Verdicchio di Matelica
It has obtained the DOC label on July 21st, 1967. It is
produced in an area next to the Apennines in Umbria and the
Marches, between the Provinces of Ancona and Macerata, and especially
in the Municipality of Matelica (MC). The production area is situated in the Upper Esina Valley, and partly includes the territories of Camerino,
Castelraimondo, Cerreto d'Esi, Esanatoglia, Fabriano, Gagliole, and
Matelica. The north-south disposition of this valley (very particular and unique in the Marches) prevents the arrival of the mitigating sea influence, generating a Mediterranean-continental microclimate characterized by higher day-night and summer-winter temperature ranges. Thanks to this climate, grapes are rich in extracts, primary aromas, sugars, and polyphenols: these features give origin to a full-bodied wine particularly suitable for ageing. The cultivation area consists of about 270 ha in the hills, at an altitude between the 400 and 650m asl, producing an average of 3,200 tons grapes, that is approximately 25,000 hectoliters of wine. Consorzio Tutela Verdicchio di Matelica includes only ten cellars.
Wine growing is a very ancient tradition in this region: there are evidences (vine seeds found in the grave of Villa Clara in 1998) witnessing a flourishing wine growing activity since the 8th century BC.
