UMBRIA A wine lover's guide

In the heart of Italy lies an undulating landscape dotted with hilltop villages and draped with olive groves, where winemakers are breathing new life into long-neglected indigenous grape varieties

- SARAH LANE

Right in the centre of the country, just southeast of Tuscany and north of Rome, Umbria epitomises the best of Italy, its green hills a patchwork of olive trees, vines, fields and woodlands peppered with picturesque stone villages and an alluring array of cities of art. The wine scene is exciting, varied and fast-evolving, and biodiversity is deep-rooted: many wineries also produce olive oil and other crops. The region's top wines continue to be from the centre and west, although other areas are emerging thanks to producers such as Leonardo Bussoletti (leonardobussoletti.it), who is promoting wines from the Ciliegiolo variety around Narni, in southern Umbria.

In the west, Orvieto has been a centre of winemaking excellence since ancient Etruscan times (8th to 1st centuries BCE), later consolidated by Renaissance popes. Today's producers are demonstrating the impressive longevity of Orvieto's white blends, many of which benefit from time in naturally cool Etruscan caves, which act as ideal ageing cellars. And in central Umbria, Montefalco and Spoleto DOC areas overlap in a basin surrounded by hills. Here, Trebbiano Spoletino (thought not to be related to other grapes with the 'Trebbiano' name) is surging in popularity. In addition to extraordinary versatility for different styles, including spumante, such as the bitey brut nature made by historic winery Antonelli (antonellisanmarco.it), the variety is naturally disease-resistant. Le Thadee (lethadee.com) makes a wine (named +128+) from its collection of 60-70 pre-phylloxera Trebbiano Spoletino vines (more than 100 years old), which are trained on field maples, climbing to heights of more than 3m; and they have propagated more. The winery's attractive villa, built in the Italian 'Liberty' style of the early 20th century, will open for tastings from spring-summer 2024.