The DOCG and DOC wines of the beautiful Marche region of Italy, DIY vineyard & winery tasting tours

OFFIDA, Italy - Feb. 27, 2017 - PRLog -- Visitors to Italy often opt to stay in a self-catering rental property such as a villa or agriturismo and their first job after arrival is usually to stock up on delicious goodies from the local shops. Of course, the international success of Italian cuisine is such that many of the culinary options are already familiar to the buyer.

However, when it comes to wine buying there are often varietal wines and a range of DOC, DOCG and IGT Italian wines that are unavailable or scarce outside the producing area. This does not make them inferior, in fact many of these vinos are actually sensational and far superior to their better known cousins. The only reason that they're unfamiliar is that the either the vineyards do not have sufficient volumes to justify export or that their size doesn't allow them to effectively market their products.

We have visited the Piceno wine growing area of Marche on many occasions. First and foremost, halfway between mountains and sea, it is stunningly beautiful and has its own micro-climate that make it an agricultural hot spot. The green rolling hills and valleys also present viticulture with an incredible range of options. Vineyards are placed according to grape variety and their response to dazzling light, warm shade, soil type and the angle of a hillside.  The results speak for themselves, velvety, mouth-filling Rosso Piceno wines blend Montepulciano and Sangiovese, whites include Pecorino a honeyed full bodied wine and Passerina a more citrus and floral vino.

Over recent years these wine makers have pooled their resources and created a consortium. This enables small and medium sized vineyards and wineries to establish economies of scale and combine their marketing efforts. We hoped that by linking these cantinas together, it would help the public with DIY wine tours, but found that there was no map. So we have created a guide and a map that enables wine lovers to access the best wines that Marche region has to offer.  http://www.villasanraffaello.com/doc-marche-wine-tour-offida/

Every winery, however small, has its own tasting room, and they will often drop everything and guide you round their fermentation, ageing and bottling areas. Best of all, they are happy for you to taste their wines, to buy bottles or sfuso young draft wines that cost under €2 a liter.

It's also worth enquiring about shipping as a rate of under €1 per bottle to Northern Europe often delivers great wines to your doorstep at a fraction of the costs at home. What better way to prolong your holiday!

Why not use Villa San Raffaello as your base for a wine tour of Marche Region. 1km from the beautiful medieval town of Sarnano and the Sibillini National Park, it has won trip advisor excellence awards for the last 5 years http://www.villasanraffaello.com