Ep 457: Umbria, Italy

<p style="font-weight: 400;">Tucked into the middle of the Italian peninsula is the verdant, hilly land of Umbria. This small province is overshadowed by its neighbor, Tuscany, for many things, but Umbria has history, culture, and wine all its own. In this show, we explore the long history of Umbrian wine, what makes the province unique in its grapes and wine styles, and why Umbrian wine is too often unfairly forgotten in the pantheon of great wines of Italy. We review the three major wine regions of Umbria – Orvieto, Torgiano, and Montefalco – and give many reasons to give these wines a try. </p> <p style="font-weight: 400; text-align: center;"><img style= "display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src= "https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/show/45638/Townassisi.png" alt="" width="400" height="225" /><br /> <em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Photo: Umbrian countryside. Getty Images </span></em></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Here are the show notes:</p> <ul> <li>As of January 2023, Umbria has just 2 DOCGs, 13 DOCs, and 6 IGPs, 48% is DOP wine, 42% IGP, 10% table wine. 12,400 ha (30,600 acres) is 7.2 million cases of wine<br /> <br /></li> <li>The main grapes of the region are: Sangiovese, Trebbiano Toscano, Grechetto, Sagrantino</li> </ul> <p style="font-weight: 400;"> </p> <ul> <li>Umbria has had winemaking for more than 3000 years</li> </ul> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong> </strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Climate:</strong> Landlocked Umbria has no sea breeze, although its lakes do help moderate the temperatures. The climate varies, but is mostly Mediterranean with cold, rainy winters and dry summers with abundant sunshine to ripen grapes</li> </ul> <p style="font-weight: 400;"> </p> <p style="font-weight: 400; text-align: center;"><img style= "display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src= "https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/show/45638/Assisi1.png" alt="" width="400" height="225" /><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Photo: Chiesa in Assisi. Getty Images </span></em></p> <p style="font