{"id":43709,"date":"2019-01-23T13:22:16","date_gmt":"2019-01-23T18:22:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/?p=43709"},"modified":"2019-01-23T13:34:05","modified_gmt":"2019-01-23T18:34:05","slug":"discovering-le-marche","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/discovering-le-marche\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond Barolo and Chianti: Discovering Le Marche Wines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There\u2019s more to Italian culture and wine than Chianti and Barolo.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

by Rebecca Meir Liebman<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Azienda Tenuta Musone, Col\u00f2gnola <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As Italy\u2019s most famous cities \u2013 Rome, Milan, Venice \u2013 and her better-known wine regions \u2013 Chianti, Brunello, and Barolo become more and more crowded with tourists, it\u2019s time to consider touring her less-buzzy, hidden gems. One of my favourite lesser-known regions is the gorgeous and fascinating Le Marche, with its beautiful Adriatic Sea coastlines, white sand beaches, outstanding produce and restaurants, and of course, its unique wines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pronounced La Mar-kay<\/em>, La Marche<\/a> lies between Emilia-Romagna to the north, Tuscany and Umbria to the west, and Lazio and Abruzzo to the south. Most of the region is hilly to mountainous, with a continental climate of cold \u2013 often snowy \u2013 winters, making it a great place to grow grapes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

La Marche boasts 20 denominations: five\nDOCs (Denominazione di origine Controllata \u2013 an\nimportant quality assurance label for Italian wines), 15 DOCGs (Denominazione di origine Controllata e Garantita \u2013 the highest\nlevel of Italian wine appellations), and 1 IGT (indicating high quality Italian\n\u201ctable\u201d wines that could not meet the DOG or DOCG). Of these, 52% are white\nwines and 48% are reds.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While traveling in Le Marche with a group of sommeliers and wine writers, I had the pleasure of experiencing first hand, the flavour of the La Marche terroir. I am very excited to share some of the wines I tasted, and encourage you to get out there and try them for yourself. Even if you can\u2019t make it to La Marche, a visit to your local wine store can take you part of the way there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Star Grape: Verdicchio<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verdicchio<\/a> is one of the most widely planted grapes in Le Marche \u2013 it has been grown in the area for more than 600 years \u2013 and is the grape behind two DOC wines: Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi and Verdicchio di Matelica. The name Verdicchio<\/em> derives from verde <\/em>(green in Italian), and refers to the slight green-yellow hue that wines made from Verdicchio can have. Tasting Verdicchio, one will often find fascinating notes of the sea, limestone, and seashell, and it\u2019s the sort of grape that is enjoyed and employed in Le Marche in several different ways. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Verdicchio\nfor Celebrations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verdicchio is a spectacular grape for creating sparkling wines as it features wonderful freshness and acidity which are essential to a great, well-balanced bottle of bubbly. The Garofoli winery was one of the first to make sparkling wines from the Verdicchio grape; starting in the 1950s, using the Charmat method, switching to the Traditional method in the 1970s. Now, they are making not only white sparkling wines but beautiful ros\u00e9s as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Casa Vinicola Garofoli, Loreto  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gracefully Aged Verdicchio <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most Vedicchios should be consumed within the first five years after release, but there are some great examples of age-able Verdicchios. Verdicchio can maintain its acidity for up to a year, and doesn\u2019t oxidize. Even the colour of the wine doesn\u2019t change much, which is rare for aged whites. One of the aged wines I tasted is from Cogolognola Tenua Musone \u2013 Labieno Castelli di Jessi Verdicchio Riserva 2007 DOCG. The winemaker aged 10% of the grapes on their skins in barique which is where the dark golden-orange hue comes from. It\u2019s a bold wine with good structure and complexity. Another interesting aged wine I tasted is Garofoli Podium Verdiccxhio di Castelo di Jessi 2008. It showed like an old Burgundy but at a much better price point. And, while still being very fresh, and not showing much of a colour change, it could keep on aging for up to a another seven years.                <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Verdicchio for the Sweet Tooth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This versatile grape is also used to create dessert wines called passito <\/em>or \u2018straw wines\u2019. Passito means \u201cdry\u201d, and this wine acquired its name from the traditional practice of leaving the fresh grapes on straw mats to raisin in the sun \u2013 a process called appassimento<\/a><\/em> \u2013 leaving the wizened grapes loaded with concentrated sugars and flavour. These are great wines to enjoy with a cheese course at the end of a meal, although they are quite hard to find outside of Marche. