For as much as Verdicchio is oft-overlooked and under-appreciated, the varietal creates some of the most age-worthy white wines produced in Italy. Join us for a conversation with Gianluca Garofoli about the history, terroir and importance of the varietal and Marche region as a whole.
In 1871, Garofoli began making wine to quench the pilgrims’ temporal thirst as they made the trek to visit the Basilica della Santa Casa, one of the most important Christian pilgrimage sites during the Middle Ages. And thus, a long family tradition began as thirty years later, his son Gioacchino founded a full-scale winery operation. The winery expanded commercially after World War II as Casa Vinicola Gioacchino Garofoli. Today the winery run by the fourth and fifth generations brothers Carlo and Gianfranco Garofoli and their three children Gianluca, Caterina, and Beatrice. The winery is best known for its Verdicchio-based dry white wines, which range from still to sparkling. Carlo Garofoli is well known as an innovator in the region, leading the way in such practices as aging Verdicchio wines, using 100% Verdicchio rather than blending, using standard wine bottles rather than the old-time amphora-type bottles, and bottling a single-vineyard Verdicchio (Podium). The Podium Verdicchio has been rewarded with Tre Bicchieri by Gambero Rosso 15 times and remains one of the most lauded white wines in Italy to this day.