Wines from Umbria: five bottles worth seeking out

Away from the crowds of Tuscany, Umbria offers a quieter side of Italy. It is known as the ‘green heart’ of Italy and is the only Italian region without a coastal border, being enclosed by the Marche, Tuscany and Lazio.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for five wines from Umbria to try

Umbria: factbox

Annual production: 644,000hL

Hectares under vine: 12,400ha

Key varieties: Sangiovese (22%), Trebbiano (17%), Grechetto (13%) and Sagrantino (6%)

Producers to know Antinori, Lungarotti, Tabbarini, Pardi, Antonelli, Arnaldo-Caprai, Tenuta Bellafonte, Bocale, Scacciadiavoli, Barberani Decugnano dei Barbi, Tenute Lunelli, Enrico Neri, Alessandro Leoni.

Umbria is a landscape of beautiful lakes and medieval hilltop villages which seem to rise from the mist: notably Assisi, Spoleto, Todi and Montefalco.

Umbria has two DOCGs (Montefalco Sagrantino and Torgiano Rosso Riserva), 13 DOCs and six IGPs.

The best-known Umbrian white wine is Orvieto DOC from the beautiful city of the same name, with its soaring 14th century cathedral. A blend of Grechetto and Trebbiano, Orvieto was originally made in a golden semi-sweet abboccato style but in recent years the drier amabile and secco styles have become more prominent.

Producers to look out for include Decugnano dei Barbi, Palazzone, Neri and Niccolo Barberani. Outside the DOC, Alessandro Leoni blends the best traditions with innovation in his lively Grechetto/Riesling blend, La Marchesa.

Another development is the vibrant, characterful white wines that are being made from Trebbiano di Spoletino in and around Montefalco, especially by producers such as Tabarrini, Belone and Antonelli.

On an international level, Antinori’s world-class Chardonnay and Grechetto blend, Cervaro della Sala continues to shine. In Gambero Rosso’s Italian Wines 2021 guide, Cervaro della Sala was awarded its 30th Tre Bicchieri for the 2018 vintage!

Umbria’s DOCGs

Of the two DOCG wines of Umbria, Sagrantino di Montefalco DOCG has taken huge strides forward in quality. The native Sagrantino grape produces powerful, highly tannic red wines that need to age. Having attended the Anteprima in Montefalco over the last five years, I have seen the quality and suppleness of the tannins improve dramatically.

Torgiano was established as a DOC in 1968 with the help of Giorgio Lungarotti and in 1990 Torgiano Rosso Riserva achieved DOCG status. Made predominantly from Sangiovese (minimum 70%) with Canaiolo, Ciliegiolo and Montepulciano, it produces a medium-bodied red wine with herbal, bitter cherry notes.

If you are a wine lover in Torgiano you must include a visit to the Museo del Vino di Torgiano which Chiara Lungarotti, Giorgio’s daughter and CEO of Lungarotti, describes as ‘one of the best wine museums in the world’.

Five wines from Umbria to try:

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