Montefalco DOC

Last updated
Montefalco
Wine region
Montefalco rosso DOC.jpg
Type DOC
Year established1979
CountryItaly
Part of Umbria
Other regions in Umbria Montefalco Sagrantino
Climate region III
Heat units 1,722 °C (3,132 °F) GDD
Size of planted vineyards430 hectares (1,100 acres) [1]
Grapes producedRosso: Sangiovese, Sagrantino
Bianco: Grechetto, Trebbiano
Wine produced27,000 hectolitres (590,000 imp gal; 710,000 US gal) [1]
Comments2018

Montefalco wine (Montefalco Rosso, red wine; Montefalco Bianco, white wine) is a style of Italian wine made in Umbria, and awarded Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) status in 1979.

Italian wine

Italy is the world's largest producer of wine, and is home to some of the oldest wine-producing regions. Its contribution is about 45–50 million hl per year, and represents about a quarter of global production. Italian wine is exported around the world, as popular among Italians. Italians rank fifth on the world wine consumption list by volume with 42 litres per capita consumption. Grapes are grown in every region of the country and there are more than one million vineyards under cultivation.

Umbria Region of Italy

Umbria is a region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the River Tiber. The regional capital is Perugia. Umbria is known for its landscapes, traditions, history, culinary delights, artistic legacy, and influence on culture.

<i>Denominazione di origine controllata</i> quality assurance label for Italian food products

The following four classifications of wine constitute the Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine:

Contents

Geography

The region lies in the province of Perugia in central Umbria, and primarily encompasses the hill town of Montefalco. Also within the region are the towns of Bevagna in the north, Gualdo Cattaneo and Bastardo in the center, and Castel Ritaldi in the south. The wine region completely lies within one much larger DOC: Colli Martani.

Perugia Comune in Umbria, Italy

Perugia is the capital city of both the region of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the river Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about 164 kilometres north of Rome and 148 km southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. The region of Umbria is bordered by Tuscany, Lazio, and Marche.

Montefalco Comune in Umbria, Italy

Montefalco is a town and comune in the central part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria), on an outcrop of the Colli Martani above the flood plain of the Clitunno river, 7 km (4 mi) SE of Bevagna, 11 km (7 mi) SW of Foligno, and 9 km (5.5 mi) NW of Trevi.

Bevagna Comune in Umbria, Italy

Bevagna is a town and comune in the central part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria), in the flood plain of the Topino river.

Many of the wineries that make Montefalco DOC wines are located between Bevagna and Montefalco. These wineries often devote several portions of their property to olive trees, in addition to grapevines. The soil is mostly calcareous clay. [2]

DOC Regulations

According to regulations, Montefalco bianco must contain a minimum of 50% Grechetto, between 20% to 35% Trebbiano Toscano, and the winemaker's choice of other white grapes for the remainder (up to 30%).

Grechetto

Grechetto or Grechetto bianco is a white Italian wine grape variety of Greek origins. The grape is planted throughout central Italy, particularly in the Umbria region where it is used in the Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) wine Orvieto. It is primarily a blending grape, though some varietal wine is also produced. Grechetto is commonly blended with Chardonnay, Malvasia, Trebbiano and Verdello. The grape's thick skin provides good resistance to downy mildew which can attack the grape late in the harvest season. This makes Grechetto a suitable blending grape in the production of Vin Santo.

Montefalco rosso (by far more prevalent than bianco) must contain between 60% to 70% Sangiovese, along with a requirement of 10% to 15% Sagrantino, and the winemaker's choice of other red grapes for the remainder (up to 30%). This allowance of other red grapes allows many Umbrian winemakers the ability to beef up their Montefalco rosso with interesting international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Montefalco rosso must be aged a minimum of 18 months. Many wineries in Montefalco that make profound Sagrantino di Montefalco also make Montefalco rosso. The allowance of between 10% to 15% Sagrantino creates a Sangiovese-based wine with more tannins and body than many other reds of Italy. The result is a Sangiovese with some character and complexity.

Sangiovese Wine making grape

Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety that derives its name from the Latin sanguis Jovis, "the blood of Jupiter". Though it is the grape of most of central Italy from Romagna down to Lazio, Campania and Sicily, outside Italy it is most famous as the only component of Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino and the main component of the blends Chianti, Carmignano, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Morellino di Scansano, although it can also be used to make varietal wines such as Sangiovese di Romagna and the modern "Super Tuscan" wines like Tignanello.

Sagrantino varietal

Sagrantino is an Italian grape variety that is indigenous to the region of Umbria in Central Italy. It is grown primarily in the village of Montefalco and the surrounding area, with a recent rapid increase in planting area from 351 hectares in 2000 to 994 hectares by 2010 dedicated to the grape, in the hands of about 50 producers.

