Pecorino Wine Guide

Pecorino is a white grape variety found in the southern part of the Marche region, especially around Ascoli Piceno and Offida: it is a sunny, very savory, fresh, fragrant wine, with depth and character.

After years of oblivion in which it was about to become extinct or at the most it was used as a robust wine to cut lighter wines, now finally the times are ripe and the winemakers of the Marche, but Abruzzo’s too, are starting to produce very nice varietal Pecorino wines.

Organoleptic characteristics of Pecorino

Pecorino is a rocky wine, without compromise with a remarkable structure: it is not a wine that hides or makes the mysterious, but although not aromatic, the scents that distinguish it are very marked and clear, especially the herbaceous ones.

First of all the fruit is sumptuous and warm with yellow fruits and flowers, then there is no shortage of mineral and iodine notes, aromatic herbs such as thyme and marjoram and then a whole series of suggestions reminiscent of licorice, anise, and mint. The bouquet is not super ample or with millions of shades, it plays on strong but elegant perfumes: few but good!

What does Pecorino wine taste like?

On the palate, Pecorino is carved in the rocks, with strong acidity, broad structure, and alcohol that hits like a truck. It’s sharp and super salty but never rude. Persistence and thickness are terrific. It is not a wine that aspires to subtle finesse, every perception is amplified, it has a lot of pulp, it is a wine with a lot of character. Just look at the ripe bunches, they are golden, almost amber, full of juice and delicious (natural) sugar.

The same applies to both Pecorino from the Marches and Abruzzo: different terroirs, but the grape variety is the same.

History of the Pecorino grape

There is not an epic story behind our friend Pecorino, the legend says that it is an autochthonous one of the Marche region and has always been cultivated in the Sibillini Mountains. From there it ventured south, spreading to Abruzzo, where he found excellent conditions to thrive reaching an excellent quality, comparable to that of the Marche region. A second legend has it that the name comes from sheep because it was the wine of the shepherds. Pecorino means little sheep: a fascinating theory, but one that leaves the time it finds.

Suggested pairings for Pecorino wine

Excellent with raw fish, oysters, pasta with pesto to play in harmony with basil, but given the strong sapid-acid boost, try it also with elaborate white meat dishes,  parmigiana ravioli, spaghetti with clams, chicken tikka masala, Chicken Cacciatore, Vitello Tonnato, truffle risotto, pasta alla carbonara or roasted duck.

Cost of Pecorino

Pecorino has gone from cheap and not very chic wine to a great protagonist of Italian whites, but let’s not forget that it remains an unpretentious wine. Pleasant, intriguing, but always vinified in steel and not exactly with ten years of aging on its shoulder. It’s true there some bottles that can age beautifully like Pepe’s Pecorino, but we have just sipped the tip of the iceberg. Pecorino is the new Chardonnay, baby! It starts from 7 euros to easily reach 15, with peaks up to 20.