My passion for Italian wine has taken me all over Italy, but I'm
honored to have the privilege to share with you an overview of a region, area and
wine that I've touched upon before, but have long wanted to revisit
as well as visit in person. Traveling to wine regions allows you to fully understand the terroir, the history of how a wine came about and
hopefully have the opportunity to meet some winemakers that can deepen the understanding and share with you first hand information. Today I share with you the region of Umbria and the
town and area of Montefalco including it's prized grape, sagrantino.
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| Wine Map of Umbria copyright by Federdoc |
Montefalco
& Umbria
Montefalco
is situated in the region of Umbria, which is the only landlocked
region in all of Italy, also known as the “green heart of Italy”.
In relation to Umbria you have Tuscany to the northeast, Lazio to
the southeast, Emilia Romagna to the north, Le Marche to the west,
and Abruzzo to the southwest. Montefalco is a town surrounded by
12th
century walls and has the nickname of “la ringhiera
dell'umbria”, meaning “balcony
over Umbria”, since the town sits high overlooking the valley. It's surrounded by the mountains of Martani, the Apennines and
Mount Subasio, which are possible to see from Montefalco with its panoramic views. The weather of this region is continental,
but with the winds, known as Tramontana,
coming off the mountains it helps moderate the heat and prevent rot
and diseases in the vineyards.
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| Town of Montefalco in Umbria by Benito Roveran |
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| Palazzo Comunale in Montefalco by Benito Roveran |
The sagrantino grape
The region of
Umbria has many important grapes with the well known white wine
Orvieto made of grechetto and trebbiano, but when it comes to red
grapes, Montefalco and the area surrounding it take the cake with the
prized red grape, sagrantino. The name, sagrantino, actually stems
from the word sacrements and the latin word sacer meaning sacred.
This grape was grown by monks and was used mostly for religious
ceremonies and almost faced extinction in the 60's. When utilized by monks it was used as a sweet passito style wine where the skins
were dried, known as appasimento, that further concentrates the juice. Sagrantino today still has a passito version, but is also a dry red wine with thick
skins, high phenolics and tannins. You'll find it produced in the following towns: Montefalco, Bevagna, Castel Ritaldi,
Gualdo Cattaneo and Giano dell'Umbria.
DOC &
DOCG
There is both a DOC And DOCG made with sagrantino within Umbria,
Montefalco Rosso DOC (created 1979) and Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG (created 1992). The major differences between the DOC and DOCG are the
following factors:
Montefalco Rosso DOC
|
Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG
|
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| Grapes | 60-70% sangiovese 10-15% sagrantino 15-30% other grapes |
100% sagrantino |
| Aging Process | 18 months aging | 37 months total with 12 in oak |
| Alcohol | 12.00% | 13.00% |
*There are additional requirements as well
Vintages
If you're never had
sagrantino you may want to seek out some of the best
vintages if you can find them to experience this grape at its finest. According to the Consorzio Tutela
Vini Montefalco, the 5 star prized vintages of Sagrantino di Montefalco are
1986, 1990, 1999, 2005 and 2009. The most recent vintage release of
2011 received 4 stars producing grapes of a “very good quality”
that are balanced and have the potential of long longevity.
Food pairing
with Sagrantino
Being of Italian heritage myself I know all too well that you can't talk about Italian wine without food. Inspired
by the Umbrian recipes provided on Italian
Food Forever, I chose to pair the '09 Colpetrone Sagrantino di
Montefalco with Pappardelle
alla Norcina.
Norcina stems from the town of Norcia located in Umbria that is known for it's pork products. Pasta alla norcina is usually prepared in a tomato light-based cream
sauce with sausage, but the healthy side of me withdrew the cream and
tomatoes and decided to go with more of a aglio-olio
sauce, garlic and oil. I have been dying to write about a sagrantino
for some time now as well use my pappardelle I brought back from
Italy and no better time than for this wonderful pairing. You can
also pair sagrantino with braised meats, lamb, game and aged cheeses. Always think of the region the wine comes from when it comes to pairing with food. This is my rule of thumb when it comes to Italian food and wine pairing.
