Guido
Cocci
Grifoni

He had an immense love for the land in which he was born and to which he decided to bring new light.

The rediscovery of
Pecorino in the Marche region.

A matter of geography.
Pecorino is a vine that crosses the Offida area, in the Marche region, and nearby Abruzzo. The wines are completely different. The soil and climate conditions influence the final product. In Marche, the sun, the sea breeze and the Sibillini Mountains create special conditions for this vine to give unique sensations.

Hystorical notes

During the Roman era, the Piceno area was already known as being suited to wine production. In addition, Pecorino is an ancient vine that is present throughout the Marche region, especially in the southern part.

From small and sparse berries and low yield, Pecorino has never compromised, has not accepted to adapt to change and has remained faithful to its characteristics. All of this has brought it very close to extinction. Mid-19th century was a critical moment, in which phylloxera destroyed almost all the vineyards of Europe, there were traces of specialized vineyards only in the surroundings of Arquata del Tronto (AP), at that time a remote and inland area. There, the altitude of 700 meters above sea level protected the Pecorino from the terrible phylloxera.

In 1982 Guido Cocci Grifoni became aware of an ancient vine called Pecorino. He went after it. He is the only one to glimpse the possibilities of this grape with a slightly soft bunch (hence one of its names, but we will talk about it later).
Against common opinion, he found the original vines in a semi-abandoned vineyard in Arquata del Tronto (AP).
He grafts some plants into his land and shares knowledge and plants with other producers in the area.

The turning point

After grafting some plants, between 1984 and 1990, Guido Cocci Grifoni carried out various experiments to see which soil was the most suitable, realizing that Pecorino prefers hilly and fresh soils. To date, the first mother plant vineyard built in 1987 still exists and has a north-west exposure.
IN PURITY

Guido’s choices were bold, once again. Due to its high alcohol content and high acidity, Pecorino was seen by many as an improvement of Falerio – a blend of white wines – but Guido offers a pure version of it.

What he proposes is an intense and autonomous product. It is described as a powerful, opulent, warm white wine, with the characteristics of a red, whose fruit aromas increase with time, and mineral flavors are balanced.

PECORINO TODAY


With just 1800 bottles, Pecorino entered the market in 1990.

In the following ten years, Tenuta Cocci Grifoni exclusively controlled the commercial production, and following the positive feedback, the peculiarities of the vine began to attract the interest of other wineries as well, encouraging them to undertake its production. Pecorino is a model of attention to the land and represents a heritage of typicality, of a terroir of unique and unrepeatable factors.

Its rediscovery is the symbol of the tradition and flavor of a territory to be known, shared and respected.

Curiosity

Pecorino also gives another delicious gem to those who, in addition to wine, love the taste of words: its name.
Pecorino probably has to do with the fact that the sheeps, grazing on the sheep tracks, gladly ate its sweet berries. Before this was recognized as its official name, the vine was called in various ways: vissanello, mosciarello, mosciolo, promotico, vecià.
At a certain point, all these synonyms disappeared and the variety was universally called Pecorino.

Would you like to know more?

For more info read the Italian Book :
“VINO PECORINO – Discovering, tasting and
pairing a great italian wine.”

— Read the book

Our Pecorino

The best way to get to know Pecorino is with a vertical tasting: same label, but different vintages.

This is the best way to discover how man’s choices and climatic conditions influenced the taste, color and scent of a particular year.

In our library you’ll be able to choose between: Offida DOCG Pecorino – Guido Cocci Grifoni and Offida DOCG Pecorino – Colle Vecchio.

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