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Europe, Italy: right in the middle of the long chain of the Appennini mountains, facing the Adriatic Sea, lies the Marche region. The flat and sandy coast suddenly rises and becomes rocky, becoming a mountain, Monte Conero: 600 metres of white rock with a sheer drop to the sea.
From the sea: beaches inaccessible from the mainland, rocks, stacks, seagulls and herons- circling and hunting for fish.
To the west, at sunset, Monte Conero is covered by a forest of holm oaks, oaks, pines, myrtle and arbitus: the Mediterranean scrub with all its splendour.
Here the hills lose their natural disposition from the west to east forming a triple crown around the mountain.
Calcareous rocks, sandy silt, and clayey mix in the earth around the mountain are the origin of the special characteristics of the Conero wines.
This uniqueness is only found in a narrow stretch of land within Numana, Sirolo, Castelfidardo, Osimo, Camerano and Ancona territories, including Offagna, where our vineyards are located.
The climate of the area is mild temperate. The sporadic winter snowfalls bring a period of rest to the grapevine. Wind from the sea mitigate the rigours of winter, cool summer nights and contribute to the maintenance of a nice cool temperature and the acidity of the wine.
It rains mostly in autumn and early spring, but the clay in the earth works as a reservoir in the vineyards, releasing the water during the summer.
During terse autumn and winter days, from the top of Conero Mountain in Pian dei Raggettiwhen the eye can see as far as Monti Sibillini to the peaks of Gran Sasso, sometimes even to the Maiella mountains. On such days it is possible to see and count the vineyards which produce the Conero wine, spread out on the green and brown blanket of the square fields painting our landscape. In this territory the grapevine has been cultivated for over 2,500 years. It has been so long that hand, foot, and spade mould this sweet and bitter land: generous and demanding at the same time. Plinio il Giovane and Columella, writers and scientists from ancient Rome, wrote about the good and plentiful red wine from Conero. So much time has passed since then but hand and craft have continued to refine the cultivation of grapevines, searching in its fruit and juice one of the joys of life.
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