MATELICA (Province of Macerata): The 2015/2016 winter was mild with little rain. This caused early budding of the vines. There were rains in the late springtime. After which there were rains every week during the summer. These disturbances did not originate from North Africa, but from the Atlantic ocean so that the temperature also dropped. This favoured the ripening and the aroma of the white grape varieties.

Aroldo Belelli consulting agronomist/oenologist of Azienda Agraria Bisci (Verdicchio di Matelica DOC, Marche Rosso IGT): “…we worked in the vineyards maintaining a good canopy so that there was a good ripening of the grapes. The harvest was quite early in one part of the vineyards and it was late in the Fogliano vineyard. The harvest started at the end of September and finished on the 20th of October with the Fogliano vineyard. The wines are fresh, fruity and pleasant. The wines made from the Fogliano vineyard are complex, with a good acidity that will ensure a long evolution and a long ageing. The wines of this kind of vintage with a good acidity and with a low pH1 can age up to 20 years! The grape yield was good. We are happy with 2016….This year we planted 7 new hectares of Verdicchio, so that now the total vineyard extension is 20 hectares, of which 18 hectares are planted with Verdicchio and approximately two hectares are planted with Sangiovese and with Merlot…”

JESI (Province of Macerata): The winter was quite unusual. In February the temperature was above average so that the budding phase of the vines was accelerated. It was rainy and cool in March. Then there were periods with heavy rains and dry and ventilated periods. Starting in August the weather was good and the month of September was beautiful with an excellent day/night temperature range.

Giulio Piazzini agronomist-oenologist of Tenuta di Tavignano (Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore DOC, Rosso Piceno DOC, Marche IGT):”…we worked very carefully in the vineyards during the first phase of the vegetative cycle of the vines. We are now in the second year of the conversion period to be certified organic. Luckily we did not have problems also thanks to the characteristics of this area. The ripening of the grapes went well. The month of September was beautiful so that there was no humidity on the clusters when we took the grapes to the cellar. We dropped fruit and we de-leafed the vines in the Montepulciano vineyards that stand on soils that are sandy and rich. . The Verdicchio vineyards stand on soils that are not very generous, so that we did not have to drop fruit….We started picking during the second week of September and we finished during the third week of October. We brought beautiful and healthy grapes to the cellar. The grape yield was slightly lower than in 2015. The wines look good, the Verdicchio wines are fresh, elegant and with delicate notes on the nose. The red wines are fruity, fresh and very drinkable. 2016 is a very interesting vintage. ”

NUMANA (Province of Ancona): The winter was mild, it did not snow, and the rainfall was average. There was a lot of rain in June. In July and August the temperature was high, but not above normal. The weather was good in September and in October.

Azienda Agricola Le Terrazze –Antonio Terni owner of the estate (Rosso Conero DOC, Conero DOCG, Marche IGT):”..we started picking Chardonnay on the first of September and we finished with Montepulciano grapes on the 18th of October. The quality of the grapes was good. Our vines are quite old with deep roots, so that they do not get affected by drought. We are happy with the 2016 vintage. It is a bit early to judge the quality of the wines, but the analytical data are good and the quality of the grapes was good, so that the forecast is also good…..”

CIVITANOVA MARCHE (Province of Macerata): It was very rainy in June. During the whole summer it was cold at night.

Elvio Alessandri owner of Azienda Agricola Boccadigabbia (Rosso Piceno DOC, Colli Maceratesi Ribona DOC, Marche IGT): “….the grapes were extremely healthy at harvest. The ripening phase was late as the veraison (the phase when the berries change colour) was late and took place in August. The harvest was extremely long this year: we started on the 25/26 August (instead of the usual 10/12 August) and we finished at the end of October. Although it rained during the harvest, we did not have problems with mould as it was cold at night. We also did not have problems with disease throughout the vegetative cycle for the same reason. The grape yield was quite high this year. The wines are well balanced, fresh and with a good aroma. The reds have a good colour. We harvested the white and red varieties twice. We harvested the whites for the production of fresh wines with a lower alcohol strength first and then we let the rest of the grapes ripen. We harvested the red varieties for the production of Rosato first and we let the rest of the vines continue to ripen. We are happy with 2016…..”

PERGOLA (Province of Pesaro and Urbino): The winter was quite normal without snow and with a normal rainfall. The springtime was quite rainy, but the rains were distributed well. The summer was warm with some rains, so that the vines did not suffer. At the beginning of the summer there were some cool and rainy days that made the ripening time of the vines longer.

Stefano Tonelli owner of Fattoria Villa Ligi (Pergola Rosso DOC, Pergola Passito DOC):”…..2016 is a very well balanced vintage. The grape yield was higher than in 2015. The grapes were very healthy with a good ripening. The harvest was very long: we started picking Chardonnay for sparkling wines on the 16-17 August and we finished with Montepulciano grapes on the 21st of October. We harvested for two months! The reds have a good structure and a good alcohol strength. Our Rosato is slightly Provence style this year…..”