Zena

Address

Via Brecciole, 25 - 60034 Cupramontana (Ancona)

Owner

Maria Zenobia Sassaroli

Year of Establishment

2010

Region

Marche

Maria Zenobia Sassaroli is a lifelong grower of some of the Jesi area’s best Verdicchio grapes, which is to say, some of the best white grapes of Italy.  With 53 hectares in the prime Cupramontana Commune (“The Capital of Verdicchio”) at 500 meters above sea level, Zena, as she is known, has become a very well respected and sought after producer.

 

Most Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi vineyards average half the altitude of Cupramontana. For example, Cingoli and Senigallia Communes lay in lower lying hills that tend to face east, open to the Adriatic sea’s bounty.  But in Cupramontana, vineyards often face west, absorbing the direct, intense influence of the Appennine mountains.

 

Zena finally decided to bottle her own grapes, with the expertise of enologist Aroldo Bellelli.  The result is a significantly more substantial Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi than others you will encounter.  Its power and structure, spikey acidy and stony minerality are reminiscent of the “mountain wine” Verdicchio di Matelica.  Still, shining through comes the Jesi’s solar and saline sapidity exuding citrus and underripe stone fruits punctuated with intermittent tiny twinges of bitterness.

Vineyard Info

Average annual production

35.000 bottles

Total vineyard extention

30 ha

Planted varietals and extension

Verdicchio - 30 ha

Vine training system

Guyot

Cultivation method in the vineyard

Grass left on the aisles between the vines

Wines from this producer

Zena

Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico

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Zena

Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore

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