Umbria

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• In the Orvieto area, soils developed over tuffaceous hills are found: fairly deep (60–100 cm), non-calcareous, neutral to sub-acid, and well-structured.
• Sandstone hills associated with the Macigno formation are particularly widespread in north-western Umbria, with moderately deep soils (50–80 cm) ranging from neutral to strongly acidic.
• In the clay-marl hill country of north-eastern Umbria, the Marnoso-Arenacea and Argille scagliose formations outcrop, yielding moderately deep soils that are moderately to strongly calcareous.
• Calcimorphic soils derive from calcareous bedrock consisting of marly and chert-bearing limestones of the Umbro-Marchigiana Series and from the products of its weathering.
• The regional orographic system, which encompasses the Valle Umbra, the Valnestore, and the Valtiberina, rises in its eastern and southern sectors along the mountain ridges of the Valnerina to exceed 2,400 metres in the Sibillini massif. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)
• The most recent decade on record (1991–2010) registered mean annual rainfall of 937.1 mm, compared with the centennial average of 897.54 mm, with the increase concentrated in the winter period.

• Already the Etruscans, well established in central Italy, devoted considerable attention to vine cultivation, employing pruning techniques and training systems that remained in use in the Umbrian territory for a long time.
• Pliny the Elder, in the first century AD, recalled in his Historia Naturalis the level of advancement reached by the viticulturists of his day in the Umbrian countryside.
• In the Middle Ages, agrarian contracts and documents of various kinds preserved in monastic and municipal archives confirm the widespread cultivation of the vine throughout Umbria.

• All red wines display well-balanced physicochemical characteristics across all styles, while on the nose and palate the dominant aromas are those typical of the respective grape varieties.

• The slow and complete ripening afforded by the area's climate contributes significantly to the distinctive organoleptic character of the wines, while the optimal pH and calcareous content of the soils promote ideal grape maturation.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• Regional grape register (PDF) — umbria
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PGI-IT-A0857
• Official trade body site — UmbriaTop Wines