Wines of Le Marche
Le Marche is located in central Italy between the Adriatic Sea and the Apennine mountains along the Adriatic coast on the eastern side of the country. Pronounced lay MAHR-kay, this region of Italy is often described as unspoiled or “authentic Italy” There are still not a lot of tourists in Le marche but there are a lot of beautiful pristine rolling hills old farm houses and people farming the land just as their families have been doing for centuries. Part of what is grown and farmed in Le Marche are grapes.
In 2011 Jonathan Zeiger visited Le Marche for a 2 week work exchange trying to learn about agriculture when he met a young winemaker named Giacomo Centanni. Giacamo asked Jonathan if he wanted to sell his Centanni wines in the United States, and ZGR imports was born.
Recently, I was invited to taste wines from Centanni & Rio Maggio, 2 of the Le Marche winemakers in the portfolio of ZGR imports. The tasting was part of #WineStudio hosted by Protocol Wines on Twitter. Over the course of 3 weeks we learned about Le Marche wine region, ZGR Imports and we tasted Pecorino & San Giovese/Montepulciano blends from both Centanni & Rio Maggiore wineries.
Pecorino is a grape native to Le Marche. Is is thought to have originated as a wild grapevine growing in the Sibillini Mountains that was eventually domesticated for wine production. It is not connected to Pecorino cheese (which is cheese made from sheep’s milk) but instead gets it’s name from the Italian word “peroca” or sheep. The sheep of the region while being herded would eat the grapes from the vines. Pecorino is a pale yellow color and has a floral nose and nice steely minerality and is definitely a varietal worth seeking out.
San Giovese and Montepulciano are two of the most planted grapes in Italy but interestingly only in Le Marche do you commonly seem them blended together. San Giovese has a nice balance of acid and tannins while Montepulcino has soft fruits. When blended together they create a nice well balanced red wine, making you wonder why such a blend is not common in other parts of Italy.
Centanni Wine
The Centanni family has a long history and tradition of wine making in Le Marche but young winemaker Giocomo Centanni is modern and forward thinking. His wine making style and production is new world based on old world foundations. He avoids any unnatural additions to his wine and uses very cool looking and practical glass stoppers which eliminate the risk of TSA cork taint on the wines and make the wines easy to open and reseal (assuming there’s any left) . The wines I tried from Centanni were the Pecorino and the Rosso Di Forca.
Centanni Pecorino has a nice floral bouquet and great acidity. The grapes for this wine are hand picked. It has pear citrus and tropical fruit flavors that are crisp and refreshing with a nice creaminess on the finish. This wine retails for $28.99 and would be great with seafood.
Centanni Rosso di Forca is 50%San Giovese and 50% Montepulciano. This wine has jammy flavors of cherry and berry with hints of black licorice and cedar. It is a beautiful red color with nice texture. This wine retails for $16.99
Rio Maggio Wine
Rio Maggio began in 1976 with winemaker Graziono Santucci, his son Simoni Santucci, the current wine maker took over in 1997. The wines of Rio Maggio honor the grapes and the traditions of Le Marche which is reflected by the art work on the labels from a local Le Marche artist. These wine are old world and traditional in style.
Rio Maggio Pecorino has light acidity and freshness with flavors of lemon zest and almonds. It is fermneted in steel-tank, with 8-10 months on the lees and has great body and structure. It sells for $24 a bottle
Rio Maggio Rosso Piceno is 70% Montepulciano and 30% San Giovese. This wine is done in the Bordeaux style. It is earthy with layers of black cherry, plum, tea, vanilla and spice. It evolves and changes in the glass and defininitely should be enjoyed with a hearty meal.
If you have the opportunity, I strongly recommend you seek out and give the wines of Le Marche a try. Pecorino is a unique varietal with a great flavor profile while the San Giovese Montepulcino blends of the region take two of Italy most grown grapes and blend them together to create a great synergy and well balanced flavor profile.
All of the wines discussed above can be obtained via ZGR imports at www.zgrwines.com.
Tags: #WineStudio, Centanni, Italy, Le Marche, Montepulciano, Pecorino, Protocol Wine, Rio Maggio, San Giovese, ZGR Imports
