Montefalco and its love for sagrantino

This may be one of those grapes that you haven't heard of or it may be one you really enjoy so I wanted to share some information on it to further educate and maybe peak your interest to try something new. Sagrantino is an indigenous grape to Italy primarily found in the region of Umbria and more specifically in the town of Montefalco. It's one of the most well known grapes of this region.

The DOC of Montefalco was created in 1979. There is the Montefalco DOC rosso, which is actually majority made up of sangiovese with at least 10% sagrantino and then there is the Sagrantino di Montefalco that is 100% sagrantino. It was further granted DOCG status in 1992. To acquire the DOCG status the wine must come 100% purely from sagrantino and must be aged 30 months with some other yield requirements.

This area is surrounded by the Apennines, which provides a cooling effect in the intense summer heat. These wines are produced from a small acreage and the DOCG wines come from the communes of Montefalco, Bevagna, Gualdo Cattaneo, Castel Ritaldi and Giano dell'Umbria.

Some top producers in this area include Arnaldo Caprai, Colpetrone, Antonelli, Fratelli Adanti and Milziade Antano.

Sagrantino is known for being a full-bodied red with high tannins and spice. It's deep in color leaning more towards a deep purple. In the older days this grape was known for making a passito style where the grapes are dried producing a sweet, thicker dessert style wine with a higher alcohol percentage. If you like wines of the Valpolicella area that I have discussed in my previous blogs here then I would recommend checking out these wines.

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13 generations of winemaking at the Torciano estate in San Gimignano

Last night while relaxing and wrapping up creating my wedding album from my amazing wedding in Tuscany this past October, I felt it was necessary to drink from the region where I celebrated the best day of my life. I received and opened a bottle of Chianti from the Torciano Winery. The Torciano estate was founded in 1720 by Bartolomeo Giacchi, whom was originally from Florence, but moved to San Gimiganano. The winery became a place for passerbys on the way to Rome to rest and drink where the Giacchi family could sell their wines and olive oil. There have been 13 generations of winemakers that manage the estate and vineyards so winemaking runs in the Giachi's blood.

If you ever have been to Tuscany you have shared in its splendor with its small villages to explore, windy roads, rows and rows of vineyards, wineries and tall cypress trees, which are one of my favorite characteristics of the regions. I love turning the corner on the roads there and seeing cypress trees line the horizon and vineyards everywhere on the hills. It takes your breath away! San Gimignano is located between Florence and Siena and is a medieval looking town known for its towers, which you can see from a distance as you approach it.

San Gimignano

The grapes at Torciano are harvested by hand. They grow Chardonnay, Vernaccia di San Gimignano and Trebbiano for whites along with Pinot Noir, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Canaiolo for reds. Depending on the grape they use stainless steel tanks or French and American oak for fermentation and maturation. I opened the 2012 Crete Rosse Chianti D.O.C.G that is 80% Sangiovese and 20% Canaiolo Nero. It was ruby in color with medium body and was dry with higher acidity and soft tannins.

The Torciano estate has everything from wine, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and other handmade products including preserves and sauces. There is a wide breadth of things to do while visiting them. They have appartments and rooms where you can stay and have private tastings or dinners with the winemaker. They even a Fiorentina steak dinner and if you haven't had the famous bistecca alla fiorentina you are missing out. Depending on your location and dates they even have classes in the US where the winemaker comes to do a tasting and meet-and-greet. The amount of activities that you can participate in while visiting and spending your holiday there are limitless and you can see them all on their website, including cooking classes.

There is a lot more that I'd like to share with you about this estate, but I still own a Rosso di Montalcino and a Vernaccia di San Gimignano, which I can't wait to share with you. This is one of my favorite whites in Italy. It amazes me that there are 13 generations of winemaking in this family so experience a bottle for yourself and stay tuned for upcoming blogs on the Torciano estate.

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Travaglini Gattinara and the difference in nebbiolo from southern Piedmont

Familiar with Gattinara? I'll give you a hint. It has a lot of similarities to some of the blogs I have posted recently. Well Gattinara is primarily made up of the Nebbiolo grape. Gattinara is in the commune in Piedmont where this wine comes from, in the northwest part of Italy.

Fermentation at Travaglini

So what's the difference between nebbiolo produced in this area and that of Barolo or Barbaresco we have been covering? This area has a continental climate with extremes in temperature, which produces nebbiolo with higher acidity. The Gattinara wines are a little more refined and lighter. The soil in Gattinara is also more volcanic where in Barolo and Barbaresco it's more calcium based. This wine has earned the right to use DOC and DOCG status based on its qualifications and its requirements differ as well than those of Barolo and Barbaresco. Gattinara must consist of at least 90% of Nebbiolo, but it can also include up to 10% of Bonarda di Gattinara and 4% of Vespolina. It's aged 1 year in oak and 2 years in bottle and an additional year in oak for the riserva wines.

At a recent tasting at Bin Ends I tasted the 2008 Travaglini Gattinara D.O.C.G. It was served in a funky shaped bottle created and developed within the family that is meant to catch sediment from pouring into the glass instead of having to decant the wine and it's also tinted darker, which benefits the wine for aging purposes. I noticed the difference in comparing this wine against those of Barolo as it was definitely a lighter style, with nice red fruit, dry and with subtle tannins.

The Travaglini family has been producing wines since the 1920's and is now run by the great-grandaughter of Clemente whom started Travaglini, Cinzia Travaglini, and her husband, Massimo Collauto, whom is the winemaker. This is one of the more well known producers in the area. Try one of the Gattinara wines for yourself and relate it to some of the Barolo or Barbaresco wines you have tried. I'd love to hear your opinion.

Travaglini

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