Today we are talking about Pecorino , a native white grape variety of Marche origin, which has always been cultivated on the Sibillini mountains, on the border with Umbria, which for a very long time was little considered and only in the last twenty years, was it recognized the right appreciation .
Origins
Unfortunately, its origins can only be assumed: some date back to the 2nd century BC due to some writings handed down to us by Marco Porcio Catone, others more recent date back to the Middle Ages, thanks to specific references written in the Statutes of Norcia in Umbria, concerning the owners of the Pecorino vineyards of the time.
From the Marches it gradually spread to the south, in Abruzzo, where it found magnificent pedoclimatic conditions to progress at excellent quality levels. Despite this, partly because the wine produced was used as a blending wine, partly because it did not have a high productivity per hectare, this grape variety was never brought into vogue as it probably would have deserved.
The same name was the subject of several in-depth studies and nice researches that certainly led us to believe that there were links between the wine produced by the vine of the same name and pastoralism, which at the time was very developed and which lived the historic Transhumance through the Apennine hills up to Puglia.
How credible these hypotheses are, no one can be sure: if the wine produced was the favorite of shepherds, or if it was not of particular quality and therefore intended for consumption by simple people like the “pecorari”, or if it was simply customary that it was transported from them, or if the cluster had a particular shape that recalled the features of a sheep’s muzzle, or if the latter adored to eat the juicy and sweet grapes, in short, no one can and will ever be able to say for sure.
Diffusion
The registration in the National Catalog of Vine Varieties took place in 1970, with the subsequent great diffusion of the plant, not only in the Marche and Abruzzo, but also in Lazio and Puglia, even if over time it was less and less cultivated, its expansion in fact it declined, partly due to its characteristic early ripening and partly due to the low yields that could be obtained.
Characteristics of the vine
A vine from which a wine with a good structure is obtained, with a straw yellow color with shades that vary from greenish to golden depending on the evolution and usually with an excellent consistency.
A wine with intense fruity and floral aromas, with beautiful mineral and herbaceous notes and with a gustatory freshness supported by a pleasant sapidity and minerality, always well balanced with good heat and a pleasant softness.
A wine to be served cold, 6-8 degrees at the most, with aperitifs, appetizers, seafood, vegetarian dishes, white meats and fresh or medium-aged cheeses.
See all Pecorino wines .
