Ravenna, Urbino & The Marche

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Ravenna, Urbino & The Marche

Ravenna, Urbino & The Marche

Ravenna, Urbino & The Marche

Ravenna, Urbino & The Marche

26 - 31 October 2008

On this fabulous wine holiday we visit Le Marche which nestles between the Adriatic Sea and the Apennine mountains and has beautiful, unspoilt landscapes, dotted with many secret villages. One of the most dynamic of Italy's wine regions, the Marche has extremely old wine traditions. However, the current crop of winemakers are very forward thinking and the wines of the region are getting better and better each year we taste. Exciting new developments have taken place with the creation of new DOCs such as 'Offida Rosso', which will be includedd in our wine tasting on this great italian wine tour.

We visit one of the top producers of Verdicchio - Umani Ronchi. Here we discover this excellent native variety hailing from the valley of the Esino River. It has a delicate aroma but can age well - a rarity in Italian whites.

For the reds the main variety include montepulciano (the grape variety, not the village in Tuscany!) as well as sangiovese and cabernet. The reds are attractive, brambley wines with great potential for ageing. Rosso Conero & Rosso Piceno from the likes of Boccadigabbia and Velenosi are serious red wines equal to some of the best reds of Italy and becoming increasingly well known on the international stage.

Our first three nights are spent in the South of the Marche, in the Renaissance city of Ascoli Piceno. It was an important Roman city and under the Lombards belonged to the Dukedom of Spoleto, then became independent before becoming part of the newly founded Kingdom of Italy in 1860. There are many excellent examples of Renaissance architecture to explore such as the Palazzo dei Capitani, The Loggia delle Mercanti and the church of St Francis. The art gallery houses one of the richest collections of religious art in Italy and the Archaeology museum is highly recommended too. To relax try a glass of “anisetta”, the local liquor, in the wonderful liberty style Café Meletti.

This fascinating tour takes in Ravenna that, now an attractive provincial town, replaced Rome as the most important city in Italy when Rome 'declined and fell'. The legacy of the time are the mosaics in the Tomb of Galla Placidia, one of the last great Roman matrons, and the slightly later, monumental mosaic of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian and his court. These are perhaps the most important works of art in the west to survive from this era and are truly magnificent.

The tour ends in the beautiful city of Bologna - known as Bologna la Grassa due to its superb food! Being Italy, pairing food with wine is never far from the mind and the Marche has its moreish Vincisgrassi (a local type of lasagne) and stuffed olives amongst many other tempting dishes. Our lunch with the Vallania family at the Terre Rossa wine estate is always a happy, relaxed affair where we are welcomed into the home like special friends – whilst Mamma helps prepare copious servings of steaming pasta, Giovanni and / or Elisabetta Vallania will make sure that our glasses are never empty of their excellent wines, which includes a superb Viognier.

On the final morning there is time to explore Bologona, and enjoy one more tasty, memorable meal together before heading home.