Winemaker Notes
The Umani Ronchi story is one of ancient vines, land, and people. It began more than half a century ago at Cuprmontana, in the ehart of Verdicchio Classico country, and has spread further. Today, Umani Ronchi is owned by the Bianchi-Bernetti family, who since 1959 have been making superb quality craft wines, coaxing the best out of the Verdicchio and Montepulciano grapes that find their finest expression in the Marche and Abruzzo regions. For over ten years, Umani Ronchi has been a member of the Istituto del Vino di Qualità - Grandi Marchi, which unites over nineteen of Italy’s greatest wine brands. Umani Ronchi continues to be family-run with Michele Bernetti at the helm, and his father, Massimo, acting as chair.
A warm, Mediterranean vine-growing paradise, in Abruzzo, the distance from mountains to seaside is relatively short. The Apenniness, which run through the center of Italy, rise up on its western side while the Adriatic Sea defines its eastern border.
Wine composition tends to two varieties: Abruzzo’s red grape, Montepulciano and its white, Trebbiano. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo can come in a quaffable, rustic and fruity style that generally drinks best young. It is also capable of making a more serious style, where oak aging tames its purely wild fruit.
Trebbiano in Abruzzo also comes in a couple of varieties. Trebbiano Toscana makes a simple and fruity white. However when meticulously tended, the specific Trebbiano d’Abruzzo-based white wines can be complex and long-lived.
In the region’s efforts to focus on better sites and lower yields, vine acreage has decreased in recent years while quality has increased.
Montepulciano is the second most planted red variety in Italy after Sangiovese, though it is achieves its highest potential in the region of Abruzzo. Consistently enticing and enjoyable, Montepulciano enjoys great popularity throughout central and southern Italy as well. A tiny bit grows with success in California, Argentina and Australia. Somm Secret—Montepulciano is also the name of a village in Tuscany where, confusingly, they don’t grow the Montepulciano grape at all! Sangiovese shines in yet another Tuscan village, here making the reputable wine called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.