Umbria

Wine-growing region in central Italy, it has a total vineyard area of 16.503 hectares, and it is one of the very few regions that does not have any coastline. Vines have been grown on both banks of the Tiber river in Umbria since the times of the Etruscand and the Umbrians, from which the name is taken, in pre-Roman times. Archaeological finds as well as wine cellars 3.000 years old and laboriously hewn into the volcanic rock serve as historical evidence of this. Following the fall of the Roman empire, viticulture stagnated for many centuries. A new start was only made in the 1950’s. Both in terms of the landscape and also with regard to soils and climate, the region is very similar to the region of Tuscany, which borders it in the west. The cold months are characterised by frequent rainfall, while the summers are sunny, and cooled by winds. Many vineyards have limestone-rich sandy and clay soils. The leading grape varieties are the red varieties Sagrantino, Sangiovese, Ciliegiolo Nero, Canaiolo Nero and Montepulciano, as well as the white varieties Grechetto Bianco, Trebbiano Toscano (Procanico) and Verdello. The most famous wine is Orvieto, this has been produced for centuries, and accounts for two thirds of the total DOC production in the region. The DOC resp. DOCG zones are:

* Assisi
* Colli Altotiberini
* Colli Amerini
* Colli del Trasimeno
* Colli Martani
* Colli Perugini
* Lago di Corbara
* Montefalco
* Montefalco Sagrantino (DOCG)
* Orvieto (with Orvieto Classico)
* Rosso Orvietano (Orvietano Rosso)
* Torgiano
* Torgiano Rosso Riserva (DOCG)