Offida

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The Offida DOCG area lies in the peri-Adriatic belt of the Marche-Abruzzo zone, featuring a Plio-Pleistocene succession composed of sandy-conglomeratic deposits at the base, overlain by a thick pelitic sequence.
• Vineyard soils are Cambisols with a deep cambic horizon displaying good aggregation and porosity, without significant clay translocation, and a homogeneous carbonate content throughout the profile.
• The soils have a depth consistently exceeding 80–100 cm and an available water capacity (AWC) consistently above 150 mm, ensuring adequate moisture even during summer drought periods.
• The altitude of vineyards cultivated in the zone, ranging from the coastal strip to the mid-to-upper hills, falls between 50 and 650 metres above sea level.
• The Mediterranean climate of the area brings mean annual rainfall of 650–850 mm, with a summer minimum in July and an autumn-winter maximum between October and December, spread over 80–90 rainy days per year.

• The ampelographic base of the Offida DOCG is formed by the grape varieties traditionally cultivated in the Piceno area, namely Pecorino, Passerina, and Montepulciano.
• Training systems evolved over the centuries from the specialised low-medieval vineyards to interplanted arable systems in the folignata form and to tree-trained vines (alberate), and finally to trellis systems with Guyot and Cordon Spur training from the early 1960s onwards.
• For Offida Rosso, a structured and long-lived wine, production requires an ageing and bottle-refinement period of 24 months.
• The Offida wines were recognised as a DOC in 2001 by Presidential Decree of 23 May 2001, and subsequently elevated to DOCG by Ministerial Decree of 15 June 2011.

• Offida Pecorino is straw-yellow with greenish reflections, with floral notes of white flowers, fruit notes of pineapple, and hints of anise and sage; it is fresh, mineral, savoury, and persistent on the palate.
• Offida Passerina is straw-yellow with yellowish reflections, with notes of yellow-fleshed fruit and citrus hints; it is fresh and mineral, with a persistent finish.
• Offida Rosso is ruby-red tending toward garnet, with notes of red fruits and hints of liquorice and chocolate; it is soft and broad, with a very long finish.

• The warm-temperate climate, with a very hot summer and a not overly pronounced dry season, favours both the vegetative condition of the vines and the accumulation of polyphenols in the grape skins.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-IT-A0477
• Official trade body site — Consorzio Tutela Vini Piceni