oppeddentro
Who: Luca Cacciani and Andrea Sbaffi
Where: Maiolati Spontini, Marche
What grapes: Verdicchio, Trebbiano, Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Vernaccia di Serrapetrona
How many bottles: 14,000
Key facts: Brothers-in-law Luca and Andrea make natural wine in a 15th century cellar, from three hectares of old vines.
Website: https://www.oppeddentro.com
Instagram: @oppeddentro
Oppeddentro “Valdè” Marche Bianco IGT
Viticulture: natural/organic (Vinnatur member, monitored no pesticide/insecticide and only organic fertilizer use)
Soil type: sandstone
Elevation: 450m above sea level
Grapes: 90% Verdicchio, 10% Trebbiano
Method of fermentation: Spontaneous yeast fermentation (pied a cuve.) Fifteen percent of the wine has 5-6 day skin contact, the rest is direct press. Aged nine months on the lees. No fining, light filtration. Low sulfur (less than 50mg/l.) Nothing added except sulfur.
Bottles made: 7,000
Valdè is named for Andrea’s grandmother. Valdé represents nearly half of the winery’s total production! Luca and Andrea blend together fruit from three separate passes through the vineyard, to create a balance of freshness and ripeness. 90% Verdicchio, 10% Trebbiano. These 40-year-old vines are grown in sandstone soils at 450m above sea level. The commune of Cupramontana is well-known in Marche for producing excellent Verdicchio. Valdè has a leesy component, but fruit is center stage. Green apple, stony, lemon and saline secondary notes.
Oppeddentro “Core” Marche Rosato IGT
Viticulture: natural/organic (Vinnatur member, monitored no pesticide/insecticide and only organic fertilizer use)
Soil type: sandstone
Elevation: 450m
Grapes: 50% Sangiovese, 30%Montepulciano and 20% Vernaccia di Serrapetrona
Method of fermentation: Oppeddentro macerate the fruit for this dark cherry colored rosato for six hours. The wine is kept in stainless steel for a year before bottling. Unfined and minimally filtered. Less than 50mg/l sulfur at bottling. Nothing added except sulfur.
Bottles made: 2,000
Oppeddentro “Grana d’Elia” Marche Rosso IGT
Viticulture: natural/organic (Vinnatur member, monitored no pesticide/insecticide and only organic fertilizer use)
Soil type: sandstone
Elevation: 400m
Grapes: 60% Sangiovese 40% Montepulciano
Method of fermentation: Indigenous yeast fermentation (pied a cuve.) Macerated for two weeks. Aged for nearly a year in stainless steel. Unfined. Minimally filtered. Less than 30ml/l sulfur. Nothing added except sulfur.
Bottles made: 3,000
The fruit forGrana d’Elia is grown in a single field outside Maiolati Spontini. Luca’s son designed the label. The wine is named after Andrea’s uncle, a mentor who made wine with his grandparents. From 30-50 year old vines. The Montepulciano is macerated for a week, the Sangiovese for two.
We drove over from Umbria. It was rainy in the mountains separating the two regions. I was as stuffed full of pasta and meaty delights as I think I have ever been, a high water mark in several decades of generous farmer meals across Europe. Umbria is a wonderland of charcuterie. The drive was intense. I was groggy from pork fat and winding narrow roads, one eye paying attention to safety, while the other preferred to wander across vistas of wooded valleys virtually unmarked by humanity.
Why has it taken us so long to arrive in Marche? The region is home to one of Italy’s greatest white wine grapes. Almost from the beginning, I’ve wanted to import Verdicchio. My attempts to find the right one have been halting, fragmented. Sometimes you simply end up in the wrong place. It’s best not to force it when the relationship is a mismatch.
Many wineries I visited in the past were too sterile. Too big, conference rooms and gleaming anonymous work spaces. Did Verdicchio’s 1970’s “heyday” as the wine in the fish-shaped bottle create this more modern but equally uninteresting iteration of a Marche winery? There are iconic (and deservedly so) wineries in Jesi and Matelica that are out of our stratosphere, and also outside our mission statement. All my attempts at finding a more human scale partner in Marche had been misfires, until now.
This visit felt different. Luca and Andrea met us at the entrance to their tiny, ancient stone cellar. Maiolati Spontini is a quaint hilltop hamlet relatively close to the Adriatic coast. With the help of their family, the duo (they are brothers-in-law) make natural wine in a cross-shaped cold underground cellar. Damp, cramped spaces, wonderfully atmospheric.
Most of the vineyards are Cupramontana, a high, hilly area that borders Maiolati Spontini, and is renowned for the quality of its Verdicchio. Oppeddentro farm three fields in that commune, along with one site for red grapes closer to the cellar. They are members of VinNatur, an organization founded by Angelino Maule, whose 300 member-farmers practice monitored organic agriculture and low intervention winemaking.
The wines were good. Unsurprising. Everything about the place indicated that intentionality and care were present. Small scale healthy farming guided by a passion for local grapes. As we tasted, family members young and old arrived, bearing salami and other treats from the local butcher. The vibe was relaxed, convivial. We’ll never get rich selling these wines, and they’ll never get rich making them! But money isn’t the point. Which is why Oppeddentro’s bottles are delicious, an essential view into the real potential of Marche. Craft, and love of one’s homeland. These traits bring Oppeddentro into our little universe of necessary wines. I’m glad we waited to meet Luca and Andrea. As their doorstep sign says, “wine with patience.”