Thirty Years of 'Podium' Shines a Light on the Vivacity of Verdicchio

Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi is an unsung hero of the Marche region of Italy, where crisp and fresh white wines leading with minerality have been the fashion for decades. The grape has been building off it's immaculate reputation since around the 4th Century B.C., and this year with the 2021 vintage of 'Podium', Garofoli is proud to celebrate their 30th release of the flagship Verdicchio.

"The first vintage of Podium was 1991, after a decade long study of the ageing potential of Verdicchio from our vineyards located in the Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC in the Marche region. The single-vineyard wine became a huge success upon release, and we have changed little about it since then—it is beautiful and age-worthy, and today continues as one of Italy’s most celebrated white wines. Podium is recognized as a trailblazer of the “new way” of the winemaking of verdicchio. While the wine is the same, after 30 years we re-designed the label and have received high praise for the new look." – Gianluca Garofoli

Garofoli is one of the oldest and most celebrated family-owned wineries in the Marche—producing wines of distinction across five generations—for over 150 years. Best known for their work with Verdicchio-based white wines, in 1991 Garofoli released the inaugural vintage of 'Podium', their single-vineyard expression of Verdicchio from an exceptional site on the family’s estate. Awarded Tre Bicchieri by Gambero Rosso more than 15 times, 'Podium' is one of the most highly awarded Italian white wines ever produced, and is renowned for its concentration, elegance and ageability. The 2021 vintage of 'Podium' will be available in the USA this summer.

The 30th Anniversary bottling: 2021 Garofoli 'Podium'

Since 1991, fruit for Garofoli’s 'Podium' bottling has been sourced from the winery’s top Verdicchio site, a single vineyard in the historic denomination of Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC. Located mere miles from the Adriatic Sea, this appellation is renowned for producing the finest quality Verdicchio—who’s name translates to ‘little green one'. The Podium vineyard is situated in the commune of Montecarotto at Cupo delle Lame atop 46 acres of a long, flat-topped hill that resembles a speaker’s stand, thus inspiring the wine's famous name. Fruit for Podium is carefully selected from the vineyard’s best parcels of Guyot-trained vines planted at an average elevation of 1000 feet and is fermented in numerous small lots before being carefully blended.

The vineyard's soil, a mix of calcareous clay and sand, provides ideal conditions for an annual low-yielding crop of fruit with notable concentration, power and weight. To show the purest expression of the variety and site, the wine sees only concrete and stainless steel, no oak. To show the purest expression of the variety and site, the wine sees only concrete and stainless steel, no oak. With immense pride in the wine’s ability to age, the Garofoli family maintains a library of all 30 vintages of the wine, a rarity for white wine from any Italian producer.