Verdicchio must make up a minimum of 85% of the wine; other permitted varieties include Trebbiano and Malvasia.
Rsanker Sharma has commented:
ReplyDelete"Very nice and informative."
Thank you so much, Sharma sahab.
DeleteVikram Bhatnagar has commented:
ReplyDelete"What a great description, brought in flavours to the tongue! 😋"
Thanks, Vikram. This post was pending for long. These were the first wine bottles that I bought. Just learned during researching for it that I am having an amphora shaped bottle in my collection 😊
ReplyDeleteSantosh Khanna has commented:
ReplyDelete"Great post! CHEERS. No alcohol during Navratris 😃😃😃"
Thank you so much, Khanna sahab.
DeleteThis is probably the first time that I have seen wine in an 'amphora' shaped bottle. It was interesting to read about a Wine with all of it's history. Thank you Sir !
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nidhi for visiting the Blog. I have been having this wine in my cellar for quite some time. Just got to look at it again for the "amphora" shape. Incidentally, it was the first wine which I bought for my research into the world of wines.
DeleteAnuradha Gupta has commented:
ReplyDelete"Interesting. Would have thought that Alaric and his men would have been too drunk to fight."
I guess they were too drunk to realise that they were attacking the fortified cityof Rome and probably realised it only when it was too late, and they had no alternative but to sack the city. Even Hannibal who had crossed the snow-covered Alps stayed put outside Rome's gates, after reaching here, even though, the bulk of the Roman Army was fighting another war outside Rome.
DeleteSo much for the Verdicchio wines!!!