The capital of Verdicchio and its cellar-caves
On a hill in the heart of the Castelli di Jesi, the hilly area west of Ancona dotted with small fortified villages and covered with vineyards, Cupramontana is known as the "capital of Verdicchio", the most famous white wine of the Marche, made from the native Verdicchio grape, which gives a fresh, savoury, mineral wine, with notes of almond and a slightly bitter finish, excellent with fish, and also capable of long ageing and of producing sparkling and passito versions. The hills around the village are among the best areas for its production, and many wineries, large and small, offer tastings and tours.
Since 1928, Cupramontana has hosted the Sagra dell'Uva, the Grape Festival, held on the first weekend of October, considered the oldest grape festival in Italy, with parades of allegorical floats decorated with grapes, music, folk groups and stands with local wines and dishes. Under the village, a network of old cellars dug into the sandstone has been transformed into a museum, the MIG, Musei in Grotta, which tells the history of wine and the village. Cupramontana is also home to a curious International Wine Label Museum, with a collection of tens of thousands of labels from all over the world. In the woods outside the village, the Eremo dei Frati Bianchi, a hermitage of the Camaldolese monks, with caves dug into the rock where hermits lived, is a place of great charm. The village of Cupramontana is also known for its wine-based biscuits and for its "maccheroncini".
Tip: visit at the beginning of October for the Grape Festival; walk to the Eremo dei Frati Bianchi through the woods.
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