In Orvieto, Some Vintage Surprises

I pride myself on being adventurous, but here is a bit of advice for anyone planning to explore the wine regions of Umbria: rent a car with a GPS system.

I might also point out that in addition to their many artistic and cultural achievements, Italians are highly skilled at tailgating and have little patience for the tourist who meanders along the scenic route with a hand-drawn map.

So, after a harrowing drive involving hairpin turns and tailgating locals we arrived 30 minutes late at our destination, the Palazzone winery, to find our host, Lodovico Dubini, just as cheerful and un-phased by our tardiness as any man could be on what would have been his day off. 

Lodovico and his brother, Giovanni, are the passionate force behind Palazzone, which is regarded as one of the most significant labels in Umbria. As we toured the property, Lodovico casually pointed out the derelict remains of a small wooden press that the brothers used to make their first tiny quantity of wine in 1982 from vines that had been planted by their father, Angelo.

Today, the brothers produce several beautifully balanced red and white Umbria IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) wines from native and international grape varieties including a dessert wine, Muffa Nobilis, made from 100 percent sauvignon blanc grapes that have been affected by noble rot (botrytis).

But it is their two Orvieto Classico Superiore DOC wines—Terre Vineate and Campo del Guardiano—that are the jewels of the estate. Both wines are the product of carefully pruned and vinified grapes (procanico, grechetto, verdelho, drupeggio, and malvasia) from specific vineyard plots.

Our visit to this gorgeous property with its panoramic views of Orvieto included a tasting of several wines and a peek at the original historic building Il Palazzone, which was built by Cardinal Teodorico and used as a hostel for pilgrims making their way to Rome to celebrate the Jubilee of 1300 A.D. Today the building has been totally restored and serves as an inn, which, while being outfitted with all modern conveniences, still retains ample traces of its medieval past.

Later that day we had lunch in Orvieto at the restaurant La Cupola on Via Magoni where we feasted on artisanal cheeses, meats, pasta dishes, wild boar, and grilled vegetables, all washed down with the local sangiovese wine, not to mention a dessert course that involved dipping biscotti into a sweet wine known as Vin Santo.

Feeling a bit groggy, we wandered around the corner and into Orvieto’s magnificent Gothic Duomo to find the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino practicing a Brahms symphony for a performance that evening. Overwhelmed by the music and the majestic beauty all around me, I sat down in the nearest pew and picked up a brochure to learn that it was none other than world-famous conductor Zubin Mehta standing at the alter directing these Grammy-winning musicians.

In Italy, one is constantly stumbling upon ancient religious and mystical sites, but at this musical moment, after three days of constant eating and imbibing, I couldn’t help being thankful for the more modern miracle of polyester stretch jeans.

Tags: Terre Vineate | Palazzone | Rome | Umbria | Muffa Nobilis | Campo del Guardiano | Orvieto | Italy | Dubini, Lodovico | wine