Vigneto di Gino Verdicchio Dei Castelli Di Jesi `09 DOC (not TJ's) **** $13.99

Summer is here and we were hankering for fried clams.  Since there are no clam shacks anywhere near us, we consulted Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking and came up with White Clam Sauce to satisfy our craving for bivalves.  As I was shopping for ingredients, JPH chilled this Verdicchio for both cooking and drinking.

Named for grandfather Gino, this classic white wine (DOC Marche  Dei Castelli Di Jesi ) is a really good, complex white that went perfectly with our clam pasta and cucumber salad with lemon and mint.  It was a refreshing meal on a humid summer evening.

Castelli Di Jesi is in Italy's Marche, the province of Ancona on the top eastern calf of the boot.  Castelli Di Jesi is one of the oldest DOC Marche regions (the castle is still there) and this bottle is a fine example of their indigenous 100% Verdicchio varietal, history and quality DOC standards.  Grandfather Gino should be proud to have this wine named after him.

First pour: It has a fruity scent that almost promises sweetness, but when I drank it, there was a minerality that tingled. There was discussion at the table as to what exactly the overwhelming flavor was, and S. hit the nail on the head "Crisp Plum".  I could easily imagine biting into a crisp, fresh plum, and the taste of the wine sudden;y made perfect sense.  There is a little bit of citrus to it as well, and it has a faint sweetness, and a faint bitter finish/aftertaste that adds depth and highlights the upfront fruitiness. A big mouthful of fruit and a slow lingering finish makes it a great food wine, knitting together all of the flavors.  All in all, it is a great summer wine that paired really well with dinner. We'll have this again.