Umbria is known as the green heart of Italy for its breathtaking sprawl of lush mountainous countryside, just as nature intended. It is this abundant green that surrounds towns such as Assisi, Orvieto, Gubbio and Perugia where the culture of producing red and white wines has been in place for a very long time.
On your travels through Umbria, why not try the popular export, white Orvieto wine (named after the town in which it is produced).
The taste of Orvieto wine can vary from semi-sweet (harking back to the olden days when that was the norm), to a more modern dry crisp taste. (Also worth a taste are experimental varieties of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir)
You will also find the renowned and exquisitely deep-red wine called the Montefalco Sagrantino (near the Umbrian village of Montefalco). Made from the black Sagrantino grape, this wine is bold and full bodied in its flavour.
The Sagrantino grape used is such that either dry or sweet wine can be produced from it. However, like Orvieto wine, it is the dry version of Sagrantino wine that is more popular.
If you can tear your eyes away from the town’s beautiful greenery, there are more excellent wines you could try such as the prestigious and wonderfully-aged Torgiano Rosso riserva, as well as the deep rich cherry-hinted Brunello.
Also, do give the less popular wines a try as less popular doesn’t mean less quality. Drink the wines that the locals drink. For example, you could try the sweet Vin Santo wine which is pressed from semi-dried Grechetto grapes (the grapes are semi-dried to lock in the sweetness).
(p.s.: Do you love truffles? Then go out to Umbria during the autumn as that’s when black truffles tend to be in season over there.)
[…] read previous posts written here about wine-tasting holidays in Umbria, Sardinia, Piedmont, Sicily and Tuscany to give you an idea of how magical it can […]