Italy · Ascoli Piceno & Southern Marche

Cantina Di Ruscio Srl

A three-generation family winery in Campofilone on the Marche hills above the Aso Valley, making still and sparkling wines from Passerina, Pecorino, Trebbiano, Sangiovese, and Montepulciano since 1953.

The producer

Dante Di Ruscio and his wife Gina pressed their first harvest in the Aso Valley in 1953, working with the indigenous grapes of the Campofilone hills: Passerina above all, alongside Pecorino, Trebbiano, Sangiovese, and Montepulciano. The winery is now in its third generation. Mario, the second generation, moved the operation beyond local trade into wider distribution. A third generation followed with formal enological training and updated cellar methods: cold fermentation in stainless steel, flotation clarification, and controlled lees ageing that keeps Passerina's aromatic character intact from harvest to bottle.

Passerina is the house grape and appears in three forms: a still Marche IGT aged on lees for three months, a richer second cuvée called La Musa with tropical fruit and white flower aromas, and the Audace Passerina Brut sparkling wine. The Falerio DOC blend anchors the range in the local appellation, combining Trebbiano at 50% with Passerina and Pecorino. The wines are dry, fruit-forward, and built for early drinking from a variety most wine buyers outside Marche have yet to meet.

Known for

Passerina in still, lees-aged, and sparkling form; Falerio DOC blends from indigenous Marche varieties

Notable facts

The story

The Sparrow Grape

Passerina earned its name from the birds that would not leave it alone. Every autumn in the Marche hills, growers watched sparrows, known locally as passerotti, return to the ripening clusters with a consistency that made the other grapes look ignored. The sweetness that developed in Passerina as it reached full ripeness drew the birds before any human picker arrived, and the pattern was reliable enough, vintage after vintage, that it became impossible to call the grape anything else. The name settled across the hillside farms of southern Marche, where Cantina Di Ruscio has been pressing the variety since Dante Di Ruscio first made wine from it in the Aso Valley in 1953. The sparrows still arrive on schedule.

From the atlas

Cantina Di Ruscio Srl

At A Glance

Producer: Cantina Di Ruscio Country: Italy Region: Marche Location: Campofilone, Aso Valley Founded: 1953 Grapes: Passerina, Pecorino, Trebbiano, Sangiovese, Montepulciano Appellations: Falerio DOC, Marche IGT Style: Still and sparkling whites, sparkling rosé, still red

The Producer

Cantina Di Ruscio is a family winery in Campofilone, a hill town in southern Marche where the Aso Valley runs toward the Adriatic. Dante Di Ruscio and his wife Gina pressed their first harvest there in 1953, working with the indigenous grapes of the valley: Passerina above all, alongside Pecorino, Trebbiano, Sangiovese, and Montepulciano. Seventy years on, the winery is in its third generation, and Passerina remains the defining grape, appearing in still, lees-aged, and sparkling forms.

Mario, the second generation, pushed the winery beyond local trade. A third generation followed with formal enological training and updated cellar methods. The range today is clean and fruit-forward, built around the Falerio DOC appellation and the broader Marche IGT designation, with sparkling wines sitting alongside the still bottles.

Place

Campofilone sits in the Fermano district of southern Marche, on the low hills between the Aso and Tenna river valleys, roughly forty kilometres south of Ancona. The terrain is hilly and clay-influenced, with Mediterranean breezes from the nearby Adriatic moderating the growing season. This coastal exposure, combined with adequate diurnal range in the hills, keeps acidity alive in the whites even at full ripeness.

Falerio DOC is the local white appellation covering the Piceno hills of southern Marche. It specifies a blend of indigenous varieties: Trebbiano as the majority grape, with Passerina and Pecorino filling supporting roles. The appellation produces dry whites aimed at early drinking, and Di Ruscio's version follows that brief. Marche IGT is the broader designation the winery uses for single-variety bottlings that sit outside the blend requirements of Falerio.

Soil And Site

The Aso Valley is characterised by clay-heavy soils over limestone subsoil, a combination common to the central Adriatic hills of Marche. Clay retains moisture through dry summers and gives the whites a fuller mid-palate than lighter sandy soils would produce. The limestone below contributes the mineral thread that runs through Passerina particularly, lifting acidity and adding a chalky note to the finish. The valley floor gives way to steeper hill slopes around Campofilone where vine rows are oriented to catch morning sun and moderate afternoon heat.

Story

Dante Di Ruscio came to wine-growing not from a classified estate or a well-known appellation, but from a valley not many people outside Marche could place on a map. The Aso Valley in 1953 was agricultural country: small farms, indigenous grapes, local markets. Dante and Gina made wine from what grew around them, which meant Passerina first.

Mario's arrival changed the winery's reach. He and his wife Manuela moved the operation beyond local customers and into wider distribution, which required the range to hold together across different contexts and not just please the immediate neighbourhood. The wines tightened toward consistency.

The third generation brought enological credentials and technical updates to the cellar: controlled fermentation temperatures, flotation clarification, and methods that kept the aromatic character of Passerina intact from harvest to bottle. Sparkling wine entered the range, giving Passerina a second expression in the Audace Brut, and a rosé sparkling from Sangiovese and Montepulciano added colour to what had been a predominantly white portfolio.

