Now we go to Umbria!

Umbria sits in the middle of Italy and is called “cuore d’Italia” or the green heart of Italy. 

This region is the only one in Italy without any natural boundaries such as the sea or mountains.  It lies between Tuscany to the east, and Marche to the west.

There are many people who feel Umbria is the budget friendly part of Italy.  Most of the same architecture, landscape, and medieval towns as you would find in Tuscany.  Except less expensive and not as many tourists. 

My friend David P. Wagner has written several Italian mystery books which I highly recommend for your reading pleasure. 

Two of the books take place in the Umbria region.  They are “Return to Umbria” and his latest, “Best Served Cold”.  They are very descriptive of the region and of Assisi. 

Assisi is home to the Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi, a place of worship that brings millions of people to the area.  The regions most famous landmark.

There is much history here.  That is a picture of it, above.

As of 2022, Umbria had 30,600 acres of vineyards and produces 6.6 million cases of wine a year.

The most popular wine from Umbria is the white wine, Orvieto.  This wine is named after the town of Orvieto.  Orvieto DOC is the biggest DOC with 5150 acres in vines and producing 981,000 cases of wine a year.  Interesting to note, 75% of production is exported. 

The world loves Orvieto wine. 

The main grape of Orvieto is Grechetto and the second most is Procanico, which is the local name for Trebbiano Toscano. 

We have discussed Trebbiano before but if you need a refresher, go to the Quick Wine List Guide to bone up.

Remember that Italian wine is about where the wines come from first, and the grape is secondary.

Orvieto wine is light in body, dry, quite easy to drink without harshness or tannins.  Usually high in acid, with floral aromas and flavors of lemon & apple.  Not a complex wine generally but there some producers that are utilizing oak to make a fuller-bodied, complex style of wine.

There is an Orvieto Superiore that requires a higher minimum alc % and must age 4 months minimum.  It does not have to be aged in wood, but many do.

And there is Orvieto Classico which separates itself from the others in that there is an extra month of aging before release.

In my research I found one area in particular that takes Grechetto to the highest level and that is from Todi.  I hope to find a Grechetto di Todi soon so I can taste for myself why it garners such high praise.

It isn’t that uncommon for you to see some Orvieto being made by Tuscan producers.  Since they are neighbors, they can access this grapes and make the wine as long as it abides by the laws of the DOC or DOCG.

As the Italians will do in almost every region, Orvieto’s DOC’s & DOCG’s allow dessert style wines to made, which are called Passito in most areas, but in Orvieto it is known as Muffa Nobile. 

Don’t forget the sparkling versions (Spumante). 

Orvieto isn’t the kind of wine to contemplate the universe.  It is a white wine to enjoy with appetizers or lighter fare.  Even though they don’t have an ocean boundary the wine is great with most seafood.  A great wine for spaghetti and clams.

Another great thing about Orvieto is because it is Umbria and not Tuscany, the wines are generally a great bargain.  Shouldn’t have to pay a lot to enjoy a nice lighter white wine.

 MONTEFALCO SAGRANTINO DOCG-

One of the main red wines from Umbria is Montefalco.  There are two areas of most importance. 

One is Montefalco DOC and the other is Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG.

If you see different wording of this DOCG, not to worry, it has gone through some name changes recently

There are just under 1,000 acres in the region and they produce on average about 108,000 bottles of wine.

Sagrantino is a dark colored, robust red grape that can produce some strong & tannic wines.  The wines are generally high in alcohol (14 – 14.5%) too. 

Minimum alcohol % is 13 %, which higher than the normal of many other regions and high for Italy in general.

These wines benefit from some aging in wood to tame down the tannins and smooth out the rougher edges. 

Aging requirements are 37 months, of which a minimum of 12 months must be in barrels and 4 months in bottle.

Sagrantino doesn’t have the body of Cabernet Sauvignon but I could see why some might compare the two.  Sagrantino has more red fruit flavors as well.

In Montefalco DOC the Sagrantino is the secondary grape with only 10-25% allowed in the wine. 

The main grape here is Sangiovese.  When these two are blended, it is a lovely balanced wine. 

Even though we haven’t really mentioned Sangiovese, it is one of the three most planted varietals in Umbria. 

That grape seems to be everywhere!

I must admit that I was confused a bit with Montefalco DOC and Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG.

Montefalco Sagrantino was in Montefalco DOC for 13 years before it became its own DOCG in 1992.

The biggest difference is Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG is 100% Sagrantino.

I feel this was a good decision as they are quite different in style.  A consumer could get very confused and what style they would be buying. 

Now it’s clear that Sagrantino is THE grape in the DOCG.

Finally, we take a quick look at Rosso di Torgiano DOC from the town of the same name.

No Sagrantino here.  It is mostly Sangiovese with either Canailo or Trebbiano allowed in the mix.

This blend of grapes is the same as you would find in an old-style Chianti before they changed the rules to allow 100% Sangiovese in Chianti. 

I think you will find Umbria to be an affordable adventure into Italian wine.  There are some fun wines that we generally don’t hear about, yet are delicious and full of flavor.

I feel the red wines are very similar to the reds of its neighbor, Tuscany.  They are wines to drink alone and excellent with a variety of foods.

Enjoy!