Italy · Ancona & Cònero Riviera

Azienda Vinicola Umani Ronchi Spa

Family estate founded in 1957 at Cupramontana, farming 210 organic hectares across Marche and Abruzzo and producing Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi in two tiers, including Historical, which spends five years before release.

The producer

Umani Ronchi was founded in 1957 at Cupramontana, a hillside town at the centre of the Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico zone in the Marche region of central-eastern Italy. The Bianchi-Bernetti family has owned the estate since that first vintage, and Michele Bernetti now runs the operation with his father Massimo as chair. From that single Verdicchio origin, the estate expanded across sixty years into 210 organically farmed hectares spread across ten districts in Marche and Abruzzo, doubling the vineyard area from the 1970s onward, replanting 85 percent of older vines, and recovering Pecorino and Lacrima di Morro d'Alba, two indigenous varieties that had nearly disappeared from the region.

Verdicchio is the defining grape. The estate produces two expressions of Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore that show what extended ageing does to the same variety from the same hills. Vecchie Vigne comes from old vines, fermented in steel without malolactic conversion and aged ten months on concrete lees, giving firm acidity, white flowers, citrus pith, and the bitter almond finish that marks the grape at its most direct. Historical comes from vines over 50 years old in Montecarotto at 310 metres, hand-harvested and held for five years before release: 18 months in concrete on lees, 36 months in stainless steel, then at least six months in bottle. Historical is a white with balsamic nuance, anise, almond, and white fruit on the nose, and a palate with unusual roundness and a long, slowly fading finish. Gambero Rosso named Umani Ronchi Italian Winery of the Year 2024.

Known for

Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore, including extended lees-aged Historical

Notable facts

The story

Five Years In The Tank

Umani Ronchi held Historical in tank and bottle for about five years before release. Historical 2019 won a second consecutive Tre Bicchieri award from Gambero Rosso. Daniele Cernilli named the vintage Best Verdicchio of the Year and gave it a score of 96/100. The nose showed balsamic nuances, anise, almonds, and white fruit, followed by a bright, incredibly long finish.

From the atlas

Azienda Vinicola Umani Ronchi Spa

At A Glance

The Producer

Umani Ronchi was founded in 1957 at Cupramontana, a hillside town in the inland arc of hills that defines the Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico zone. The Bianchi-Bernetti family has owned the estate since that first vintage. Michele Bernetti now runs the operation day to day, with his father Massimo as chair.

From that single Verdicchio origin, the estate expanded across sixty years into 210 hectares of vineyards spread across ten districts in Marche and Abruzzo. The expansion did not drift toward international varieties. The family doubled the vineyard area from the 1970s onward, replanted 85 percent of older vines, and recovered Pecorino and Lacrima di Morro d'Alba, two indigenous varieties that had nearly disappeared from the region, alongside the Verdicchio and Montepulciano that remained the commercial anchors. In 2024, Gambero Rosso named Umani Ronchi Italian Winery of the Year, placing a Marche estate at the head of a national competition for the first time.

Place

Marche runs along the Adriatic coast of central Italy, a region of parallel ridges descending from the Apennines toward the sea. The Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico zone occupies the inland hills around Jesi, south of Ancona, where limestone soils, elevation, and diurnal temperature shifts combine to produce a white grape of notable acidity and aromatic complexity. Cupramontana sits near the heart of this zone.

Verdicchio is not a grape that trades on oak or alcohol. The variety produces wines of natural freshness, marked by a slight bitter almond note on the finish that is its most identifiable characteristic, and an acid line that allows extended cellaring when the winemaking supports it. The Classico Superiore designation requires higher minimum alcohol and longer ageing than the base DOC, which is why both Vecchie Vigne and Historical carry it on the label.

Soil And Site

The ten districts across which Umani Ronchi farms sit between the Adriatic hills and the Apennine foothills, each with different elevation and soil character. The Historical parcels in Montecarotto stand at 310 meters above sea level, which extends the growing season and slows ripening into late September and early October. Older vine roots in this terrain reach deeper into the subsoil, drawing less water and producing smaller, more concentrated fruit. Hand harvesting across these parcels allows selection at the vine rather than in the winery.

Story

The estate grew in two distinct directions from its Verdicchio foundation. One direction was geographic: from Cupramontana into Abruzzo, acquiring parcels suited to Montepulciano and the recovering indigenous varieties. The other was temporal: an increasing commitment to ageing time as a winemaking variable rather than a commercial concession.

