Italian Wine and Food

Italian Wine and Food of Le Marche Regione

The Marche region encompasses a territory that rises gently from the beaches of the Adriatic, towards the rolling hills of the Esino valleys, to reach as far as the Umbria and Marchigiani Appenine  mountains where history and culture, quality wines and food have created a land built on simple human endeavour. To live among these hills is a pleasure, an honour and a privilege.

Simple phrases often heard in the piazzas after the Sunday church service are the quest for a slower pace of life, healthier tastes and smells.

A return to traditional products of the
Marchigiana region, a stoppage of time and the daily race against time, relief from the stress that we build up in our lives are Mentioned.
Amongst the verdant hills of Verdicchio, Rosso Piceno and Rosso Conero country it comes naturally to stop every now and again, to take back a bit of our lives, to enjoy the light and heat of summer. The grapes growing along the neat rows in the vineyards are getting plumper every day. Once again, we see the promise of being able to raise a glass of wine in the company of friends.

For the first time, may be we can taste the new red, the new white wine vintages and offer a special spumante wine to clients and friends. For the spumante wine is not new but is reviving and that’s a pleasant surprise; to taste a Spumante made exclusively from Verdicchio grapes to those made from carefully selected and researched grape blends is a treat not to miss.
In Le Marche you’ll find bottles of bubbly produced by the Metodo Classico as well as by the Charmat Method. You’ll find reds, whites and rosé. Le Marche is a land of Sangiovese, Montipulciano, Verdicchio, Rosso Piceno and Rosso Conero winegrowers and are producing some truly splendid wines and champagnes.

Le Marcie wine-makers are focusing more and more on exports and are regular features in supermarkets around the globe. But take some time whilst touring around Le Marche and call in to the many cantina, that perhaps do not advertise vulgar bill boards for wine tasting but nevertheless encourage and are proud to tell the history of the wine and let you taste their produce with maybe some home made farmhouse cheese. And, I am happy to report Le Marche wines are meeting with increasingly positive reactions on International markets, both for the high level of quality achieved as well as for the good price/quality ratio.

The awards earned by our producers who have competed in international contests serve to further encourage their commitment to reach even higher pinnacles of excellence. The figures emerging from 2011 and the early months of 2012 are very positive. In the next post I will provide details of cultural tours and/or food and wine tours here in our region.

Italian Wine From Le Marche

The lesser known wine region of Le Marche, nevertheless has 14 DOC and DOCQ regions the latest being I Terreni di San Severino Marche, has many unique wines. Verdicchio, Vernaccia di Serrapetrona, Pecorino di Offida and Lacrima di Morro d'Alba to name a few.  The Italian white wine of this region are notably very good.

Wines from Le Marche

Traditional identification of the wine production of Le March in the central region of Italy is with Verdicchio, the famous white wine of Castelli di Jesi and Verdicchio di Matelica that blend perfectly with the fish dishes of local cuisine. But this region also offers excellent red wines such as Rosso Piceno and Rosso Conero.

Awards for Le Marche Wine.

The Italian wines from Le Marche are better known for its excellent whites but the reds are gaining recognition. Red wines like the 2007 Valturio, the 2007 Kurni were both award winners at VinItaly the ultimate experience of Italian wine tasting .

Italian Wine Areas of Le Marche

There are 14 wine areas in Le Marche. See map for details. Some of the grape varieties are unique. What follows is a short list of the least well known L Marche Wines.

The Bianchello di Metauro DOC from the province of Pesaro including the cities of Fano, Fossombrone, Piagge e Urbino. This white can be served with antipasti, grilled fish and fresh cheeses. Deserves mentioning the bianchello from Fiorini Wines and Azienda Guerrini.

Lacrima di Morro DOC produced in the province of Ancona and in the municipalities of Morro d’Alba, Monte san Vito, San Marcello, belvedere Ostrense, Ostra e Senigallia. Most Lacrima di Morro contains at least 85% Lacrima and 15% other reds. Can be served with meat disches containing fruit (Turkey with almonds or Pig in Apple).

Offida Doc is produced in the province of Ascoli Piceno and only in the municipality of Offida. The reds are mainly from Montipulciano, Cabernet Sauvignon, and the whites arePasserina e Pecorino. Worthy of special note is the Pecorino fro Ciu Ciu in Offida and the Rosso Piceno and Sangiovese from the same wine maker.