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Vernaccia di Serrapetrona: The Three-Fermentation Wine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nmagical, sparkling wine is the only wine in the world to undergo three\nfermentations, and it\u2019s bottled in dry, off-dry, semi-sweet, and sweet versions. To create the\nsweeter wines, about 60% of the grapes are crushed and fermented, while 40% go\nthrough appassimento,<\/em> the process\nwhereby fresh grapes are dried out for a few months before crushing them for\nfermentation. After both finish their separate fermentations, they are combined\nin a stainless steel tank for a third fermentation which creates the bubbles.\nIn the glass, you may find beautiful notes of cranberries, raspberries, and\ncooked red fruit, with some spice and well-balanced acidity. The sweet\nbubbles are spectacular with desserts and cheese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Two Marche Reds: Rosso Piceno and\nRosso <\/strong>Conero<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two major red wines I had the pleasure\ntasting in Marche were: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosso\nConero<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 is made from at\nleast 85% Montepulciano grape, while the rest is usually Sangiovese. The\nresulting wine must be a minimum of 12.5% alcohol, and is full-bodied, bold,\nand robust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosso Piceno<\/a><\/em><\/strong> \u2013 the largest DOC of Marche, with a high altitude of up to 2200 feet, these wines must be made from Sangiovese (30% – 60%), and Montepulciano (35% – 70%), while the rest may be Trebbiano and Passerina, resulting in a concentrated and bold wine, yet softer than Rosso Conero. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le\nMarche is so much more than tasty wines; it\u2019s the olive trees, the artisanal\nshoemaking ateliers, it\u2019s the natural ingredients that locals nurture and love.\nTheir approach to viticulture is very traditional \u2013 you can taste that in the\npureness of the wines, and what makes it even better are the lovely people who\ntake part in expressing this unique region\u2019s taste of place<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While being in Marche you can feel their deep connection with the previous generations of winemakers, their attachment to the land, and to their long-held traditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I think about Marche wines, I imagine I\u2019m back on that beach, watching the sun set over the Adriatic Sea, a bowl of mussels and shrimp in front of me, a glass of Verdicchio in my hand, and the magic of this place all around. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Rebecca<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Rebecca Meir-Liebman<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sommelier & Consultant<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As co-owner of Chef & Somm<\/a>, the GTA\u2019s only Bespoke Private Dining and Sommelier service, Rebecca has acquired over a decade of experience in some of Canada\u2019s \u2013 and the world\u2019s \u2013 top dining rooms. She earned her hospitality, service and sommelier skills at top restaurants \u2013 Canoe, Luma, BL\u00dc Ristorante and Maple Leafs Sport & Entertainment \u2013 but Rebecca is always learning, tasting, and cultivating relationships with winemakers, local and abroad. Her thirst for wine knowledge is a never-ending quest; Rebecca brings an unquenchable curiosity and authority to any dining experience. www.ChefSomm.ca<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n  \n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s more to Italian culture and wine than Chianti and Barolo. by Rebecca Meir Liebman As Italy\u2019s most famous cities \u2013 Rome, Milan, Venice \u2013 and her better-known wine regions \u2013 Chianti, Brunello, and Barolo become more and more crowded with tourists, it\u2019s time to consider touring her less-buzzy, hidden gems. One of my favourite lesser-known regions is the gorgeous and fascinating Le Marche, with its beautiful Adriatic Sea coastlines, white sand beaches, outstanding produce and restaurants, and of course, its unique wines. Pronounced La Mar-kay, La Marche lies between Emilia-Romagna to the north, Tuscany and Umbria to the west, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":218248,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[113,1111,1112,297,1410,394,116],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-wines","category-italian-wine-wine-region","category-italy-wine-wine-region","category-italy-wine","category-rebecca-meir-liebman","category-white-wine","category-wine-blogger"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/218248"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43709"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43739,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43709\/revisions\/43739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}