Facebook and Twitter come through

A couple of weeks ago I put out an APB (all points bulletin, linguaggio poliziesco) asking my Italian "social media" friends to guide me to interesting wineries in Le Marche, a region that I know only from whizzing through it on the autostrada.  (Oh and one rainy August 2006 afternoon in Ascoli Piceno.) 

Well, folks, it worked.  I got some excellent suggestions from Twitter and Facebook friends in Italy and the US.  We have some appointments set up for the September trip, and I expect to show-and-tell these visits after I return to New York.  

Below: Ascoli Piceno, a provincial capital in Le Marche.  Scottish weather in August

From an American perspective, Le Marche is a region without a clear identity.  Its name refers to its position as an Adriatic coastal frontier between the Papal States and the Holy Roman Empire, and with that came with a great deal of armed conflict, which militated against building up great wealth and an artistic overload.  The region has its gems, such as Urbino (a Renaissance jewel I've long wanted to see) and Ascoli Piceno itself, but it rests in the shadow of its major illustrious neighbor to the west, Tuscany, the fat and prosperous Emilia-Romagna to the north, and the relatively obscure Umbria to the west. In the northeastern US, at least, its southern neighbor, Abruzzo, is much better known, and not only for wines like Montepulciano d'Abruzzo; central New Jersey is packed with the descendants of Abruzzesi.

The wines of the region are interesting.  Rosso di Conero is popping up on more lists, and it can be one of the great bargains of Italy -- juicy with modest tannins and lip-smacking fruit.  Common in the Marche's wines are Sangiovese and Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, two of the best food wines anywhere -- variable in style, versatile as to pairings, hugely pleasing when well-made, not overcropped and not forced into an "international" strait jacket.

We are looking forward to a productive and interesting trip, to be sure.