Indicazione Geografica Tipica IGT denomination was introduced in 1992 and states that 85% of the grapes should be grown in the region. Many good wines from various grapes varieties have been made under this umbrella denomination notably Chardonnay and Ciliegiolo from Le Marche. This last wine, Ciliegiolo is worthy noting under the Rosso Orvieto DOC denomination. A cherry flavoured, ruby red of a dedicated but highly intense bouquet has a minimum alcoholic content of 12%. Its served in Umbria and Le Marche (a total of 2.000 bottles) with local fresh water fish, fish soup and flavoured courses.

Wine tasting

Adopting a few wine tasting principles will allow you to enjoy wine more especially wines from the central region of Ital with its abundance of DOC spumante, DOCQ & DOC, reds, white and rose’. Tasting the wine in the right glass, at the right temperature and noting the characteristics will enhance your pleasure.

Wine Tasting

You know each wine has its own personality. So it stands to reason that every wine deserves a glass that enhances its particular characteristics. Typically, a glass of wine must have these characteristics:

•  A smooth glass will allow for a correct view of the tracks that wine leaves in the arches of glycerol 
•  A thin and colourless glass will you to observe every nuance of the taste
•  A chalice type glass wider at the bottom will allow the aroma of the wine to escape upwards
•  A long stem will allow freedom and scent from the
•  A crystal glass is best for wine tasting

 Types of Glass for Wine tasting

1. Flute type for all Spumante except those sweet sparkling types

2. Chalice type for sweet sparkling

3. tulip-shaped type for white wines fresh

4. Goblet type – for important fresh white wine s

5. Ballon type for important reds

6. Little broad Chalice for young reds

7. Larger Chalice type for red aged of medium body

8. Small glass types for dessert wines and fortified wines

Before Tasting the Wine

The temperature of the glass must be the same wine. Those for the sparkling wine should be strictly cold and between 5 to 7 degrees. Red wine demands to be tasted at ambient temperatures from 16 to 20 degrees. On the other hand white wine demands a cool temperature of around 6 to 8 degrees. Chilling the wine glass adds to the tasting experience. It is advisable to open red wines half an hour before tasting and for longer period for heavier and full bodied wine.

Tips for Wine tasting

 Do not use detergent for hand washing or automatic dish washing wine glasses. Use very hot water and let them dry naturally. Before you taste the wine do the following. Pour a little wine into the glass, swirl the wine around the walls of the glass and empty. Refill the glass with a full taste of wine. All this is to eliminate unpleasant odours and dust from the glass.

 More Wine and Sparkling Wine Tasting Tips

 Follow these simple steps to enjoy a useful wine tasting experience:

1. The Look of the Wine - use a suitable glass and check the colour and clarity. Tilt the glass away from you from the rim to the centre.

2. Deeper Look of the Wine - Look at the wine's opacity: is it watery or dark, translucent or opaque, dull or brilliant, cloudy or clear

3. Bouquet - swirl your glass for ten seconds and then take a quick whiff to gain a first impression.

4. Deeper sniff - now stick your nose down into the glass and take a deep inhale through your nose.

5. Taste -start with a small sip and let it roll around your mouth. There are three stages of taste: the Attack phase, (alcohol content,, tannin, acidity and residual sugar) the Evolution phase (the actual taste of the wine) and the Finish (or how long does the taste linger on your palate).

6. Record your impressions immediately.

Vino Marche blog has a range of articles on wine from Le Marche region that may be useful to you to read. Vino Marche is a part SEO Synovation internet marketing efforts to promote clients business ranging from places to stay, real estate agency, wine producers and award winning red wines.

Italian Spumante From Le Marche

August 2012. There is a wide range of Spumante wine in Italy especially from Le Marche where the base grape is often Verdicchio but can also be from Montipulciano or Sangiovese or Pinot Noir grapes.  I recommend twelve Spumante wines from the region that are of exceptional quality at a reasonable price.  the region of Le Marche is gaining recognition for the wine making skills and quality of wines that have existed for centuries but are only now being appraised and appreciated in global markets with exports increasing each year. 