Pappardelle
alla Norcina
Ingredients
1 pound of pappardelle
½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
4-5 cloves of minced garlic
4-6 links of Italian sweet sausage
Baby bella mushrooms
½ bunch of kale
Parsley
Sea salt and pepper
Pecorino
White truffle oil (optional)
White truffle oil (optional)
Directions:
1) Prepare a pot of water and boil, adding a little salt. Once pot has reached boiling point, add pasta and cook to designated time on package.
2) In a small saucepan simmer on low heat the extra virgin olive oil, including a dash of sea salt and 2-3 cloves of minced garlic.
3) In a separate saute pan add oil, dash of salt and 1-2 cloves of minced garlic and simmer on low. After 3-5 minutes add sliced mushrooms and chop kale and saute covered for about 8 minutes on medium heat.
4) In another saute pan or after the mushrooms and kale is cooked and removed into a separate bowl, add sliced sausage and cook until browned rotating sausages on all sides.
5) Once everything has been cooked and pasta has been drained, combine all ingredients into a bowl.
6) Finish by adding parsley, shaved pecorino on top and a touch of white truffle oil. |
| Italian food love: White truffle oil, pecorino & pappardelle |
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| Pappardelle alla Norcina paired with '09 Colpetrone Montefalco Sagrantino |
There is no better way to understand sagrantino than to experience it for yourself and today I'm sharing with you the 2009 Colpetrone Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG. I received a gracious sample from the Consorzio Tutela Vini Montefalco and couldn't wait to pop the cork.
Colpetrone is part of the Saiagricola S.p.A. The winery is located in the heart of Montefalco, in Gualdo Cattaneo, with about 155 acres of vineyards and an annual production of 200,000 bottles a year. This particular wine was aged 12 months in French barrique with 26 months additionally in the bottle before release.
I decanted the wine for about an hour before enjoying it with my meal, but obviously stole some sips prior as I always love to see how the wine evolves in the glass as it aerates. This wine was deep garnet in color with a dark, almost black center. Full bodied, well-structured with rich ripe red and blackberry fruit, earthy and balanced with good acidity and tannins. A hint of dark chocolate as well. The tannins were well integrated into the wine and paired very well with the Pasta alla Norcina, especially with the Italian sausage. It had a lengthy finish.
Drinking well for 2009 it can still withstand additional years in the bottle and will probably develop to be even more smooth and balanced. This grape is known to be a grape that withstand longevity.
Colpetrone is part of the Saiagricola S.p.A. The winery is located in the heart of Montefalco, in Gualdo Cattaneo, with about 155 acres of vineyards and an annual production of 200,000 bottles a year. This particular wine was aged 12 months in French barrique with 26 months additionally in the bottle before release.
I decanted the wine for about an hour before enjoying it with my meal, but obviously stole some sips prior as I always love to see how the wine evolves in the glass as it aerates. This wine was deep garnet in color with a dark, almost black center. Full bodied, well-structured with rich ripe red and blackberry fruit, earthy and balanced with good acidity and tannins. A hint of dark chocolate as well. The tannins were well integrated into the wine and paired very well with the Pasta alla Norcina, especially with the Italian sausage. It had a lengthy finish.
Drinking well for 2009 it can still withstand additional years in the bottle and will probably develop to be even more smooth and balanced. This grape is known to be a grape that withstand longevity.
I hope you experience this region for yourself so you can envelop
yourself in the culture, cuisine and wine, but you can also
experience it in the comfort of your own home as I did as well. I'm looking forward to sharing with you an additional sample from this region, Arnaldo Caprai Rosso di Montelfalco so stay tuned. Buon
appetito and ciao ciao!
Source: Strada del Sagrantino , Consorzio Tutela Vini Montefalco, Italian Food Forever, Sagrantino.us
Source: Strada del Sagrantino , Consorzio Tutela Vini Montefalco, Italian Food Forever, Sagrantino.us
