Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi

The rules explain the name: the 'castelli' are the towns that gravitated around Jesi, birthplace in 1194 of Frederick II of Swabia. They credit Benedictine and then Camaldolese monks with reintroducing the vine and handing down its techniques. In the early 1500s the Spaniard Herrera, professor at Salamanca, described Verdicchio as a white grape with small, translucent berries, best on high, dry hills, whose wine was 'better than any other white' and kept long.

In 1871 the provincial ampelographic commission, chaired by the oenologist De Blasis, described Verdicchio for the Jesi district, and in 1881 Di Rovasenda ranked it the finest white grape of the Marche. After oidium (1851), downy mildew (1879) and phylloxera (1890), growers abandoned many varieties but kept Verdicchio, the most traded wine. In the early 1950s two producers built a winery in one of the castelli and used a bottle shaped like a Greek amphora, recalling the Dorian founders of Ancona. The DOC dates from 11 August 1968.

The zone lies in part of the basin of the Esino, about 20 km from the sea, on hills around the valley that rise from 96 m at Jesi to 630 m at Cingoli. The sea, sun, breezes and the shelter of mountains above 2,000 m give a temperate climate. The hill soils of the basin are high in clay and calcium carbonate, with low permeability; they are varied and deep, with lime redistributed down the profile, while the alluvial valley floor is calcareous and stony. The regional protection institute describes marl and clay inland and mixed clay, sandstone and sand nearer the coast.

70% of vineyards lie between 80 and 280 m; the highest is at 750 m. Slopes range from 0 to 70%, with 85% of vineyards between 2 and 35%; all exposures occur, east and west more than north and south. Rain averages 800 mm, frosts are frequent in winter and spring, and valley highs reach about 30 °C in July and August.

The rules describe a wine of great scents, structured, full and elegant, straw yellow with clear green tints, from which the name Verdicchio comes. It opens with hawthorn and wild flowers, moves to fresh peach, apple and light citrus, and ends with a typical bitter almond aftertaste. In the classic zone on the left bank of the Esino the wines show marked mineral notes; on the opposite side they are more sapid. The rules link the best grapes to altitude: vines at 300-500 m perform best, a sign of the influence of exposure and ventilation. Growers prune long because the buds near the base of the cane often fail to break.

All types need at least 85% Verdicchio, with other white grapes suited to the Marche up to 15%. The DOC covers the basic wine, Classico, Superiore, Classico Superiore, Passito and Spumante, including a Spumante Riserva made only by the classic method with at least 36 months' ageing; Passito may yield no more than 45% of wine from fresh grapes. An annex lists named geographical mentions by commune, such as Coroncino at Staffolo and Monte Schiavo at Maiolati Spontini.

The Riserva is a separate DOCG, Castelli di Jesi Verdicchio Riserva, also as Classico. It was first a type of the DOC (1995) and became a DOCG by decree of 18 February 2010. It ages at least 18 months from 1 December of the harvest year, 6 of them in bottle, and needs 12.5% alcohol.