The family's decision to replant 85 percent of old vines across the expanding estate from the 1970s onward was a gamble on long-term vine age over short-term volume. Older vines eventually produced fruit of enough concentration to support a winemaking program that most Italian white wine producers would find commercially implausible. Historical, the estate's apex Verdicchio, now spends five years between harvest and release, an investment of time that removes the wine from annual retail cycles and requires the estate to carry the inventory cost across those years. The 2018 vintage earned Tre Bicchieri. The 2019 earned a 96-point score from Daniele Cernilli and a description of unusual aromatic complexity from Gambero Rosso critics.

Vineyards And Cellar

Organic farming across all 210 hectares was adopted as a practical viticulture decision: the estate has described it as a technical choice rather than an ideological one, driven by the need for balance across diverse soil types and multiple districts. No synthetic herbicides or pesticides means the vine root systems must work harder, which reduces yields and intensifies the flavours that reach the tank.

In the cellar, the two Verdicchio expressions show contrasting approaches to the same grape. Vecchie Vigne is fermented in steel at 16 to 18 degrees Celsius over 10 to 15 days, with no malolactic fermentation, and aged for ten months in concrete tanks on fermentation yeasts before six months in bottle. The decision against malolactic conversion preserves the grape's malic acidity, keeping the wine taut and aromatic. The concrete contact with lees adds a slight textural weight without softening the acid line.

Historical undergoes 18 months in concrete tanks with continuous lees contact, then 36 months in stainless steel, then at least six months in bottle before release. The concrete phase builds textural complexity; the stainless phase lets the wine settle and integrate without adding any oak character. No malolactic conversion for this wine either.

Wines

The range anchors on Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore across two bottles that show what the grape becomes at different investments of time.

Vecchie Vigne is Verdicchio from old vines, vinified in steel and aged on concrete lees for ten months. It is the estate's cleaner, more immediately aromatic expression: white flowers, citrus pith, and a bitter almond note on the finish that is characteristic of the variety. The firm acidity carries through without weight.

Historical is Verdicchio from vines over 50 years old in Montecarotto, hand-harvested from parcels at 310 meters elevation. The five-year pre-release program transforms what enters the tank as a fresh, high-acid white into something deeper: balsamic nuances, anise, almond, and white fruit on the nose; a palate with more roundness than Vecchie Vigne but still driven by acidity; and a finish of unusual length. The straw yellow colour carries the green reflections typical of the variety at this stage of development.

Beyond Verdicchio, the estate works with Montepulciano in Rosso Conero and Conero Riserva expressions and has brought Pecorino and Lacrima di Morro d'Alba back into production across its Marche and Abruzzo districts.

In The Glass

Vecchie Vigne opens with white flowers, lemon zest, and the faint bitter almond that marks Verdicchio at its most direct. In the mouth, the acidity arrives first, bright and clean from the absence of malolactic conversion. The lees contact in concrete contributes a slight creaminess to the mid-palate without obscuring the grape's freshness. The finish is dry, slightly bitter, and linear.

Historical shows what five years of ageing does to the same grape from similar hills. The balsamic nuances that appear on the nose are a product of slow oxidative development during the extended lees phase; the anise and almond complexity layers over the white fruit rather than replacing it. On the palate, the wine is fuller and rounder than Vecchie Vigne, but the acidity from the same absence of malolactic conversion keeps the finish long and clean. The length is the most striking feature: the wine does not end so much as it fades slowly, leaving the almond note last.

A Bottle To Understand It

Historical Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore is the bottle to open first. It is 100 percent Verdicchio from 50-plus-year-old vines at Montecarotto, hand-harvested, and held for five years before release. The balsamic, anise, and almond complexity on the nose is unlike most Italian white wines, and the finish runs longer than almost any white the region produces at any price. The nose carries balsamic nuances, anise, almonds, and white fruit, followed by a bright, incredibly long finish.

Anecdote

Umani Ronchi held Historical in tank and bottle for about five years before release. Historical 2019 won a second consecutive Tre Bicchieri award from Gambero Rosso. Daniele Cernilli named the vintage Best Verdicchio of the Year and gave it a score of 96/100. The nose showed balsamic nuances, anise, almonds, and white fruit, followed by a bright, incredibly long finish.

Final Word

Umani Ronchi produces Verdicchio with enough time and old enough vines to develop complexity. Historical is not a technical curiosity. It is a white wine that develops genuine complexity across five years of ageing, and it arrives at market already showing that development.

Sources

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