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Featuring the Wines of Umbria at Your Next Wine Tasting Event
If you’re planning a wine tasting event in the future, consider serving the wines of Umbria, Italy. The colorful ancient history of this region provides the perfect backdrop for giving your guests a little more than a glass of wine. By sharing this knowledge of Umbria, you can bring a wine alive in more ways than taste. This article looks at the Umbria winemaking region of Italy, focusing in on one of its red wine club favorites, Arnaldo Caprai.
Umbria
Umbria is a combination of pastoral countryside and mountain wilderness. Nurtured by the Tiber and its tributaries and Italy’s fourth largest lake, Lago Trasimeno, this region known as “the green heart of Italy” produces fine olive oil, truffles, grains, tobacco, and livestock along with its vines. Umbria also has a cluster of ancient cities that offer a glimpse into the past. The Umbri, Etruscans, and Romans all left their mark here.
Magnificent Orvieto is perched on a plateau that looks down on the vineyards below. Its grand Duomo is among the greatest of Italy’s Romanesque/Gothic cathedrals. Perugia’s ancient center embraces a 15th Century Duomo and the city’s most extravagantly decorated church. Founded in the 10th Century and rebuilt in the 15h, the Duomo stands beyond the old walls.
Medieval Assisi with its beautiful views and piazzas is the home of St. Francis, who is buried in a basilica frescoed by Giotto among others. The nearby hill towns of Todi, Spello, Gubbio, and Montefalco blend medieval monuments with Roman remains. Spoleto, surrounded by woods, is the loveliest of the hill towns and hosts one of Europe’s leading art festivals in June and July each year.
Noted mainly for its white wines, such as Orvieto, Procanico, Malvasia, Grechetto, and Trebbiano, the region also produces two noble red wines a favorite of red wine club members with special DOCG status, Torgiano Rosso, which is called Rubesco, and Sagrantino, both unmistakably grand wines capable of aging for decades. The sweet white Vin Santo is a local favorite and is made from semidried Grechetto or Malvasia grapes.
Among the many outside varieties planted in Umbria, Merlot and Barbera have been prominent for more than a century. More recently, Pinot Nero and red Cabernet Sauvignon have produced some fine wines appearing on many red wine club lists.
Arnaldo Caprai
Arnaldo Caprai is located in Umbria, Toscana’s eastern landlocked neighbor. The Umbrian hills, valleys, and soils are extensions of Toscana’s prestigious Siena-Montalcino-Montepulciano triangle. Until Marco Caprai produced his award winning Sagrantino di Montefalco 25 Anni in 1987, the area showed no promise of measuring up to its illustrious neighbors in Toscana.
When Marco’s father Arnaldo, a textile manufacturer, bought the property in Val di Maggio in 1971, Sagrantino had almost disappeared. Five hectares remained when Arnaldo decided to plant five more. Today, Sagrantino has become the signature wine of Umbria because of Marco Caprai’s success with the variety. The estate has expanded to 370 acres, 220 of which are planted to vines on three different estates, the principal one in Montefalco, another in Bevagna, a village in the hills of Montefalco, and Gualdo Cattaneo, a village near Spoleto.
In addition to native Sagrantino and Sangiovese, Marco has planted a whole series of foreign varieties, including Tannat, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Chardonnay. He has enjoyed so much notoriety from his accomplishments, especially with Sagrantino, that others have arrived in the Montefalco zone to mimic his success.
In 2001, Marco was named “Best Italian Producer of the Year” by the Italian Sommelier Association for his success in respecting the long tradition of Italian winemaking while incorporating innovative research and technology practices. In 2005, Caprai was named the “Winery of the Year” by Gambero Rosso, the most important and most consulted wine guide in Italy.
The history of Umbria and the winemaking expertise of Arnaldo Caprai make a perfect partnership that can enhance your next wine tasting event. Sharing the ancient past of this area is sure to make the wines of Umbria come alive for your guests.
Consider the Wines of Abruzzo For Your Next Wine-Tasting Party
The wines of Abruzzo, Italy, can offer more than just wine for your next wine tasting party. By offering your guests a little history on the legendary wine making region of the wines you feature, you provide more than a great tasting wine. You can complement the taste as your guests can picture the vineyards where the wine originated. The Abruzzo region of Italy has a vivid ancient past, both in history and wine making. This article looks at this region, including Scarpone, one of the most prized wineries of the area, providing some information you can share at your next wine tasting party.
