Umbria

This hilly region in central Italy is somewhat overshadowed by neighboring Tuscany. The landscape, soil, and climate are quite similar, but until recently, mainly cheaper, not particularly high-quality wines were produced here, mainly from international varieties such as Merlot, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The main producers were mainly wine cooperatives that supplied local supermarkets. In recent years, however, Umbria has been making a name for itself, and the quality of the wines has skyrocketed. The credit for this goes to local independent winemakers who abandoned the philosophy of large, low-quality no-name production and began to successfully experiment with locally rediscovered varieties Grechetto, Trebbiano Spoletino, and Sagrantino. It is from Sagrantino that great wines celebrating success even on the international stage are made, thanks to winemakers like Arnaldo Caprai, who managed to deal with the extreme tannins typical of Sagrantino and instead highlighted its fascinating balsamic tones. Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG is now the most famous Umbrian appellation. In addition, Umbria boasts another 13 DOC appellations. The main wine regions, besides Montefalco, are also Orvieto, Todi, and Torgiano, where the Sangiovese variety thrives.