Today’s Verdicchio is one steal of a deal, and we hope that you are able to secure some for yourself… Before we sell out!

We’re thrilled to welcome back Cantina Colli Ripani, who first graced our pages last year. Their wines are priced well below their market value, making them true steals. Today’s 2013 Irideo Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi is a bright, fresh and super-delicious treat that pairs easily with all of your winter and springtime favorites.

Today’s wine hails from La Cantina dei Colli Ripani, a partnership of over 330 small farmers that have joined together to capture local traditions and sustainability. The cooperative was first started in 1969 by a handful of producers in the hilltop town Ripatransone (the name translates literally to Winery of the Ripani Hills). The Ripani farmers banded together to create the ongoing and sustainable production of wines, to the benefit the surrounding community - while producing wines that define their region’s identity.

Verdicchio has enjoyed a long - and delicious - history in the Marche region of Central Italy, with documents noting its presence there since at least the 14th century. Despite its sensitivity to climate conditions and propensity to produce widely variable yields, in terms of both quality and quantity, Verdicchio is a very popular planting in central Italy with an estimated 65,000 hectares planted in the mid-1980s. These figures made Verdicchio the 15th most planted variety of any grape in the world, ahead of well-known varieties like Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Sauvignon blanc and Sangiovese.