Umbria IGT

The Etruscans already devoted great care to the vine in central Italy, and Pliny the Elder (1st century AD) recorded in his Historia Naturalis how advanced the region's viticulture had become. At Orvieto, winemaking appears to go back to the Etruscan city of Velzna on the tufa crag, and in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance Orvieto was one of the favoured wines of the papal court, admired by Pope Paul III Farnese and Pope Gregory XVI. The oldest known mention of the 'sagrantina' grape at Montefalco dates to 1549, and Sagrantino was traditionally made as a sweet passito; a dry 'Sagrantino Asciutto' is first cited at a regional exhibition held in Montefalco in September 1925, and the dry wine was launched commercially only from the early 1970s. Torgiano was the first zone in Umbria to receive DOC recognition, in 1968, and Torgiano Rosso Riserva became a DOCG in 1990; Montefalco Sagrantino became a DOC in 1979 and a DOCG in 1992.

• Etruscan roots: the Etruscans tended the vine here, Pliny the Elder recorded the region's advanced viticulture in his Historia Naturalis, and Etruscan wine vessels have been found in the region's necropolises
• Torgiano DOC was approved by presidential decree on 20 March 1968, the first DOC in Umbria; Torgiano Rosso Riserva DOCG was approved by decree of 20 October 1990
• Sagrantino's oldest documented mention at Montefalco dates to 1549; the dry style is first recorded in 1925 and was marketed from the early 1970s
• Montefalco Sagrantino was approved as a DOC on 30 October 1979 and as a DOCG on 5 November 1992; it was known as Sagrantino di Montefalco until 2009

Umbria sits in the centre of Italy, in the Apennines north of Rome and east of Tuscany, with Perugia as its capital and largest city, and it is landlocked. The Umbria IGT production zone covers the entire administrative territory of the provinces of Perugia and Terni, and winemaking is also permitted in the neighbouring province of Viterbo and the comune of Montepulciano. The region's soils are varied: soils on low river terraces, tufaceous hills found only in the Orvieto area, sandy-conglomerate hills such as those from Montone to Perugia and from Pietrafitta to Montefalco, sandstone hills in north-western Umbria, clay-marl hills including clays laid down in the ancient 'Lago Tiberino', and soils formed on limestone. Average annual rainfall was 897.54 mm over the century and 937.1 mm for 1991-2010. In Montefalco, vines grow in a band from 220 to 472 metres under a continental climate, with a 1961-1990 average of 3.8 degrees Celsius in January and 25.3 degrees Celsius in July; at Torgiano, vines grow between 220 and 300 metres on clay-sand soils over a calcareous and tufaceous subsoil.

• Landlocked: a Central Italian region north of Rome and east of Tuscany
• Umbria IGT zone: all of the provinces of Perugia and Terni, with winemaking also allowed in the province of Viterbo and the comune of Montepulciano
• Montefalco: vineyards from 220 to 472 metres, with only well-exposed hillside sites eligible and valley floors excluded; calcium carbonate is always very abundant in the soils
• Orvieto: tufaceous hills occur only in the Orvieto area, and the Orvieto Classico boundary follows the Ripa, the edge of the volcanic plateau

Umbria's primary grape varieties are Sangiovese (22%), Trebbiano (17%), and Grechetto (13%), and Sangiovese is the most common red grape of Umbria. Sagrantino, a variety indigenous to Umbria, is the sole grape of Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG. Its thick skin is rich in tannins, and Decanter notes that the variety is often described as Italy's most tannic. The dry DOCG wine is intense ruby red, sometimes with violet tints and turning garnet with age, with a scent that recalls blackberries. Trebbiano Toscano (Procanico) and Grechetto together make up at least 60% of Orvieto, and Umbria also makes barrel-aged, full-bodied dry whites from local varieties such as Grechetto, sometimes blended with Chardonnay and/or Sauvignon Blanc. Sangiovese leads Torgiano Rosso Riserva (70% to 100%) and Montefalco Rosso (60% to 80%, with 10% to 25% Sagrantino). Under the Umbria IGT, a wine may name one variety if at least 85% of its grapes come from that variety, or two varieties if it is made only from those two.

• Sagrantino: 100% of Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG, in dry (Secco) and sweet (Passito) versions; minimum total alcohol 13.00% for the Secco
• Grechetto: at least 85% of Montefalco Grechetto DOC; with Trebbiano Toscano (Procanico), at least 60% of Orvieto DOC
• Trebbiano Spoletino: at least 50% of Montefalco Bianco DOC
• Sangiovese: Umbria's most common red grape, at 22%; 70% to 100% of Torgiano Rosso Riserva DOCG and 60% to 80% of Montefalco Rosso DOC

Arnaldo Caprai bought the five-hectare Val di Maggio estate in 1971 and passed it to his son Marco in 1988, and the estate today totals around 150 hectares. The Sagrantino Clonal Selection project ran from 1990 to 1993, and the flagship 25 Anni Montefalco Sagrantino was first released in 1993 to celebrate the estate's 25th anniversary. JancisRobinson.com credits Arnaldo Caprai's softening work on Sagrantino with putting the top wines of Umbria on the map, and calls Lungarotti for long the dominant producer, with a creditable track record of long-lasting Torgiano wines. Lungarotti is the historic Torgiano firm that contributed decisively to creating the Torgiano Rosso Riserva denomination. Antinori has vineyard holdings at Castello della Sala, where, in JancisRobinson.com's view, a finely oaked white shows how good a grape the local Grechetto can be. The dry Sagrantino entered at the 1925 Montefalco exhibition was presented by Senator Rolandi Ricci, then owner of the historic Cantina Scacciadiavoli.