Cabernet Sauvignon Red-wine variety of grape

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon became internationally recognized through its prominence in Bordeaux wines where it is often blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc. From France, the grape spread across Europe and to the New World where it found new homes in places like California's Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Napa Valley, New Zealand's Hawkes Bay, South Africa's Stellenbosch region, Australia's Margaret River and Coonawarra regions, and Chile's Maipo Valley and Colchagua. For most of the 20th century, it was the world's most widely planted premium red wine grape until it was surpassed by Merlot in the 1990s. However, by 2015, Cabernet Sauvignon had once again become the most widely planted wine grape, with a total of 341,000 hectares (3,410 km2) under vine worldwide.

Montefalco rosso riserva is often a rare wine, because most winemakers in Montefalco will devote their extended barrel aging to the Sagrantino di Montefalco DOCG. Nevertheless, the quality of Montefalco rosso riserva can be very high, and deserving of attention. The riserva must be aged for at least 30 months, with at least 12 months in wood. [2]

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Brunello di Montalcino is a red DOCG Italian wine produced in the vineyards surrounding the town of Montalcino, in the province of Siena, located about 80 km south of Florence in the Tuscany wine region. Brunello, a diminutive of Bruno ("brown"), is the name that was given locally to what was believed to be an individual grape variety grown in Montalcino. In 1879 the Province of Siena's Amphelographic Commission determined, after a few years of controlled experiments, that Sangiovese and Brunello were the same grape variety, and that the former should be its designated name. In Montalcino the name Brunello evolved into the designation of the wine produced with 100% Sangiovese.

Vin Santo

Vin Santo[vin ˈsanto] is a style of Italian dessert wine. Traditional in Tuscany, these wines are often made from white grape varieties such as Trebbiano and Malvasia, though Sangiovese may be used to produce a rosé style known as "Occhio di Pernice" or eye of the partridge. The wines may also be described as straw wines since they are often produced by drying the freshly harvested grapes on straw mats in a warm and well ventilated area of the house. Though technically a dessert wine, a Vin Santo can vary in sweetness levels from bone dry to extremely sweet. While the style is believed to have originated in Tuscany, examples of Vin Santo can be found throughout Italy and it is an authorised style of wine for several Denominazione di origine controllata (DOCs) and Indicazione geografica tipica (IGTs).

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wine

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is a red wine with a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita status produced in the vineyards surrounding the town of Montepulciano, Italy. The wine is made primarily from the Sangiovese grape varietal, blended with Canaiolo Nero (10%–20%) and small amounts of other local varieties such as Mammolo. The wine is aged for 2 years ; three years if it is a riserva. The wine should not be confused with Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, a red wine made from the Montepulciano grape in the Abruzzo region of east-central Italy.

Montepulciano dAbruzzo

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Montefalco Sagrantino

Montefalco Sagrantino is a style of Italian wine made with 100% Sagrantino grapes in and around the comune of Montefalco in the Province of Perugia, Umbria. The wines gained DOC status in 1979 as part of the Montefalco DOC and were later separately elevated to DOCG status in 1992 after a renewal of interest from winemakers, particularly Arnaldo Caprai. There are two DOCG wines: Montefalco Sagrantino Secco, an oak-aged dry red wine, and the less common Montefalco Sagrantino Passito, a sweet, dessert red wine.

Brindisi Rosso is a red DOC wine from the Southern Italian province of Brindisi, in the region of Apulia. The official appellation was granted on November 22, 1979, when a presidential decree was published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale dated April 23, 1980, after lobbying by the firm of Pasquale Medico & Sons and other producers. In recent years the production of this variety of wine has declined considerably, due to the uprooting of vines as a result of incentives from the EU, which has favoured other products. The province of Brindisi has a very long tradition of wine making, largely because Brindisi was the Roman gateway to the East and sold its wine to Rome along with salt and olive oil imported from the empire's Mediterranean provinces.

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Tuscan wine Notable wine region

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Orvieto DOC wine

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Abrusco is a red Italian wine grape variety grown primarily in the Tuscany region where it is a minor blending component permitted in the wines of Chianti. The grape has long history in the region and was mentioned in 1600, under its synonyms Abrostino and Colore, in the posthumously published work by Italian agronomist Giovan Vettorio Soderini Trattato della coltivazione delle viti, e del frutto che se ne può cavare. There Soderini notes that the grape was often used to add deeper, more red color to Tuscan wines.

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Elba is a DOC wine made from grapes grown on the island of Elba, in the region of Tuscany, Italy. Elba wine can be red, white or sweet, the latter being the island's own version of vin santo. The Elba DOC was created in 1967. Elba rosso is a minimum of 60% sangiovese, while Elba bianco may encompasses several different blends of grapes, of which include Ansonica, Trebbiano Toscano, Vermentino and other white grapes. Rosso riserva wines must be aged for a minimum of two years, including six months in bottle.

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Abruzzo (wine)

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References

  1. 1 2 "Montefalco DOC". Italian Wine Central. Retrieved 16 September 2019. Data from 2018.
  2. 1 2 Joseph Batianich & David Lynch Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy" pg 436 Clarkson Potter Publishers ISBN   9781400097746