Umbria
Umbria, in central Italy, is a region of lush rolling hills, hilltop villages and iconic, historic towns. Its capital and largest city is Perugia. At the very heart of the Italian Peninsula, it is surrounded by Tuscany, Marche and Lazio and is in fact, the only Italian region without a coastline or international border. It’s here where you’ll find some of the most amazing, delightfully undervalued Italian wines.
The region is famous for the historic wine producing towns of Orvieto of which where a majority of the vineyards and wine production occurs. It accounts for over ten percent of the overall Umbrian wine production. Styles of Orveieto can vary from dry (Secco) through to semi-sweet (Amabile) and sweet wines. Although best-known for its white wines, Umbria's two top level DOCG designations are for red wines. The native red grape Sagrantino has gained prominence in the Montefalco area, creating wines of great depth and power. The best examples, from producers such as Paolo Bea or Arnaldo Caprai, rival anything from Italy. Therefore it was no surprise when Sagrantino di Montefalco received DOCG status in 1992. Sangiovese is growing in popularity and is the region's most planted grape variety just like in Tuscany.
This investment has markedly improved wine based on Sangiovese. It has also increased focus on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir for the reds, and dry white wines from Chardonnay. Several Umbrian wineries also make barrel-fermented blends of Chardonnay and Grechetto. These new wines do attract considerable interest at home and internationally. This may in part be due to favorable prices in relation to Tuscan counterparts.
The climate of Umbria is similar to that of Tuscany in that it is distinctly Mediterranean. It experiences cold, rainy winters and dry summers with abundant sunshine to ripen wine grapes. Although temperatures are mild throughout the winter months, Umbria is one of the coldest regions in Italy thanks to the annual average temperature of a mere 13°C.
FACTS:
Capital: Perugia
Vineyard: 13,000 hectares
Total production/year: approx. 75 Mio.
Share of Italian viticulture: approx. 1.5%.