Abruzzo
Abruzzo has its fair share of art and architecture throughout its hill towns and mountain villages, but the Apennine mountains dominate the region, taking up two thirds of the area and attracting hikers and skiers to resorts. The vast Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo is one of Europe’s most important nature preserves.
Descendants of various hill tribes who settled the region in the Bronze Age, the Abruzzesi were difficult to unite, although the Greeks, Romans, Swabians, Aragonese, and Bourbons all tried. Before the advent of modern transportation, the inhabitants were isolated in hill towns and villages clinging to the sides of mountains. After the 12th Century, the Abruzzesi were ruled by a succession of dynasties based in Naples to the south. As a result, their diet, speech, and customs are more similar to their southern neighbors than to their neighbors to the north or west.
The hills in the region are highly favorable for grapevines. The two classified wines are Trebbiano and Montepulciano, not to be confused with the town of that name in Toscana, where Vino Nobile is made. When grown on the lower hills, Montepulciano has an irresistible character, full bodied and smooth with the capacity to age. In the higher areas, the vines produce a lighter version, Ceraruolo, which is a sturdy, cherry-colored rosé. The white Trebbiano d’Abruzzo has been described as a phantom vine since its origins are unclear. At its best, the wine can develop a Burgundy-like complexity after four or five years of aging.
Scarpone
The small estate of Lorenzo Scarpone is located in Abruzzo in the Colline Teramane zone named after the nearby mountain town of Teramo and thought to produce the finest wine in the Abruzzo region from the native Montepulciano grape. It is the first and only zone in the Aburzzo to be given the Italian government’s highest quality ranking of DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata E Garantita).
Owner Lorenzo Scarpone is well known in the United States among Italian wine lovers for his Italian wine import company, Villa Italia, founded in 1989. Villa Italia’s wines have received outstanding reviews from Italy’s leading wine journal Gambero Rosso, wine club associations, and from Wine spectators, Robert Parker and Stephen Tanzer.
Lorenzo, an active member of the Slow Food Organization, founded the first convivium in the United States in San Francisco where he resides with his family. Born and raised in the same area where his wine estate is located, Lorenzo grows only the native Montepulciano grape. Highly respected Loriano di Sabatino is the winemaker and the wines have gained critical acclaim in the short time that the estate has released them.
The fine wines of Scarpone as well as other wineries within the Abruzzo wine making region of Italy are a favorite of many wine club associations as they produce robust wines with grapes possessing a vivid past that is sure to interest and intrigue your guests.
Red Wine Aerators Can Make Your Next Bottle Of Wine Simply Fantastic!
Do you love a great bottle of red wine? Aerators can make your next bottle one that you won’t soon forget. These products are designed to take the place of the decanting process, which can sometimes take hours. Within just a few moments, you’ll have a glass full of your favorite red, with all of the character, bouquet, and aroma it’s meant to have. Decanting brings this out as well, but it can take up to three or more hours, for the aeration process to be complete.
Here’s More Information About the Aeration Process
When you use red wine aerators, depending on the style, you will either place it on top of the glass or decanter, or you will hold it above the glass. The vino flows through, and it is introduced to the air. The oxygen weaves through the liquid, releasing its true taste and character. The best part? It only takes a few moments. As soon as the it cascades down the sides and the curve of the glass, it’s ready to enjoy.
There are a few things you need to know about the different styles of red wine aerators. First, the kind that sits on top of the glass is best. Why? Because it allows for one complete breathing system. In other words, the liquid is poured into the aerator. It flows through, grabbing oxygen, and then flows out through the bottom. Through a series of precise holes, it hits the “sweet spot” of the glass. You’ll immediately notice the difference in the bouquet, especially if it is one of your regular bottles.
The taste is less acidic and has a smoother feel on the tongue. The finish is as smooth as ice and you’ll love it all the way to the last drop. For those who truly enjoy this experience, wine aerators are simply a must!
Where to Find One
The internet is a good place to begin your search. However, you’ll want to make sure you choose wisely. Some that are offered today do not aerate properly, which can give a lower impression for all models of this type of product. There is simply nothing better to enjoy with a great meal than a fantastic glass of wine. The best aerators work with reds and whites, but also with older and newer bottles. Isn’t it time you got the most out of your next bottle?