Montefalco Wine Producers
The Arnaldo Caprai winery emerged as a clear highlight of my Umbrian trip.
This brand garnered well-deserved fame in New York city for the excellence of its wine, and its emphasis on the native Sagrantino grape.
The Arnoldo Caprai Story
This Montefalco success story began in 1971 when textiles entrepreneur Arnaldo Caprai purchased 12.5 acres in Montefalco.
Marco Caprai, (Arnoldo’s son) met me in the winery’s large, modern reception room. He has overseen the operation his father created since 1988, and a long-time advocate for the Sagrantino grape even before that.
As we walked through the vineyards, he showed me the plots dedicated for experimental plantings of the Sagrantino grape regarding training methods and clonal selection, performed in tandem with the University of Milan.
The Tasting
Arnoldo Comprai produces an assortment of wines, including fine examples from the Grechetto grape, at a variety of price points.
But wine made from the Sagrantino grape is what the winery is all about. Mid-range wines are usually a blend of Sagrantino, Sangiovese, and Merlot.
But at the top end, Comprai has produced a 100% Sagrantino wine, 25 anni Montefalco Sagrantino. The grapes have been harvested from the best vineyard, and long aging in the finest French oak have tamed the grape’s naturally tannic bite. Highly rated by important wine critics, the wine has won many awards from the most prestigious international magazines.
It was a pleasure to meet Mr. Comprai and taste this rare “Super Umbrian”
wine.
Montioni
It was very exciting to visit the Montioni winery in Montefalco. Paolo, the new generation of the family winery, is now in charge. But as he was ill, his assistant Jessica gave me a dynamic tour of the hillside vineyards followed by a tasting.
The vineyards enjoy a dynamic view from the top of the Montefalco hills. As Jessica showed me the hilltop vines, she revealed that the winery sometimes invites guests to the hilltop for tasting parties.
Back at the winery, we tasted through three of the wines. A 2018 Montefalco Rosso then the 2016 Montefalco Sagrantino (100%) that ages two years in wood. Delicious!
Finally, she poured the 2015 Ma Gia, the top of the line wine (named for Paolo’s children) that spends 30 months in oak. A rich, structured wine with lots of character.
A beautiful family winery focusing strongly (and successfully) on hospitality.
Scacciadiavoli
This winery’s name stems from a word relating to the “devil” in Italian, referring to an 14th episode of exorcism in which the priest gave a young girl red wine to drink in order to banish the devil. It worked.
The Scacciadiavoli estate is quite impressive. A foreign nobleman established it in 1877 with a dream of making sparkling wine.
Today the winery continues the tradition of sparkling wine, offering two new sparklers they are launching in the market. Both wines are Sagrantino based.
The first wine is made from 85% Sagrantino and 15% Chardonnay, while the other wine has a slight pink tinge and is made from 100% Sagrantino.
Both wines were so delicious I couldn’t decide which I liked more. At under $20, these IGT wines are perfect for weddings as well as to enjoy on more casual occasions.
I also tasted through their extensive production of wine, including a refreshing Grechetto, Trebbbiano, Chardonnay, and Grechetto blend, and their Montefalco Rosso wines with the usual blend of Sangrantino, Sangiovese, and Merlot. A highlight of the tasting was the 2017 Sagrantino ($100) with very smooth, balanced tannins.
Family member Liu Pambuffetti gave me an extensive tour of this lovely property, showing me the ancient cellars and even some of the original wine equipment (cement tanks) from 1909.
I loved the single varietal Sagrantino wine and can’t wait to see these Sangrantino-based sparklers in the American market.
Two Winemaker Dinners
Marisa sitting on the "glass ceiling" at Briziarelli Winery
Paolo Bartolomi of Le Cimate holding his special bottle.
Both Le Cimate and Briziarelli are important wineries in Montefalco.
While time did not permit a visit during the day, I was able to tour them and taste their wine during dinners with the members of the consortium.
Briziarelli is a stunning, state-of-the-art winery producing wines from the native grapes of Montefalco. Its owners are in the brick business, which explains the brick motif in this modern, gorgeous winery that could win a prize in Architecture Digest.
During dinner, I was lucky to sit with Alessandro Giannoni, Briziarelli’s chief operating officer. Mr. Giannoni also led me up the staircase to the magical “glass floor” allowing guests to look down directly to the barrel room.
Also at my table that night was the gregarious winemaker Giampaolo Tabarrini, Mr. Tabarrini had overseen his family’s winery since 2000, working with the native grapes of Montefalco.
His ancestors had grown grapes for centuries, also livestock and cereal. In the 1980s and 1990s they sold their wine in bulk but that stopped when Mr. Tabarrini took charge of the vineyard. Today he bottles and sells his wine under the Tabarrini brand.
During the last dinner, I was fortunate enough to sit with the owner of Le Cimate, Paolo Bartoloni. Mr. Bartoloni gave me a tour of his winery, built in 1960 and which his father purchased thirty years later. He also brought out many of his wines to share with me and guests at our table.
Other producers introduced themselves to me, including Valentino Valentini of Bocale winery. Besides being a winemaker, Mr. Valentini had also been mayor of Montefalco twice.
Very grateful to the producers of Montefalco for their hospitality.
P.S. You can find more Umbrian Wine stories with a link to the Orvieto Producers, Torgiano Producers, Col di Betto, & Romanelli,