Vineyards And Cellar

The still Passerina Marche IGT is made with soft pressing to avoid extracting bitter compounds from the skins, followed by clarification through flotation rather than heavy fining. Fermentation runs in stainless steel at 13 to 14 degrees Celsius, slow and cool, which preserves the aromatic lift in the grape: yellow fruit, a floral note, and the citrus brightness that defines Passerina at its clearest. After fermentation, the wine rests on its lees in steel for three months before bottling. Lees contact at this scale adds texture and a slight breadth to the mid-palate without obscuring the variety's naturally high acidity.

La Musa, a second Passerina bottling, goes through low-temperature fermentation and shows golden reflections alongside the straw yellow base, suggesting a slightly riper pick or a longer pre-bottling rest.

Falerio DOC, bottled in both standard format and bag-in-box, is blended after separate vinification of the component grapes.

Wines

Passerina Marche IGT is the plainest expression in the range: 100% Passerina, stainless steel throughout, three months on lees. Straw yellow with greenish light in the glass. Aromas of yellow fruit, apple, and citrus. The palate is mineral and bright, with high acidity and a clean, short finish. Alcohol sits at 12% or just above.

La Musa is the elevated Passerina bottling. The colour carries golden reflections, the aroma moves toward tropical fruit and white flowers, and the palate is described as sapid and full with persistent freshness. It is a longer, richer version of the same grape.

Audace Passerina Brut is 100% Passerina in sparkling form at 12% ABV. The grape's natural acidity makes it a practical candidate for a brut: the mousse lifts the fruit and the finish stays dry.

Falerio DOC blends Trebbiano (50%), Passerina (25%), and Pecorino (25%). Trebbiano gives body and weight; Passerina provides the aromatic lift and acidity; Pecorino contributes a slightly nutty, herbal edge. The wine is dry and fruit-forward, and Di Ruscio bottles it in a bag-in-box alongside standard bottles.

Diverso Rosé Brut is a sparkling rosé from 80% Sangiovese and 20% Montepulciano. Red berry, strawberry, and currant character with rose and peach blossom on the nose. The Montepulciano adds a little depth to what would otherwise be a lighter, purely Sangiovese frame.

Rosso Piceno is the red wine in the range: dry, with plum and vanilla notes, balanced body, and subtle tannins. It is built for easy drinking rather than ageing.

In The Glass

The still Passerina is what the Aso Valley smells like before the summer heat arrives: fresh apple, yellow stone fruit, a squeeze of citrus peel. In the mouth, the acidity is the first thing: bright, mouth-watering, and higher than most Italian whites at this price level. The mid-palate is light but not thin, with a mineral thread that runs through to the finish. Lees contact adds a faint breadth without softening the acid line. The finish is clean and short, leaving the citrus note rather than any oak or sweetness.

La Musa is warmer in the glass: tropical fruit over the citrus, a rounder mid-palate, and the freshness pushed toward sapidity rather than pure lift. It asks for a slightly richer pairing than the Marche IGT.

The Audace Brut takes the grape's acidity and runs it through a mousse: the bubbles tighten the fruit and the finish snaps dry. Without dosage to blur the edges, Passerina's natural brightness comes through clearly.

The Falerio DOC is softer than the straight Passerina, the Trebbiano majority rounding out the blend and the Pecorino adding a slight savoury note at the back.

Rosso Piceno is fruit-driven and approachable: plum forward, vanilla from brief oak contact, and tannins light enough to drink without food.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with the Passerina Marche IGT. It is the grape alone, vinified to show what Passerina does when kept cool and clean: yellow fruit, citrus, mineral acidity, and a three-month lees rest. The 2019 vintage ran minerals, tropical fruit, apple, and citrus with high acidity from start to finish. It is a dry, refreshing white from a native Marche variety that most wine buyers have not had the chance to meet. Once you know what straight Passerina tastes like in the glass, La Musa and the Audace Brut make immediate sense as extensions of the same grape in different registers.

Anecdote

Passerina earned its name from the birds that would not leave it alone. Every autumn in the Marche hills, growers watched sparrows, known locally as passerotti, return to the ripening clusters with a consistency that made the other grapes look ignored. The sweetness that developed in Passerina as it reached full ripeness drew the birds before any human picker arrived, and the pattern was reliable enough, vintage after vintage, that it became impossible to call the grape anything else. The name stuck across the hillside farms of southern Marche, where Cantina Di Ruscio has been pressing the variety since Dante Di Ruscio first made wine from it in the Aso Valley in 1953. The sparrows still arrive on schedule.

Final Word

Cantina Di Ruscio is a three-generation winery built around a grape most wine buyers have never tasted. Passerina in still, elevated, and sparkling form gives the range a clear spine, and the Falerio DOC blend adds the appellation context that anchors the house in southern Marche. The wines are clean, direct, and honest about what they are: early-drinking whites from indigenous varieties on Adriatic hillside clay, made with cold fermentation and care.

Sources

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