Perhaps the most versatile of Italy’s native white grapes is Le Marche’s Verdicchio (vair-DEEK-kyo). This ‘Classico Superiore’, a single-vineyard wine, picked at full ripeness and naturally vinified, is gently aromatic on the nose, featuring wild herbs, temperate-climate fruits (apples, apricots), but with a hint, too, of the sub-tropical (grapefruit). Multi- faceted on the palate, it is subtle and penetrating with a delicious smack of ripe fruit in its heart. Beautifully balanced by crunchy acidity, it boasts a creamy texture which makes it mighty difficult to spit.
My advice: Don’t.
– Nicolas Belfrage MW
The name Villaia has its origins from the rural tradition of the Marche region, where the threshing-floor outside rural houses was not just where the grain was threshed, but was also the family’s center of social activity. Verdicchio wine was always present in the convivial moments of country life and we want to re-evoke these traditional country rites with Villaia’s natural typicality.
Grapes
100% Verdicchio on the Guyot system.
Vineyard
The vineyard called Colle del Sole located in the municipality of Maiolati Spontini is characterized by its soil rich of clay and silt. Verdicchio grapes are cultivated in the eastern part of hill on 4 hectares of soft hilly terrains. The average altitude is 120 meters above sea level.
Harvest
The grapes selected to produce Villaia are gathered at the end of September. Yields 6,5 tons per hectare.
Vinification
The alcoholic fermentation takes place spontaneously, without the addition of yeasts, in a stainless steel vat. It lasts around 50 days at an average temperature of 14° centigrade.
The wine then ages on the fine lees for about 6 months before bottling.