Ciao Tutti!
This weekend we will taste two wines made from the Pecorino grape, the Campo Di Marte Pecorino Offida DOCG ($13.50, 13.5 ABV) from the Tenuta De Angelis winery in Le Marche and the Pecorino Colline Pescaresi IGP ($32.50, 14% ABV) from the Agricola Tiberio, in Abruzzo.
DeAngelis: Le Marche’s hills gently roll toward the Adriatic Sea and its soil mix gives its white wine like Pecorino high acidity and minerality. In Italian, “pecora” means sheep. The sheep favored eating the sweeter Pecorino grapes instead of grass during their seasonal migration and the shepherds may have offered their Pecorino cheese to the vineyard owners as compensation for the grapes consumed by their flocks of sheep. The woodpecker on the label symbolizes the bird’s importance to the god Mars, who guided the Picenes, an ancient Italic people, to the province of Ascoli Piceno in Le Marche. In the 1950’s, the DeAngelis family was inspired by this rich history to build a winery to vinify their own grapes and the vineyard was named the Field of Mars (Campo Di Marte).
DeAngelis is now managed by the third generation of the family. In 1985, a new winery was built to manage production from the planting in the vineyard to bottling.
The Campo di Marte Pecorino is 100% Pecorino indigenous grape and offers floral aromas, ripe pear flavor, bright acidity with an edge of minerality, dry and crisp, with a finish reminiscent of bitter almonds. This wine has become a customer favorite.
Agricola Tiberio: Abruzzo’s terrain is 65% mountains so its diurnal high temperature swings helps grapes maintain their fresh fruit flavors and acidity. The region’s key factor is the cold mountain air that cascades down from the high peaks that cools the warm coastal vineyards that creates ideal conditions for growing balanced grapes.
In 2024, Emily attended Vinitaly, the international wine and spirits exhibition, and the Tiberio Pecorino was her favorite of all the wines she tasted. The Tiberio winery is located in Cugnoli, Abruzzo, near Pescara, the province’s capital. The Colline Pescaresi hills’ borders are the Maiella National Park that are only 30 km. from the Adriatic Sea.
In the late 1990’s, Riccardo Tiberio discovered a rare ancient grape, Trebbiano Abruzzese, in an old vineyard. He purchased the land and left his job as an export manager for a major regional winery to become a winemaker. He also planted two other grapes, Montepulciano and Pecorino and the first production was in 2004.
In 2008, Tiberio’s children Antonio and Cristiana became managers of the winery. Antonio is responsible for management of the vineyards and Cristiana is responsible for the winemaking. They are committed to biodiversity in their 30 hectares of vineyards and their property also includes three hectares each of both alfalfa and forests, along with olive trees and local herbs.
Agricola Tiberio’s Pecorino IGP is 100% Pecorino indigenous grape, full bodied, with an intense aroma. Its flavor profile is peach, green fig, rosemary, sage and yellow melon and a lingering minerality.
This week’s tasting is a great opportunity to try the same grape from two contiguous regions with different geography and terroirs, (environmental factors of climate, soil and terrain that impact the taste of their wines). Pair either Pecorino with light salads, soups, light pasta dishes, fish or other seafood.
Come join me Friday from noon to 5:45 or Saturday from noon to 4:45 for our special tasting of two great white wines!
Cin Cin,
Jenn
