Vigneti Vallorani

Rocco Vallorani is a one man show run by Rocco Valloranione, one of southern Marche's wine's rising stars about the evolution of his region. His winery is located between the Sibillini national park (central Appennines) and the Adriatic Sea in the town of Colli del Tronto. In his mind he makes natural wine in a Burgundian way. In our minds, other than some battonage, lees aging, and fermentation in old oak here and there, this is 100% Central Italy at its best: the reds are gamey and earthy while the whites manage to be both rich and seasidey saline at the same time.

Castrum Morisci

The farm, deeply oriented to organic farming, extends over 7.5 hectares of vineyards among the rolling hills of the Marche hinterland at the foot of the medieval village of Moresco. The proximity of the sea and the particular terroir give the products an unmistakable connotation. We vinify with the use of steel vats, terracotta and wood, with the desire to discover and enhance all the aromatic range of cultivated vines. 

How Le Marche is Le Marche? Castrum Morisci has been making wine for over 80 years, but it wasn't until a nephew convinced them to incorporate 5 years ago that they decided to make labels and put corks in the bottles. Meanwhile we're dealing with a perfectly situated winery: old vines on sandy clay soil in a valley 250m above sea level with the Adriatic less than 5km away funneling salty air into the chasm. Castrum Morisci is also a great example of the punk energy of youth working hand in hand with the wisdom of the elders.

Rapillo

Azienda Agricola Rapillo is a biodynamic farm located in Serrone in the heart of the Ciociaria 350 meters above sea level between the Valle del Latini and the Arcinazzo plateaus. This is a scraggy nearly inhospitable volcanic terrain -- in fact its name means ‘serrated’ -- not conveniently located near an Autostrada nor near anyone’s beaten path really. The soil ranges from terra rossa to sand and limestone. They are growing their local grapes, Cesanese and Passerina. This is a true "vino del contadino" -- Rapillo wasn't even bottling these wines until we found them! They were just selling them "sfuso" direct from the stainless steel tanks into whatever container the locals brought to fill it up with. How "contadino" are they? When we convinced them to come to NYC for RAW 2016 it was the vigneron's (Enzo) first time on a plane ever and he stayed on this side of the Atlantic for a total of 48 hours before high-tailing it back home.

Malena

The proximity to the Ionic Sea means that there are warm and salty air currents, creating an exceptional climate in the hinterland and a particularly mild environment with a notably high annual average temperature. Interestingly, though Malena makes some higher end natural wine, it is their organic entry level wines that pull at our heartstrings. They speak to the arid sun-drenched Ionian terroir better than their higher end wines (currently) do. How could this be? I think it all comes down to where the winemaker's soul is. To put it in his own words "I like to shave, I don't like to have a beard.”