UMBRIAN WINES

An important moment dedicated to Umbrian wine both for wine tourism and for history. The contest, at its first edition, "The Umbria of Wine" was a success; the ceremony was held on Wednesday, February 16, in Perugia in the Council Hall of the Chamber of Commerce of Umbria.

The first moment was very awaited ,after the tasting phase of the 176 wines (white, red, rose, sparkling, dessert wines, sweets) of 59 wineries which were admitted to participate in the competition, authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. All the others did not win by a few points. However, they guaranteed an excellent service and quality. The jury voted for the indispensable requirements in order to classify the best ones, a hard work lasted three days by a commission composed by enologists, sommeliers and wine and food journalists.

These are the winning wineries:

● Agricola Spacchetti (Montefalco);

● Agroturistica Marella (Castiglione Del Lago);

● Azienda Agraria Carlo e Marco Carini (Perugia);

● Azienda Agricola Blasi Anna e Mauro (Umbertide);

● Azienda Agricola Le Crete (Giove);

● Azienda Agricola Pucciarella (Magione);

● Azienda Agrituristica Baldassarri of Roberto Lepri (Perugia);

●Cantina Santo Iolo (Narni);

●Cantina Terre De' Trinci (Foligno);

● Cantina Tudernum (Todi);

● Fattoria di Monticello (San Venanzo);

● Società Agricola Aliara Vini (Gualdo Cattaneo);

●Bettalunga Agricultural Society (Marsciano);

●Agricultural Society Briziarelli (Bevagna);

●Agricultural Society Moretti Omero (Giano Dell'umbria);

●Agricultural Society Poggio Bertaio (Castiglione Del Lago);

●Agricultural Society San Michele (Orvieto);

● Tenute Baldo Agricola (Bastia Umbra);

●Tenute Lunelli (Bevagna).

Moreover, during the ceremony will be delivered also other prizes. The young male or female entrepreneur award and the female enterprise award. Another important award is the organic wine award. All themes are very actual.

Food and wine tours in Umbria: here is where to go

It has always been known that Umbria is characterized by spectacular and renowned wines, and it is famous for wine tourism. Here are some routes that can be done in order to taste Umbrian wines.

● Tour of Torgiano: here is produced the Torgiano Rosso Riserva, a DOCG  red wine with a strong and particular character, aged for at least 3 years. It has a delicate smell, dry and harmonic taste, with a long finish. It is excellent to be matched with first courses or roasted meat.

● Cannara tour with two wines to be tasted in our enogastronomical journey to discover the best flavors of central Umbria. Cannara red has a full and bitterish taste, with hints of toasted wood, subjected to an aging of 12 months. The red passito is sweet, full, soft, fruity. Of Cannara are also famous the onions and the parmigiana.

● Montefalco: offers an exclusive DOCG wine. This one is probably produced in the two types dry and passito. It is subjected to a mandatory aging period of at least 33 months. We can fully taste it accompanied for example to a board prepared with the best of Umbrian gastronomy among cold cuts, cheeses and traditional dishes, even with red meat.

● Colli Martani, wine and truffle tagliatelle: here we find an excellent Colli Martani to match with truffle tagliatelle.

● Todi: here we find a DOC Todi, best white wine, but we find also red wines, like Grechetto, Sangiovese, Merlot. Here is produced the Grero, an ancient variety of black berry Grechetto that was almost completely disappeared but has returned in 2011 thanks to various studies and new production techniques. Just this is excellent to be tasted with typical local dishes.

In order to discover the differences between Umbrian wines of the various grape varieties and Tuscan wines, for example, or Lombardy wines and Piedmont wines, it is possible to buy them on www.italianwinelover.it, a site which is a real virtual wine shop, capable of supplying wine shops and supermarkets all over Italy For all occasions there are also many sparkling wines for the most passionate wine explorers.

Marchesi Antinori: the most famous winery of Umbria

Among the most famous Umbrian wines there are the ones produced by Marchesi Antinori winery. Since 1990, they have a vast surface of vineyards, at least 340 hectares divided in two bodies: the first one, of 366 hectares of which 237 are planted with vines, is located at the border between the municipalities of Montepulciano and Cortona. The other body, 142 hectares (148 acres) of which 103 are planted with vineyards, is located to Montepulciano, here the soil is mainly clayey and has shells and marine fossils because of the vicinity of the sea. Here are some of them:

●Marchesi Antinori Castello Della Sala San Giovanni Della Sala Orvieto Doc Classico Superiore: a white wine with a light yellow color, produced with Grechetto, Procanico, Pinot Bianco and Viognier grapes, it has a fruity aroma with citrus notes, very fresh also on the palate with a citrus aftertaste. It is kept in stainless steel tanks at 16° C.  How to serve it? Perfect with first courses of seafood and shellfish as well as fresh cheeses.

●Marchesi Antinori Castello della sala cervaro Chardonnay Umbria Igt: a unique white wine, a blend of Chardonnay and Grechetto grapes. One year of fermentation in Barriques. It has a floral and fresh bouquet with balsamic notes, fresh and strong taste with a long and intense finish. How to serve it? Serve it with aged cheeses, white meat and grilled fish.

●Marchesi Antinori Castello Della Sala Conte Della Vipera Umbria Igt: an elegant white wine made with Savignon and Semillon grapes, a straw yellow with a fresh and floral bouquet, a light and bold flavor. How to serve it? It should be served very cold, capable of accompanying appetizers and fish dishes.