The Spumante from Le Marche

(guest writer Max Ford of MarcheRustico and SEO Synovation)

Spumante wines can be natural or aerated. Understanding the difference is very important for consumers particularly in regards to price.  In a spumante natural carbon dioxide, that brings life to the wine, develops through the second fermentation of the base wine. In practice wine yeast is added causing a second fermentation that allows the wine to have bubbles. The second fermentation can occur in two ways:

• in the bottle (classico method) or

• in large containers (Charmat).

The aerated spumante wine is obtained by adding to carbon dioxide. Aerated spumante wines are rare when it does not stand for the quality of the wine. When you look at a spumante the visual examination is the most in the tasting: the length of the bead of bubbles, the number of bubbles, and their shape are important are smaller and better' the champagne.

Types of Spumante Wine:

1. The same Vintage year - said also as Millesimato - grapes of the same variety from a particular vineyard and aged for at least 5 years in bottles or containers.

2. Not the same vintage - said Non Millesimato –same variet of grapes but of different vintages with a shorter aging process.

The Grades Of Spumante Wine:

Dry or Sweet Spumante? - In the last stage of fermentation syrup is added which characterises the spumante. The grades are:

• Brut Nature - where the residual sugar is less than three grams per liter. Where you say sugar is zer Brut Sauvage.

• Extra Dry Brut - where the residual sugar is less than six grams per liter. This spumante and very dry and goes a treat as a aperitif with seafood.

• Brut - where the residual sugar is less than twelve grams per litre. It’s a good drink to start a meal.

• Extra Dry - where the residual sugar is less but more than twelve to twenty grams per litre.

• Sec, Dry - where the residual sugar is less than thirty five but more than seventeen grams per litre.

• Demi- Sec - where the residual sugar is less but more than thirty-five to fifty grams per litre.

• Dolce / Sweet - where the residual sugar is more than fifty grams per litre.

Types of Spumante Wine:

• Blanc de blanc - that is, literally white of white wine indicates spumante from white grapes.

• Blanc de noir - literally white of blacks that wine from black grapes.

• Rose - wine from wine based pink.

• Cremant - added small amounts of sugar in the manufacturing method of the Classic. It makes the champagne thinner.

Major Spumante Wines Prevalent in the Marches:

1. Stefano Antonucci Brut – Spumante Metodo Classico - SANTA BARBARA – Barbara ANCONA.

2. Donna Giulia Brut – Spumante Metodo Classico - (Vendemmia 2007 Sboccatura 2010) FATTORIA LE TERRAZZE - Numana (ANCONA)

3. Umani Ronchi Extra Brut sans année- Spumante Metodo Classico (Sboccatura settembre 2011) UMANI RONCHI – Osimo ANCONA

4. Fazi Battaglia Brut – Vino Spumante- FAZI BATTAGLIA – Castelplanio ANCONA
5. Madreperla Brut – Spumante Metodo Classico Cuvée - (Sboccatura 2011) MONCARO - Montecarotto ANCONA

6. Vignamato Rosé Brut - Vino Spumante - VIGNAMATO – San Paolo di Jesi ANCONA

7. Conti di Buscareto Rosé Brut 2011 – Vino Spumante Brut Metodo Martinotti CONTI DI BUSCARETO – Ostra ANCONA

8. Vallerosa Bonci Metodo Classico Millesimato Brut 2008- Spumante Metodo Classico (Sboccatura 2011) VALLEROSA BONCI – Cupramontana ANCONA

9. Cuvée Nadir Brut 2010 – Spumante Metodo Charmat- BELISARIO – Matelica (MC)

10. Primo Brut – Spumante Metodo Classico CASALFARNETO – Serra de’ Conti ANCONA

11. Moroder Brut Rosé 2011 – Vino Spumante - MORODER – Ancona

12. Pink Brut Rosé – Vino Spumante -SILVANO STROLOGO - CameranoANCONA
If you wish to learn more about Spumante wine from Le Marche drop an email to the guest writer Max Ford. If you wish to learn about being an importer of Red, White, Rose wines or  Spumante wines from Le Marche email me Vincent Sandford.  If you wish to learn more about marketing opportunities in Le Marche email SEO Synovation.

Vini Gagliardi at Smaak van Italie, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Repeated presences at venues have a beneficial effect on penetrating markets,  creating an audience and broading your brand for small overseas family businesses.

