Azienda Guerrieri, wine and pasta from Le Marche since 1800
Azienda Guerrieri is a family business in Le Marche that has been producing wine, pasta, olive oil, and honey on the same estate by the Metauro River since 1800. Today, the estate is run by Luca Guerrieri and his children, Alberto and Maria Giulia, representing the 6th generation, with natural farming practices in place since 2004.
Azienda Guerrieri manages 207 hectares between the hills of Pesaro and the Adriatic coast, with wine, wheat, olives, and beehives on the same land. What is grown on the estate is also processed there, from the Sangiovese grape to the durum wheat grain for their own pasta. As you taste your way through the range, you can taste the same patch of earth in every product, whether it's in a glass of wine, on a plate of pasta, or on a spoon of honey.
On the Metauro since 1800, now in the 6th generation
The Guerrieri family has been farming their estate by the Metauro River, a few kilometers from the Adriatic coast in the middle of the Pesaro hills, since 1800. Over more than two hundred years, little has changed in the underlying philosophy, even though cultivation methods have evolved with each generation. Then as now, vineyards, wheat fields, and olive groves lie side by side on the same estate; there is no specialization in a single crop.
Today, the responsibility lies with Luca Guerrieri and his children, Alberto and Maria Giulia, who run the business together in the 6th generation. "Those who care for the land, care for the soul," says Luca Guerrieri about the family motto that still guides decisions on the farm today, from the pruning season in winter to the harvest in autumn.
Over the generations, a classic agricultural business with wine, wheat, and olives has become an estate that processes its own raw materials instead of just growing and selling them. The step from being a pure raw material supplier to a manufacturer with its own labels was not a single moment, but the work of several generations. First came their own wine under their own name, later the pasta from their own grain, and finally oil and honey as their own product lines.
Wine, pasta, olive oil, and honey from a single source
Four product lines bear the Guerrieri name in our shop—all from the same estate, all from the same natural cultivation, and yet they could hardly be more different. What connects them is not a single recipe, but the same care in the selection of raw materials, whether grape, wheat grain, olive, or blossom.
For pasta, in addition to classic durum wheat, the estate relies on Senatore Cappelli, a historic wheat variety selected in 1915 with meter-high stalks and low yields, which has been crafted at a partner workshop in Fano for over 40 years. This includes Spaghetti n.7 made from Senatore Cappelli and the classic Strozzapreti made from pure durum wheat.
For olive oil, the ORO olive oil with a milder, rounder character and the VERDE olive oil with a greener, sharper note represent two different harvest times; for honey, Miele Millefiori stands for the estate's wildflower honey, collected from beehives among the vine rows. If you prefer wine, the range extends from the young Bianchello to the two flagships Guerriero della Terra and Guerriero del Mare, with Rosé, Frizzante, and the aged Riserva line Galileo, with two vintages currently available, in between.
207 hectares, farmed naturally since 2004
Of the estate's 207 hectares, 48 are planted with vines, 30 with olive trees, and 120 with wheat, with the rest distributed among farm buildings and paths between the plots. This layout has grown over decades and is only cautiously adjusted from generation to generation, never fundamentally changed. The beehives for the honey are also located in the middle of the vine rows, rather than in a separate, isolated location.
Since 2004, the family has avoided chemical fertilizers and pesticides, even though the farm is not certified organic. "We wanted to intervene less, not control more," explains Maria Giulia Guerrieri regarding the decision, which was unusual at the time. The harvest for wine and olives is largely done by hand, including for the oldest vines, which are reserved for the Guerriero della Terra and the Guerriero del Mare.
This combination of multiple crops on one area—vines, wheat, olive trees, and beehives—is not a matter of course in Le Marche and still characterizes how work is done on the estate today. Where other farms have specialized in one culture, Azienda Guerrieri consciously sticks to diversity, even if it requires more work and more diverse knowledge than a pure viticulture business.
Up to 99 points for the Guerriero della Terra
The Guerriero della Terra, the red cuvée made from 95% Montepulciano and 5% Sangiovese, was awarded up to 99 out of 100 points by Italian wine critic Luca Maroni in several vintages between 2019 and 2022—a score that only a few wines from the region achieve.
This rating was repeated over several vintages, which speaks to the consistency of the estate's oldest vines, from which the cuvée is created anew each time, without changing anything about the aging process in French oak barrels. Both wines, the Guerriero della Terra and its white counterpart, are consciously produced only in select vintages and are not bottled every year.
The Guerriero del Mare, its white counterpart made from Bianchello, is also considered by connoisseurs of the region to be one of the densest and most long-lived white wines of Le Marche, even if it appears less frequently in trade press than its red counterpart. Together, the two form the estate's top-tier pair and represent what is possible on the oldest, most carefully tended plots of the farm when time and patience are no object.
Guerriero della Terra with a Sunday roast
The Guerriero della Terra shows its full stature alongside a slowly braised pot roast or aged Pecorino—powerful, dense, and velvety all at once when a wine with substance is required. It also pairs well with game dishes or a dark pasta sauce with truffles, provided the dish itself has enough strength to keep up.
For a lighter evening, the Rosa dei Venti served well-chilled goes well with antipasti or a platter of grilled vegetables, and the pasta made from Senatore Cappelli holds its own even against hearty sauces without losing its texture. Between these two poles—powerful red wine and light rosé—there is a suitable Guerrieri wine in the assortment for almost every occasion. Those who would like to browse even more Italian wines will find what they are looking for with Lusvardi, a family business from Emilia-Romagna with a very unique character.
The entire range of Azienda Guerrieri and other producers from Italy can be discovered in the "nur Gutes" shop, from the first bottle of Rosé to the last bag of pasta on the shelf.