• Arnaldo Caprai: five-hectare Val di Maggio estate bought in 1971; passed to Marco Caprai in 1988; around 150 hectares today
• 25 Anni Montefalco Sagrantino: first released in 1993 for the estate's 25th anniversary
• Lungarotti: the historic Torgiano firm that contributed decisively to creating the Torgiano Rosso Riserva denomination
• Castello della Sala (Antinori): a finely oaked white that JancisRobinson.com cites as showing the quality of Grechetto

Umbria IGT sits at the base of Umbria's quality ladder, below the DOC and DOCG tiers covered in the Italian Wine Classification article. Umbria has six IGTs (Allerona, Bettona, Cannara, Narni, Spello, and Umbria), thirteen DOCs, and two DOCGs, Montefalco Sagrantino and Torgiano Rosso Riserva; Orvieto DOC is shared with Lazio. The Umbria IGT, approved by ministerial decree on 18 November 1995, covers white, red, and rosé wines, including frizzante and novello versions, plus passito for whites and reds. Maximum yields are 18 tonnes per hectare for white and 17 for red and rosé, falling to 16 and 14 tonnes when a variety is named, and the grapes need a minimum natural alcohol of 10.00%. Umbria IGT can also serve as a fallback for wine from vineyards registered for the region's DOCs, provided it meets the IGT requirements, and qualifiers such as 'superiore' are banned. Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG requires 100% Sagrantino, a maximum of 8 tonnes per hectare, at least 33 months of ageing from 1 December of the harvest year (including at least 12 months in oak barrels for the Secco) plus at least four further months in bottle, and a minimum total alcohol of 13.00% for the Secco. Torgiano Rosso Riserva DOCG requires 70% to 100% Sangiovese, at least 36 months of ageing including 12 in wood and 6 in bottle, and a minimum total alcohol of 12.50%. Orvieto DOC requires at least 60% Trebbiano Toscano (Procanico) and Grechetto, with up to 40% other white varieties, in secco, abboccato, amabile, dolce, superiore, vendemmia tardiva, and muffa nobile versions; the dry version predominates today.

• Umbria IGT (approved 1995): provinces of Perugia and Terni; a named variety needs at least 85%; up to 18 t/ha for white and 17 t/ha for red and rosé; minimum natural alcohol 10.00%
• Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG (1992): 100% Sagrantino; 8 t/ha; 33 months of ageing (12 in oak for the Secco) plus 4 months in bottle; 13.00% minimum total alcohol for the Secco
• Torgiano Rosso Riserva DOCG (1990): 70% to 100% Sangiovese; 8 t/ha; 36 months of ageing including 12 in wood and 6 in bottle; 12.50% minimum total alcohol
• Orvieto DOC (1971): at least 60% Trebbiano Toscano (Procanico) and Grechetto; the Classico zone is the oldest area, delimited by ministerial decree of 23 October 1931; shared between Umbria and Lazio

The Montefalco Sagrantino zone takes in the whole comune of Montefalco and parts of Bevagna, Gualdo Cattaneo, Castel Ritaldi, and Giano dell'Umbria, in the province of Perugia, and its highest hills are topped by ancient medieval villages. Inside Montefalco's walls, old Sagrantino vines have always been grown at the ancient monasteries of Santa Chiara and San Leonardo. Orvieto stands on a tufa crag, and the Etruscans are believed to have developed a winemaking system there on three levels: grapes were crushed at ground level, the must flowed down to the rooms below to ferment, and the wine then moved deeper still to age. Frescoes from the Golini I tomb, kept at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Orvieto, show the preparations for an Etruscan banquet, with a bunch of grapes among the fruit. At Torgiano, excavations of a Roman villa rustica at the edge of the town uncovered a large quantity of wine amphorae.

• Montefalco Sagrantino communes: Montefalco (whole comune), Bevagna, Gualdo Cattaneo, Castel Ritaldi, and Giano dell'Umbria
• Orvieto: a three-level cellar system in the tufa, credited to the Etruscans, for crushing, fermenting, and ageing
• Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Orvieto: holds the Golini I tomb frescoes of an Etruscan banquet
• Torgiano: a Roman villa rustica excavated at the edge of the town yielded many wine amphorae

Primary sources (MASAF): https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/4625, https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252Fd%252F5%252FD.fd1629819dea12c20cf4/P/BLOB%3AID%3D4625/E/pdf?mode=download, https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252F5%252Ff%252FD.e4c1a674e6ce4cccb8ba/P/BLOB%3AID%3D4625/E/pdf?mode=download, https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252F0%252F8%252FD.80c31f0c0a116455addf/P/BLOB%3AID%3D4625/E/7z?mode=download, https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252Ff%252F6%252FD.b5bdd1dbb38eb7253e5a/P/BLOB%3AID%3D4625/E/7z?mode=download, https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252F2%252F3%252FD.8ccd09a077f2ec35dc9b/P/BLOB%3AID%3D4625/E/7z?mode=download, https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252F2%252F3%252FD.8ccd09a077f2ec35dc9b/P/BLOB%3AID%3D4625/E/7z?mode=download, https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252F2%252F3%252FD.8ccd09a077f2ec35dc9b/P/BLOB%3AID%3D4625/E/7z?mode=download, https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252Ff%252F6%252FD.b5bdd1dbb38eb7253e5a/P/BLOB%3AID%3D4625/E/7z?mode=download. Secondary sources: https://italianwinecentral.com/region-province/umbria/, https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/wine-regions/italy/umbria, https://www.decanter.com/premium/arnaldo-caprai-championing-top-quality-sagrantino-460895/. Last verified 2026-10-05