The month of May is special in the Netherlands. It’s a vacation month. Dutch families wake up from the wet, sometimes sunny but most of the time miserable, damp and foggy conditions of winter and enjoy the warmer, dryer and longer evenings of spring and early summer.

The vacation feelings grab the population on Queens day, the 30 April. A national holiday celebrated in every city, town, and street in the Netherlands. Games, concerts celebrating the Queens Official Birthday. Royal visits are the highlights of the day that culminate in a special Royal visit of the entire extended Royal family of the house of Orange for two selected towns.

The Italian Made in Italy fair of De Smaak van Italie (the taste of Italy) is also celebrated in the month of May and has been established in the grounds of Kastel De Haar, in the village of Haarzuilens for the last six years. The castle holds weddings, open air concerts and many festivals in the and the interior of the castle.

Its architectural history, its interior and rich collection of art and artefacts is unique to the Netherlands and the special relationship that exists between van Zuylen and Rothschild families. The castle has a cosmopolitan grandeur unique to the Netherlands.

The park and gardens surrounding De Haar Castle with its Rose and Roman Gardens, ponds and canals, as well as the many bridges, romantic vistas and impressive avenues invite visitors to go on long walks or have a picnic and is a wonderful setting for De Smaak van Italie fair.

Vini Gagliardi is one Verdicchio di Matelica historic families and has been participating at the fair for the last five years to markets personnaly there rather unique wines. Wine production of the white wine Verdicchio di Matelica begun in the Forties it was one of the first companies devoted to the, production and commercialisation of Matelica Verdicchio, and the first to sell it in bottles The geographical situation of the cellars is one of the best suited to vine cultivation. Its particular microclimate and altitude, from 300 to 600 metres, mean that each type of grape can express its highest quality. The cellars today continue to be a family-run enterprise, involving Gino Gagliardi and his children his son, Umberto and his daughter Lara.

La cantina or production area located in via A. Merloni 5, 62024 Matelica (MC) s also the sales offices (Enoteca) of Verdicchio di Matelica and the red wine of Sangiovese, Merlot and Ciliegiolo grape varieties. Visitors can buy wines from 09:00 am to 12:30 pm and 3:30 pm to 7:30 pm Monday to Saturday. Sunday the Enoteca is closed.

A sales contact has been established in the Netherlands for visitors to the fair who wish to buy more wine from Vini Gagliardi: call 06 428 73 480 or 0592 269804 and ask to speak to Vincent.

This post was produced by Vincent Sandford of SEO Synovation the European Marketing agency for Vini Gagliardi in the Netherlands.

To learn more of the innovative search and web marketing agency ,SEO Synovation, can do for your business visit the website or call +31 6 428 73 480 or +31 592 2698 04

Award for Vini Maraviglia producer of Verdicchio di matelica

The best of Le Marche were awarded the Golosaria from the Papillon Club an institute in searcg of excellence in the field of wine and food. This years winners were Azienda Agricola Maraviglia with the blended Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet, Ciligielo 2006 red wine called Onorio. An excellent fruity full bodied red wine. the winery also produces Verdiccio di Matelica DOC and from 2010 Verdicchio di Matelica DOCQ as wellas a number of other blended of Sangiove grape variety. Tasting can be arranged at the azienda winery in Pianne 584 Matelica or by visiting their website at www.vinimaraviglia.com

Awards for Vini Maraviglia producer of Verdicchio di Matelica The Majestic White

The best of Le Marche Wine is in Matelica. The 2009 annual awards have highlighted an excellent array of white and red wines from Le Marche in the central region of Italy especially from Azienda Agricola Maraviglia.

For the eighth consecutive year the members of the Papillon Club. a nationwide institute seeking excellence in the food and wine industry have announced the hundred best wines of Italy.

In fact, the year’s Golosaria award-winning wine is for Le Marche region and given to Azienda Agricola Maraviglia for their Onorio label which is a intense fruity 2006 red wine blended from Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet, Ciliegiolo grape varieties.

This wine and others from the top 100 winners can be tasted from 7 to 9 November at the Melia Hotel & Convention Center in Milan, then from 14th and 15th of November in Turin at the Piazza Crafts. Or visitors can arrange tastings at the winery in Pianne Matelica. Further details for tasting and purchasing can be found by visiting the website www.vinimaraviglia.com