The area where we are located owes its name to the settlement, around 900AD, to a small band of Benedictine monks from the monastery of Farfa who fled northern Italy under the scourge of the Lombards. They decided to stay in this out-of-the-way place, and built a small church and a monastery (today perfectly restored and now part of the ’s borgo, or hamlet); thus this splendid area took the name of Monacesca over time. The name became the brand-name too in 1966, when Casimiro Cifola, having purchased the farm properties, began planting the first vineyards and built the first wine cellar. 1973 saw the release of our first Verdicchio di Matelica. This signalled the departure point for an extraordinary adventure. Starting in 1982, Casimiro was joined by his son Aldo, the current director of the ; he gave his support to efforts to further increase, through technical means, efforts focused on drawing out the qualities inherent in our fantastic noble grape.
Over the course of the years, other contiguous vineyard parcels were acquired, that built up the estate to its current size, and new vineyards were planted to verdicchio and to international varieties (chardonnay). In 1994, the decision was made to plant in Contrada Valle a new vineyard of red grapes, sangiovese grosso and merlot, to restore this area’s great reputation for noble red wines; the area had produced in fact, in the early 20th century, a “Rosso Matelica” that took prizes in international wine competitions. Our current production hovers around 160,000 bottles per year, which go exclusively to the restaurant trade and to specialised wine shops in Italy and abroad. They are still made with the same obsessive care and attention that our loyal customers have saluted us for over the last 35 years and more. Two generations then have continuously striven to convey, through their wines, the magic and the uniqueness of our Camertina valley, so filled with history, with flavours, and with fragrances of bygone eras. This commitment, this extreme passion have never allowed us to forget that the character of the growing area is a great value that must be allowed to shine through, but only if it is inspired to bring out the values of pleasureableness and good balance, which will always signal the difference between a good terroir reflective wine and a truly great wine. All of our efforts in the vineyard, our labours in the cellar, are and will always be carried out to ensure that co-mingled in every glass of wine we offer you will be a taste and a fragrance utterly distinctive and unrepeatable, since our land itself is utterly distinctive and unrepeatable, together with a profound harmony and elegance that all can appreciate and enjoy.
