Marches

The region with the capital Ancona is located in the centre of Italy on the Adriatic coast. Starting from the north, the regions of Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio and Abruzzo border on it. The Celts and later the Etruscans already cultivated vines here. In the 3rd century BC, the Romans conquered the area. The Roman wine writer Pliny the Elder (23-79) mentioned the ancient wine praetutium from Ancona. It is said that the Visigoth king Alaric (370-410) fortified his troops with the white wine Verdicchio during his march against Rome. The famous local doctor and naturalist Andrea Bacci (1524-1600) reports that the Carthaginian general Hannibal (247-183 BC) revived his army's tired horses with large quantities of Conero wine (the forerunner of the DOC Rosso Conero) during the campaign against Rome.

From Marche come the ancestors of the three famous wine-growing families Catena Zapata (Argentina), Gallo and Mondavi (California), who emigrated to the American continent and founded wine-growing empires in their new homeland. The vineyards cover 16,000 hectares of vines. The sea and the Tuscan Apennine mountains to the west create a cool, temperate climate with warm, dry summers. The vineyards are almost exclusively on slopes with often clayey soil. Red wines and white wines are produced in equal parts.

White wine varieties are Albanella (Trebbiano Toscano), Bianchello (Biancame), Chardonnay, Grechetto (Grechetto di Orvieto), Incrocio Bruni 54, Malvasia Bianca Lunga, Pecorino, Pinot Bianco (Pinot Blanc), Pinot Grigio (Pinot Gris), Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir), Ribona (Maceratino), Riesling Italico (Welschriesling), Sauvignon (Sauvignon Blanc) and Verdicchio (Verdicchio Bianco). Red wine varieties are Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Ciliegiolo, Lacrima (Lacrima di Morro d'Alba), Merlot, Montepulciano, Sangiovese, Vernaccia di Pergola (Aleatico) and Vernaccia Nera or Vernaccia di Serrapetrona (Garnacha Tinta). The IGT (country wines), as well as DOC and DOCG (quality wines) areas in the Marche region are

• Bianchello del Metauro (DOC)
• Colli Maceratesi (DOC)
• Castelli di Jesi Verdicchio Riserva (DOCG)
• Colli Pesaresi (DOC)
• Conero (DOCG)
• Esino (DOC)
• Falerio dei Colli Ascolani or Falerio (DOC)
• I Terreni di Sanseverino (DOC)
• Lacrima di Morro d'Alba or Lacrima di Morro (DOC)
• Marche (IGT)
• Offida (DOCG)
• Pergola (DOC)
• Rosso Conero (DOC)
• Rosso Piceno or Piceno (DOC)
• San Ginesio (DOC)
• Serrapetrona (DOC)
• Terre di Offida (DOC)
• Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi (DOC)
• Verdicchio di Matelica - since 2020 only Matelica (DOC)
• Verdicchio di Matelica Riserva (DOCG) - since 2020 only Matelica (DOC)
• Vernaccia di Serrapetrona (DOCG)

Image: © Raffaela Usai