With the exception of Venice, Italy’s eastern coast gets relatively little love from American tourists and travel websites. Whereas most of us have probably heard of or visited Cinque Terre, Tuscany, or the Amalfi coast, mention Bari or Ancona to a friend and you’ll likely get a puzzled look. The eastern regions’ comparatively quiet reputation is, however, very fortunate for wine drinkers who look for value. La Marca di San Michele in the region of Le Marche, for example, has produced the two wines below, both of which possess tremendous class for an extremely reasonable price. Tasting them will remind you why it’s important and exhilarating to stray every now and then from the tried-and-true white grape varieties and try new ones like Verdicchio.
     What makes these wines particularly special is that the microzone around La Marca di San Michele is known for some of the area’s most serious terroir, namely its higher altitudes and cooler climate that preserve Verdicchio’s freshness and minerality. Like some of our favorite white Burgundies, Capovolto is generous in body and flavor—citrus, stone fruit, almond—without sacrificing its chiseled structure and spine of acidity.
     Made in the col fondo style, in which the second fermentation occurs in bottle and the wine is not disgorged, the bone-dry NumerOdue showcases even more mouthwatering acidity, making it a versatile and sophisticated sparkling wine for the table: it will accompany dozens of dishes well, from grilled white meats to fish to pizza.
     Wines like La Marca’s reaffirm that, despite how familiar we might think we are with the country, there is still so much left in Italy to be discovered or savored anew. There is no better place to start than with these Verdicchios from Le Marche.