Torgiano Wines in Umbria
Torgiano Wine Region
Do you enjoy discovering “hidden gem” wine regions?
Torgiano is a lovely region in Umbria to consider for your next wine travel vacation.
Why?
Dating from Etruscan times, Torgiano was all about wine. This wine heritage was further developed by the Romans. You can see the remains of its presses in the wine museum today.
Torgiano enjoys the honor of being the first winemaking area in Umbria to receive the DOC (Denomination of Origin) in 1968 because of its unique soil, moderate climate, and situation where the Chiascio River meets the Tiber. This historic village is also famed for its delicious olive oil and wealth museums and churches..
The Lungarotti Winery
Credit Giorgio Lungarotti for his work in orchestrating the creation of the Torgiano DOC and the well-deserved fame for its excellent wines. Today his daughter Chiara Lungarotti controls the winery. She has modernized it with state-of-the-art technology in the cellar and the vineyards.
Chiara’s mother Maria Grazia was also instrumental in setting up the foundation to create the wine museum, which opened in 1974. One of the best organized museums in recent memory, guests begin their guided visit with a “foundation” into the art and culture of ancient Etrusca. Then they progress through installations showing the important cultural periods in Torgiano from the Roman era up to present day.
I will be the first to tell you I wasn’t sure what to expect when the car rolled up into a small street. The entrance to this world-class museum appeared like any other shop on the street.
Only when the door opened did the magic happen.
Immediately, my eager eyes fell upon an antique wine press, actually used by ancient Romans. And then upon many other treasures from antiquity.
Here is how Chiara Lungarotti describes this wine history museum and the olive oil museum:
“An admirable tourist system has been built around quality wine with two excellent cultural achievements that have brought Torgiano and Umbria all over the world, the Wine Museum and the Olive and Oil Museum. The Wine Museum, an exhilarating path commissioned by the Lungarotti family and managed by the Foundation of the same name, was inaugurated in 1974.
“A world-class private collection, the Museum is in Torgiano in the seventeenth -century Palazzo Graziani-Baglioni and with 3,000 artifacts. It covers 5,000 years of history telling the civilization of the vine and wine. In its twenty rooms it houses archaeological, historical, technical, artistic and ethnographic collections, as well as antiquarian publishing and graphics, modern ceramics and ex-libris, arranged according to museographic criteria that make it one of the most important wine museums in existence today.
In 2000, the Olive and Oil Museum was inaugurated in an ancient oil mill in Torgiano. The museum itinerary, in ten rooms, provides information on the botanical characteristics of the olive tree, cultivation techniques and oil extraction. Significant finds recall the mythological origin of the plant, while oil in everyday life through the centuries is proposed in connection with the themes “oil as light” – or the use that oil has had in the lighting of domestic environments, religious and work – oil in food, sports, mechanics, cosmetics and medicine.”
The Lungarotti Wine Tasting
The Lungarotti Wine Tasting
The winery produces over 2.5 bottles a year and exports globally. In normal times, the winery receives hundreds of requests for wine tasting bookings per week, so be certain to reserve early.
This visit began with a tour of the very modern winery. Chiara, a keen businesswoman with an intense enology background, wanted the design of the winery to follow gravity-flow as much as possible.
While walking past her impressive collection of new French oak barrels, Chiara explained she specifically chose a Burgundian cooperage (barrel maker) who guaranteed no possibility of oak taint.
As the head of the consortium, Chiara is a figure of respect among her employees and the larger Umbria community.
Within the tasting room (as well as the wine museum), she has groomed a keen, customer-oriented group of loyal employees who can conduct tours and tastings in the event of Chiara’s absence.
The Lungarotti Tasting
The tasting room is professionally decorated and spotless, as befits one of the major wineries in the Torgiano region.
Visitors sit at a designated place with high-quality glasses, a spittoon, bread and water.
You can see the wines on offer with this link.
All the wines tasted exemplified the highest quality based on the long length of finish, balance between the racy acidity and concentrated nature of the fruit.
Lungarotti is a “must visit” winery on your trip to Umbria, yet be certain to book a tour in advance.
The Margaritelli Winery
In contrast to Lungarotti, which is in “town” and just a few minutes’ walk to the wine museum, Margaritelli is in the hills above town.
The story of Margaritelli is perhaps a more modern story, even though it began in 1950 with the retirement of Fernando Margaritelli.
At the age of 60, the patriarch bought a winery to express the Margaritelli family’s passion Umbrian wine. At the time, they made the wine just to enjoy for family gatherings.
But a half-century later, Giuseppe Margaritelli, son of Fernando, expanded the property to become a commercial endeavor.
This began by replanting the vineyard, followed by a conversion to growing only organic grape.
Buying their own Cooperage
The Margaritelli family felt that the quality of oak barrels was so important for wine production they built their own cooperage (the place where they can buy the right oak), “season it” (this means aging it appropriately), and have a good supply on hand when needed.
Margaritelli Today
They export this Margaritelli high quality wine around the world. The family offers a surprising number of styles, including a highly prized, oak-aged wine made from Pinot Noir.
The winery is available for tastings and tours with this link.
The Torgiano Wine Producer Consortium
The Torgiano Wine Dinner with Producers
The opportunity to break bread and speak freely with Torgiano producers at dinner was something I looked forward to. I relished the opportunity to ask about their family histories and hear stories chronicling the moment of “change” when their small time lives, simply making wine for family, became a worldwide enterprise.
What I did not expect was dinner at a world class restaurant!
Restaurant Siro offered incredible cuisine. You can see in the photos below. Most of all, I relished my conversation with the fine producers of Torgiano.
