FW_Wineries

Region

Umbria is a small region of rolling hills with traditional hilltop villages and historic towns that are amazing on the eye.
The region is in a central location, known as Italy’s ‘green heart’, based between Lazio, Marche and Tuscany. This area is the only Italian region without coastline or an international border, and is best known for the production of white wine, with the majority of vineyards on terraces embedded into the hillsides.

Historically, the most famous wine to emerge from Umbria is ‘Orvieto’, a semi-sweet white wine that is complex with hints of fruit and flowers. This has been produced for over 2,000 years, and has evolved into a crisp wine that is popular across the globe. Basil & Grape’s wine bar is delighted to offer a beautiful form of Orvieto on our carefully selected wine list.

Find more specifics about wine production in Umbria here.

DOP Quality standards

Recent figures from 2013 estimated 35.3% of wines from Umbria are produced according to EU DOP/PDO Quality standards. The region produces 15 DOP wines including 2 DOCG and 13 DOC wines. They also produce 6 IGP wines accounting for 48.7% of production. Table wines account for 16% of output.

What does the wine classifications mean?

Link to wine denominations in Italy.

Sagrantino (red)

This grape is known to have been grown in the area around Montefalco since the early Middle Ages. There are two different theories regarding the origin of this grape. On the one hand, the Sagrantino is considered to have been brought back to Umbria from the Middle East by Franciscan monks while it, on the other hand, is said to be of Greek origin and thus imported by Byzantine monks. The name, Sagrantino, refers back to ‘Sacramento’ and had a “sacred” use during religious rites as it was, indeed, cultivated by the monks. It is produced in two different versions, the secco (dry) and the passito (sweet wine).

Grechetto di Orvieto (White)

This grape has its origin in Greece, as many other grapes in Italy. It is mainly present in Umbria and is considered a native grape of this region, but it is also common in other neighboring regions such as Lazio, Le Marche and Tuscany. Other versions, or clones, of the Grechetto, are the Grechetto di Todi and the Grechetto di Orvieto. There are some differences between the Grechetto in different regions, even if it is more difficult to talk about typical traits according to the area as with the Sagrantino. The Grechetto in the Orvieto area or in Lazio can be more fruity and elegant as well as lighter than a Grechetto, for example, from the area around Cannara in Umbria where the clay soil has a strong impact on this wine.

Drupeggio (White)

Drupeggio is a mid to late ripening grape variety. With relatively thick skins for a white grape variety, Druppeggio berries tend not to raisin very easily which makes it use in the production of passito or straw wines, such as Vin Santo, very rare even though it is a permitted variety in several DOCs for the dessert wine.

Trebbiano Spoletino (White)

Trebbiano is the most common white grape variety in Italy, and it accounts for around a third of all of Italy’s white wine. Some of the sub-varieties of the grape found in Italy include Trebbiano Toscano, Trebbiano Romagnolo, Trebbiano Gallo and Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. The wine itself is crisp and very neutral in flavor. It is sometimes called “bland” and its wine can be somewhat overly acidic and flavorless. It requires great skill to make Trebbiano into a desirable table wine. However, the high acidity of the grape does make it useful in making brandy, which is usually made in the Cognac and Armagnac regions. It is best paired with meats like chicken, turkey, pork and light-tasting fish, such as sole and catfish.

Sangiovese (Red)

Typical of central Italy, Lazio, Campania and Sicily, the Sangiovese grape is one of the most robust and well-known grapes of Italy producing wines such as Chianti Classico, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello di Montalcino. These are wines indicative of the Tuscan area.

Montepulciano (Red)

Produced and grown in southern Italy, in the areas of Abruzzo, Lazio, Molise, Umbria and Apulia the Montepulciano grape is used to make DOCG wines such as Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Rosso Conero, Rosso Piceno Superiore and more. It is often confused with the prestigious Vino Nobile Montepulciano, which is not made with Montepulciano grapes at all (made with Sangiovese) but shares the same name nonetheless as it is made in Montepulciano.

Umbria grapes