Lacrima di Morro d'Alba is a

denominazione di origine controllata The following four classification of wine, classifications of wine constitute the Italy, Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; 'designation of origin'); * ''Indicazione ...

red wine that is produced in the province of

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

, in

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is predominantly, if not entirely made from the rare Lacrima grape. The DOC was created in 1985.

History

According to legend, in 1167

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

became a fan of the wine after taking over the Castello di Morro d'Alba following the siege of Ancona.

The Lacrima Grape

Lacrima is an ancient and local grape that is rarely found outside of the town of

Morro d'Alba Morro d'Alba is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ancona in the Italy, Italian region Marche, located about west of Ancona. Morro d'Alba borders the following municipalities: Belvedere Ostrense, Monte San Vito, San Marcello, Marche, ...

. The wine is only produced by a handful of estates. The grape's name (meaning "tear" in Italian) is derived from its tear-like shape, or, alternatively, its thin skin that allows tear-like drops of juice to drip from the grape.

DOC Regulations

According to the DOC laws, Lacrima di Morro d'Alba must contain at least 85% Lacrima. According to Joseph Bastianich, the wine is a soft,

dolcetto Dolcetto ( , , ) is a black Italian wine grape variety widely grown in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. The Italian word ''dolcetto'' means "little sweet one", but it is not certain that the name originally carried any reference to th ...

-like red wine that some locals think could be important in the future.Joseph Batianich & David Lynch Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy" pg 249 Clarkson Potter Publishers

References

{{reflist Italian DOC Wines of Marche Province of Ancona