Polarising (Umbria, Italy - Day Three)

I have had the pleasure of meeting a great many people who work in wine over the course of my journey who have all imparted wisdom to me, and I hope that I have given some small amount in return as this is the essence of wine communication, that in travels in two directions. Most of the people have been hosts at wineries that I have visited, but a few of them I either met also visiting wineries or simply in unconnected situations, like a woman who consults business strategy and communication to small wineries in Italy whilst having lunch in Beaune, France. Someone I met whilst in Sicily was a wine journalist and blogger originally from Verona but now living with his recently married wife in Perugia. At the time he was making a much smaller version of my own journey in the south of Italy, including Campania, Calabria, Molise and Abruzzo. His name is Jacopo Cossater and he not only contributes to the most important wine magazine in Italy and the most visited wine website in Italy, but he also regularly writes on his own site enoicheillusioni. We met whilst visiting one of my favourite winemakers in Italy, Arianna Occhipinti, and shared some discussions over several meals whilst in Sicily. I was thrilled to catch up over dinner with Jacopo and his lovely wife Laura with my parents when we visited Perugia, and even more so when he invited me to visit a few of his favourite producers around Perugia in Montefalco and Spoleto. Regretfully I forgot to bring my camera so the images in this post have been taken with many thanks from the websites of the producers in question.

Vines are only outnumbered by olive trees here

My house in Umbria (Umbria, Italy - Day Two)

According to my host the previous day, Orvieto is not traditionally considered part of Umbria, as it is closer to Lazio and Tuscany with an Etruscan heritage. Central Umbria had a much more rustic history, being very simple farmers. This part of Umbria has garnered a lot more attention recently thanks to their red wines, most notably in the Montefalco area where the sagrantino grape is king. In the past Sagrantino di Montefalco was a passito sweet wine that was consumed as a table wine with food. It was traditionally the wine that would be drunk with breakfast on Easter Sunday each year, as the first wine drunk after lent. The breakfast was naturally very hearty, including slow-roasted lamb, cured meats and egg, and would last several hours. Back in the 1970s they began to introduce viticultural practise from other parts of Europe in Umbria, and this changed grape and wine production in the region. With the former trellising systems there were high volumes of grapes produced, which meant to achieve the ripeness necessary for the sweet wines in particular, the harvest was usually not until late October. With new pruning practices introduced and more intense plantings, yields were reduced and ripening occurred earlier, with harvests beginning in September. Thus began the serious production of dry red wines from one of the most tannic red varieties possible. Sagrantino is tough to grow, but is quite malleable in terms of ripeness levels and vinification practices, and from what I tasted there is no defined style as yet, it is up to the producer. As the understanding of the variety and the terroir improves so will the quality of the wines.

Bush-trained sagrantino vines

You’d never know (Umbria, Italy – Day One)

When you think about the most impressive and unique wine towns in the world, there are some that immediately spring to mind. Not necessarily for the quality of the wines, that goes without saying for many, but for a combination of other factors. Chateauneuf-du-Pape and St. Emilion for example are gorgeous old villages that sit on top of hills with vineyards surrounding them. Montalicino sits in the midst of forests and vineyards, with spectacular views of the Tuscan countryside thanks to the altitude. Villages in Alba like Serralunga d’Alba and Castiglione Falleto seem to be perched on the side of hills about to fall off. Traben-Trarbach and Bernkastel-Kues sit on opposite sides of the Mosel River, connected by historic bridges. Cafayate in the Salta region of Argentina is so isolated and small you would never know it was there, and feels like a Wild West town. Nothing could prepare me for Orvieto in south western Umbria, near the border of Tuscany and Lazio. The geological origins of the area are a combination of volcanic and inland sea, and sit on the famous Tiber River. The village itself sits on top of prehistoric rock, and was once a medieval castle. Inhabitants have not only built homes amongst the narrow cobblestone streets, but they also used the rock like a natural city wall and carved passages and cellars into it. The population exceeded the village long ago, and residential areas have spilled out into the surrounds underneath. In the past the region was famous for the quality of the white wines, but became associated with very simple fruit driven wines many years ago. Small producers are attempting to return the region to its former glory, and one such producer is Palazzone who I visited to learn more about the region.

The majestic village of Orvieto