Wine tasting & buying in Le Marche Italy
To the South of Le Marche lie the curvaceous green hills of the Piceno area, inhabited since before Roman times by the Picene tribe.
Vineyards have carpeted this undulating land since those times, but wine making has come on leaps and bounds over the past several years, with impressive grape harvests and an exponential increase in quality.
Whilst Piceno wines have long been a guarded secret, the area now has the highest density of DOC and DOCG wines in Marche and international recognition of the wines has naturally followed. A group of local wine growers has even set up the “Vini Piceni” consortium, an association to safeguard and promote the local DOC wine growing area.
A Marche Wine Tour Map for the Piceno area
We have now created a Piceno Wine map that includes all of the Piceno consortium members and allows tourists, wine lovers and wine buyers to tour this area of Marche Region, to visit the cantinas and wineries and to buy wines for their holiday or to ship home. 
On google maps and accessible via mobile, this will enable travllers to use GPS directions to lead them to these wine makers and their wonderful produce.
The Consortium has 34 ordinary members, including small grape farmers and entrepreneurs directly involved in the production of the local DOC and DOCG products.
Many are family run farms, but all are experts in viticulture, the soil, weather, planting and care of the vines, in winemaking and bottling and all have to meet the specifications and the objectives of the Consortium and of the DOC and DOCG accreditation.The “Vini Piceni” Consortium and the member wineries are all based to the South of Marche region in the provinces of Fermo and Asoli Piceno, they are waiting to tell you about their wine making and to let you taste and buy their superb wines.
White DOC and DOCG Piceno Wines
Offida Pecorino DOCG since 2011 The finest Pecorino is made in the Offida region, it requires at least 85% Pecorino with a minimum 90 ql/ha. Wines of the Falerio DOC can also be a Pecorino-based blend, but the best grapes are used for the Offida wines. It is mouth filling with a strong character. The high sugar content leads to high alcohol – 13.5-15% – but the climate produces a smooth creamy wine with high acidity and minerality”
Offida passerina DOCG since 2011: Passerina grapes 85%, return 90 ql/ha. Usually slightly lower alcohol than Pecorino, this wine has more citrus notes and will please lovers of Sauvignon Blanc. Dry and bright straw-yellow colour. Its smell is characterized by sweet, pleasant fruity floral notes.
Terre di Offida DOC since 2011: Passerina grapes 85%, return 120 ql/ha. Types: Spumante (sparkling), Passito (made from sun dried grapes with noble rot), Vino Santo (a fortified wine).
Falerio dei colli Ascolani DOC since 1975: Trebbiano toscano grapes 20-50%, Pecorino grapes 10-30%, Passerina grapes 10-30%, return 130 ql/ha.
It has a light amber yellow colour and is light acidic and drier tasting. An excellent aperitivo or served with subtly flavoured food, seafood, crustaceans and vegetable dishes.
Red DOC and DOCG WINES with ‘Montepulciano’ grapes
Offida rosso DOCG since 2011: Montepulciano grapes 85%, return 85 ql/ha.
This wine has a ruby-red colour turning to garnet. Its flavour is pleasant, complex and ethereal. Its taste is savoury and round. It is a strong wine to be tasted with timbale and lasagne, meat sauces and roasted or grilled red meats.
Rosso Piceno DOC
Montepulciano grapes 35 -70%, Sangiovese grapes 30-50%, return 130 ql/ha.
This wine has a dark purple colour that becomes more intense with aging. Smelling asnd tasting like summer berries and cherry, spicy its flavour is complex, strong and round. Particularly good examples include those that are matured in Oak barriques and blended later and some simpler versions without oak ageing that allow natural flavours more prominence
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