Lungarotti
showroom
I lived in the north of Italy, Milan, and
saw much of the country, but didn’t
truly experience Umbria until this
trip. The tiny rural town of Todi is
home to Roccafiore, a winery
committed to sustainability and
producing organic wines. Roccafiore
is a real blend of technology and
traditions, as the company goes to
great pains to maintain the traditions
of Italian virology, but also employs
some of the latest technology to
produce great wines, sustainably. We
were fortunate to be at Roccafiore in
mid-September, as grapes were being
harvested – all by hand. We tasted
the Grechetto and Moscato grapes
fresh off the vine, and watched as
the workers poured barrels of grapes
into the presser to extract juice. We
then moved to the main production
facility underground, another
Roccafiore tradition of maintaining
original winemaking standards. As
grapes are processed through the
pressing machine, juice falls directly
into tanks below ground, using
gravity to move musts and skins
from the upper floor to the lower
floor - again, part of Roccafiore’s
commitment to maintain the
traditions and best practices of
w wine production
school when she was only six years
old and today, leads the company’s
hospitality efforts. It’s these types
of personal stories and connections
that fuel my love for travel.
and other years, there were dozens of
bottles in the bin. They’re stored, sold
and enjoyed for special occasions,
with some bottles commanding
upwards of $1,000 a bottle.
Lungarotti produces a number of
wines - Sangiovese, Canaiolo,
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot
Nero, Colorino and Syrah as red
varietals with Trebbiano, Grechetto,
Vermentino, Chardonnay and Pinot
Grigio as the whites. The highlight of
the tour was visiting the winery’s
safe, where vintages leading back to
the winery’s opening in 1962 are
stored. Some years, there were only
four bottles remaining (a good year)
I was surprised by how different the
wines tasted between Umbria and
Tuscany, despite using many of the
same varietals. I still think of
Lungarotti’s Aurente (derived from
the Latin word for gold), a deep and
rich gold wine with 90% Chardonnay
and 10% Grechetto.
Tre Vaselle. Our time was limited, so
we missed a visit to the Wine and
Olive Oil Museums, but will definitely
visit on our next trip. We also took a
short drive to Poggio alle Vigne, the
country house set among the
Lungarotti vineyards that is a
popular destination wedding spot.
Torgiano is a popular shopping
destination for cashmere, so
Lungarotti also arranges cashmere
shopping tours as part of their
packages. (Note to self: don’t miss
the cashmere next time.)
We enjoyed a decadent lunch at
Le Melograne, the restaurant at
Lungarotti’s 5-star spa resort, Le
A modified version of this article
was previously posted on Winerist.
com. Photos by Beth Graham
Baracchi winery in
Cortona
The tasting room is housed in a
modern, industrial building, where
they host special events from art
exhibitions to winemaker dinners to
weddings. Roaccafiore produces a
number of wines from Sangiovese,
Grechetto, Sagrantino, and
Montepulciano. The winery’s luxury
resort, Roccafiore Residence, and its
famed FiorFior restaurant are
located on a hill, just a quick drive
from the winery.
Our next stop was Lungarotti, near
one of my new favorite towns,
Torgiano. Our hostess, Grazia,
actually visited the winery with her
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