This week’s blog is written by our wonderful guest writer Susan, who has been visiting Le Marche for many years and knows the region inside and out. In this post, she shares her experience at a small, lesser-known cantina near Azienda Cerqueto: Cantina Terre di San Ginesio. At first glance, it might not catch your eye, but it turned out to be a fantastic surprise. Enjoy reading!
Discovering Cantina Terre di San Ginesio
We’ve been coming to Le Marche for many years now, and over time, we’ve discovered several wineries, either by joining tastings or simply enjoying their wines over lunch or dinner in one of the many charming local restaurants. Every year, a few boxes of wine make their way back with us to the Netherlands. So, it’s always a treat to come across a new winery with wines we haven’t tasted before.
This year, we spent two weeks in June at Azienda Cerqueto with Monique, Robert, and Eva. While browsing online, I came across a tasting at Cantina Terre di San Ginesio in Ripe San Ginesio. It was funny to realize that we had driven past it many times in previous years without ever noticing it was a winery. Unlike, for example, Murola with its long cypress-lined driveway and vineyards, Terre di San Ginesio is a bit more discreet. The cantina is right off the main road, with its 15 hectares of vineyards scattered around the area.
We booked a Wednesday afternoon tasting for the four of us, including an English-language tour. While Italian would have been more charming, our language skills aren’t quite good enough (despite a previous course!) to fully understand the details. Still, we always make a brave attempt and try to use as little English as possible.
Upon arrival, we were warmly welcomed by Mauro, who also led the tour himself. He showed us the old winemaking machines, the wine tanks and barrel, both steel and wood, and explained the winemaking process. Some of the machines are over 65 years old! It turns out the cantina used to be a cantina sociale, where local farmers brought their grapes to produce wine. It was fascinating to see.
Time to Taste
After the tour, it was time for the tasting. Mauro’s wife had arrived in the meantime and prepared the appetizers. We tasted five different wines, including vino cotto a typical wine from Le Marche paired with several rounds of antipasti. The wines were surprisingly delicious, and the antipasti were just as good!
Mauro joined us for the tasting and spoke with great passion about the wines, the winery, its history, and his family. For two of us, including me, it was especially interesting since we’ve taken a few wine courses over the years.
Although we had requested the tasting in English, Mauro’s English isn’t fluent. Still, he made a huge effort, which added to the charm of the experience. And the more wine he tasted with us, the better his English became, we didn’t miss a thing!
A Pleasant Surprise
Of course, we couldn’t leave without taking some bottles home, and we were pleasantly surprised by the prices. Most of the wines range from just €5 to €10, great value for such quality.
All in all, if you’re looking for a relaxed and tasty wine tasting experience with antipasti, a guided tour, and plenty of stories, we can wholeheartedly recommend Cantina Terre di San Ginesio. We had such a lovely afternoon!
