A land evolves

  • Wine-making in the region of Ascoli Piceno has always offered full bodied and powerful wines, ever since centuries ago rural folk considered wine to be a nourishment.
  • It was a promiscuous farming activity that only became a more specialised business at the end of the sharecropping regime.
  • This long process lead to the unification of farmlands after the Second World War and to the establishment of specialised wine producers.
  • The land evolved in the name of quality, which has gradually left the old objective of just mass production, to reach a new awareness.

Offida e il Piceno

A real “revolution” that culminated in the 80’s, spurred by just a few farsighted producers who, over time, have set the trends, so to say. A perfect example of this is Guido Cocci Grifoni, the founder of the Cocci Grifoni Estate who rediscovered the Pecorino vine variety that has been planted on these hills again after many decades. Those years represented the time in which the fundamental vine varieties of central Italy, such as Montepulciano, Sangiovese and Trebbiano, were more and more replaced by the first “international” vine varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot.

Subsequently (and this was the real turning point) some precious oenological treasures of authenticity and terroir were rediscovered: we are talking about the native vine varieties of Pecorino and Passerina, which at that time, were finally “comprehended” in terms of their potentials, also for large-scale production.

The hills of Offida at this time have a crucial role and they stand out in view of the presence of these producers and for the credits their wines receive.

In 2001, a specific DOC wine was created, which was indeed called “Offida”. It is a “treble” DOC wine, which includes two types of white wine (“Offida Pecorino” and “Offida Passerina”) and a red wine called “Offida Rosso”. In 2011, this denomination gained the status of DOCG.

The production regulations of Docg Offida Rosso, following amendment in 2011, imposes the presence of at least 85% of Montepulciano grapes in the blend. The predominant presence of such an authentically “local” vine variety on these hills makes the "Offida Rosso" Docg wines even more representative of this land. They are intense yet round, capable of great proof of longevity and elegance. They are what you would call “important” wines; they are surprising not just for their natural power, but also for their fine elegance, which they reveal modestly and convincingly; such bold modesty reflects the nature of this land and its people.

Caressed by the sun and embraced by ageing and refining: the Docg "Offida Rosso" wines are a pleasant blend of concentration and rotundity; they offer a multi-sensorial depiction of these hills where the wine is always sincere.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
ABOUT PICENO WINE
  • Polibio di Megalopoli, “Storie” (edition by Giovanni Battista Cardona, Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, 1968, page 302)
  • Andrea Bacci, “De naturali vinorum historia, de vinis Italiae e de conviviis antiquorum Libri VIII”.
ABOUT MODERN PICENO OENOLOGY
  • "Le strade del vino piceno", "Enoteca Italiana” 1997 editions. Text by Antonio Paolini
  • Antonio Attorre, Valerio Chiarini, "Il vino marchigiano", "Il lavoro editoriale" 1990 edition. 1990
  • “I vini delle Marche”. Agricultural Department of the Marche Region, 2004