Montefalco: Strada del Sagrantino

Little known yet steeped in the history of wine production, you’ll find Montefalco, a town in Umbria where records show it has produced wine since Roman times. On a recent day trip to the area, it was inevitable that our itinerary included a stop at one of the wineries that you’ll find along the Strada del Sagrantino.

Sagrantino wine was originally produced as a passito (sweet wine) used primarily for religious activities and today the dry version which is now commanding more attention internationally (more about wines from Umbria here). This grape variety almost disappeared from the area in the 1970s and thanks to the dedication of a few producers, including Arnaldo Caprai, the Sagrantino wine obtained the DOC recognition in 1979 and DOCG in 1992.

It was fascinating to learn that there were laws protecting the vines and wine production dating as far back as the 15th century. In the Museum Complex of San Francesco in the town of Montefalco, you’ll find the “Statuto Comunale” that spells out the offences and the subsequent punishments.

There are an array of wineries to choose from and the decision was made easier as Discovering Umbria shortlisted a few for us. As it was still low season, we called ahead to check if the wineries were opened and found several closed on the weekends.

Fortunately, Arnaldo Caprai, the most renowned Sagrantino producer, was taking appointments for visits and tastings. The visit lasts about an hour but ensure to allocate sufficient time to enjoy the tastings where you could opt for just wine tastings or have that paired with some Umbrian cold cuts and cheeses.

Together with another couple we had a guided tour of the facilities, from the machinery that separates the stems to the cellars, and also the well-kept grounds boasting spectacular views. We were told that this winery started in 1971 by Arnaldo Caprai first focused on the production of passito wine.

In the 1990s, under the helm of his son Marco Caprai, the winery collaborated with the University of Milan on the successful production of dry Montefalco wine. Even with its huge success, the company is always on the edge of innovation. Today, they are focused on the “New Green Revolution”, the first territorial sustainability protocol in the wine-making field.

Clarissa, our guide during the visit mentioned that the grapes are handpicked by 60-70 people starting from the end of August to the first week in October. The Sagrantino di Montefalco secco wines are aged for a period of 2 years in  oak barrels with a French medium toast that give the wine a vanilla flavor, and then in bottles.

For the passito wine, the grapes are dried for 2-3 months, before they are made into wine, fermenting the must with the skins. Each year the winery produces about 700,000-800,000 bottles with 40% exported abroad.

The winery also has 14 hectares of olive trees (frantoio, leccino, and moraiolo) and also sells olive oil but like many places in Umbria, as a result of the olive fly infestation, they didn’t harvest last year.

Our wine tasting was held in a chic, modern structure where we tasted 6 different kinds of wines from the Montefalco di Sagrantino DOCG 25 years to Montefalco Bianco and also got served bruschetta generously drizzled with their olive oil.  We ended on a sweet note with a taste of the Montefalco di Sangratino Passito DOCG that although sweet, is dry due to the tannins in this grape variety.

We are in awe at this area and as it is an easy day trip from Rome, you’ll certainly find us  back again to visit the other wineries in Montefalco. If you want more information, you can also contact Alessandra from Discovering Umbria and as a certified sommelier, she would be happy to help you further.

Have you visited a winery in Montefalco? We’d love to hear your experience in the comments below.