For us at Le Colline winery, the vineyard is everything:
It is the habitat, the place we are used to and where we spend most of our daily time.
It is the panorama that is offered to our eyes when, closely observing the fruits of our work, we widen our gaze to the rows and then beyond, to the line of the horizon.
It is cyclical time, which manifests itself in a stupendous way in the fruiting process of the vines, from the bare branches of winter to the chromatic phantasmagoria of harvest time.
The vineyard is all of this.
But we like to think of it not only as a physical place. In fact, the image we have of it is rather that of a flow of physical and emotional events: a magical flow which leads from the earth to the wine. Work, sweat, care, waiting, fear of adverse weather conditions, hope and trepidation are the salient elements that make up this flow. But finally joy: the joy of ripe grapes and the harvest, and the enthusiasm for wine, which in itself condenses everything we have described.
In the vineyard there are some protagonists, just like in the theatre. These are the different grape varieties which, divided into rows, differ from each other in leaves and fruits, in the colour, shape and flavor of the berries, and naturally in the resulting must, from which the characteristic wine, originating from each. When we walk among the rows, their different personalities and needs appear to us, which require appropriate care for each one. Walking from one grape variety to another is a bit like visiting acquaintances, to talk to and hear stories from.
First of all the Maceratino, or Ribona. It is the most typical autochthonous grape variety, because it is specific to the Macerata area, in the heart of which our vineyard is located. Cultivated for centuries, it has recently gained well-deserved fame.
It is a white grape variety, with a thick skin, which thins when fully ripe, and for this reason the ideal moment for its harvest must be determined with great care and precision. We have already talked about it here. It should be underlined Maceratino is a relative of the better known Verdicchio, from which it inherits the quality and the appreciation of wine lovers. It goes without saying that it is one of our prides, because there are few companies that can make use of such a "territorial" vine. For this reason, breeding Maceratino is like a mission for us, aimed at safeguarding it and spreading its knowledge. We vinify it in purity, so that its peculiarities emerge. We also offer the sparkling version, which enhances its organoleptic suggestions.
Another vine that lives in our vineyard is Malvasia. More precisely: Malvasia from the Marche region. With white grapes (there is also Malvasia with black grapes, but not widespread in the Marches), this vine was grown, in the past, in all the farms in the Marches, which made wine for family use. Frequently, the vine was worked in blends, with Passerina, Pecorino, etc. Malvasia therefore reminds us of the age of artisanal wine, produced with few means, often without an appropriate selection of bunches, but with the typical passion of poor people , who found in wine one of the rare pleasures of life... For those who love to hear the echo of farm wine, therefore, Malvasia is indispensable: in purity, with careful selection, just as we have decided to offer it, to highlight its due value.
The rows of white wines are completed by two international grape varieties, acclimatised in an extraordinary way in our territory: the Chardonnay delle Marche and the Sauvignon. We emphasize that the alien origin does not prevent the two vines from acquiring territorial value, because the location of our vineyard, at the foot of the Sibillini mountains, and the particular composition of the soil, also contribute predominantly to making typical in local sense (or " glocal" - global/local - as they say) the biological development and the oenological results we draw from it. Here too, our offer is single-variety wines.
And here we are at the Montepulciano. It is, as is well known, an autochthonous red grape variety from the Marche and Abruzzo regions. Therefore, the rows could not be missing in the vineyard. In the Marches, Montepulciano enters into composition with Sangiovese to give rise to Rosso Piceno and Rosso Conero (in the latter it can also be pure), two very well known and appreciated wines. But in relatively recent times its autonomous organoleptic value has been fully understood.
In fact, in purity, it produces magnificent results, so much so that Montepulciano is now included in the small circle of the most excellent vines, because with the strength and elegance that characterize its flavor and varied aroma, it is capable of giving life to results winemaking that can compete with the most famous vines. We also believe this to be the case. And this is why we cultivate it with enthusiasm, as the particular protagonist of the vineyard, proposing it in purity.
Finally, the Sangiovese. It is the most widespread red grape variety in central Italy.
Tuscany, Romagna and Marche are its characteristic locations. As mentioned, in the Marches it composes the blends of Rosso Piceno and Rosso Conero with Montepulciano. But we vinify it in purity. In fact, our style of cultivation and then of vinification follows from our predilection for the pure flavors that the vine can express, without altering its original organoleptic-olfactory character.
When every day you meet in the vineyard the protagonists that we have briefly described here, you listen to their daily stories, you measure and take care of their particular needs, you share their stages of growth and fructification - when you have this emotional relationship with them, you don't feel like alter the strong personality that each of them pours into their fruit and then into the wine that originates from it.
Best wishes for a good drink.