Umbria is for wine lovers

The patron saint of Umbria is St. Valentine.

This year, for the first time, the province of Umbria is celebrating St. Valentine’s Day with a four-day wine festival that kicks off in Terni, the southern provinces’ most populated city, on Valentine’s Day and will last through Sunday, Feb. 17.

Founding members of the festival include Fausto Proietti, my longtime friend from Umbria, and my writing associate, Luiz Alberto, founder of The Wine Hub (thewinehub.com). The Wine Hub is where I started my wine writing career.

Both Fausto and Luiz have been working diligently, together, for the past year to establish the festivals guidelines and activities.

The four-day schedule includes blind Umbrian wine tastings, wine education classes, seminars, panel discussions, vineyard visits, wine dinners and much more, including a visit to the grave of the patron saint of Umbria, St. Valentine.

Umbria, the only land locked province in Italy, is very famous for its wines. In fact, Marco Caprai, winemaker and proprietor of Umbria’s Arnaldo-Caprai winery, was just named Wine Enthusiast‘s European Winery of the Year. He is widely credited with the revival of Sagrantino di Montefalco.

Umbria is known for its white wines using the Trebbiano grape, also known as the Procanico grape. Orvieto is the star wine using the grape.

The Trebbiano grape can be made in stainless steel and is fresh, crisp and alive. When marrying the grape with oak, the result is often sophisticated, elegant and special. When made as a dessert wine or “abbocato style,” sweetness dominates.

Another popular white is Chardonnay blended with Grechetto. Numerous other white varieties are grown in Umbria, including the international grapes: Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc and Gewurztraminer.

Regarding reds, as mentioned earlier, the new “King of Reds” is Sagrantino di Montefalco. This DOCG wine is complex, tannic, austere and made for aging. Its younger brother is Rosso di Montalciono, a DOC wine. The younger sister is a dessert wine named Passito. All are made with a minimum of 95-percent Sagrantino grapes.

The other dominant red grape is Sangiovese, best known in the Lake Trasimeno area. Sangiovese is a wonderful blending grape, resulting in a DOCG wine, Torgiano Rosso Reserva.

Besides wine, Umbria is known for its great cities, including Assisi, the home of St. Francis of Assisi. The St. Francis Basilica in Assisi holds the tomb of St. Francis and is a popular pilgrimage destination.

Other important towns include Perugia, Spoletto, Todi, Gubbio and Narni. Perugia is Umbria’s capital and largest town.

Spoleto is a walled town known for its world famous “Festival dei due Mondi” and the Ponte delle Torri, or Bridge of Towers. Todi is a picturesque walled village with beautiful views of the countryside.

Gubbio is a well-preserved medieval town built on gray limestone. Narni is considered the geographical center of Italy.

Orvierto is known for its magnificent cathedral (duomo) with its mosaic façade.

Umbria is often called “green heart” for its nature parks. There are many Etruscan sites and medieval hill towns.

If you are unable to visit Umbria for the festival, consider buying a bottle of Umbrian wine for Valentine’s Day and celebrate on your own.

Feel free to email my friend, Fausto Proietti, for a complete festival schedule at FaustoProietti@gmail.com.

Posted by Phillip Kampe on February 6, 2013. Filed under Columns,Food,Opinion,Wine and Beyond. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry