Buy directly from producers with no mark up on prices. Umbria offers a wide range of wine tasting sessions throughout the region. Shop from an unrivalled collection of red wine, white wine, Champagne & spirits.
Curious palates should be on the lookout for Cannonau (Grenache), Lagrein, Teroldego, Ruché, Freisa, Cesanese, Schiopettino, Rossese and Gaglioppo to name a few. Winebuyers - free membership wine club and wine marketplace. Grapes like Negroamaro or Primitvo from Puglia and Nero d’Avola from Sicily make soft, ammicable, full-bodied, fruit-dominant wines. Less popular but entirely deserving of as much praise are the wines made from Aglianico, Sagrantino and Nerello Mascalese.įor those accustomed to drinking New World reds, the south is the place to start. The kings of Italy, wines like Barolo and Barbaresco (made of Nebbiolo), and Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino (made of Sangiovese), as well as Amarone (mostly Corvina), play center stage for the most lauded, collected and cellar-worthy reds. From the steep inclines of the Alps to the sprawling, warm, coastal plains of the south, red grape varieties thrive throughout. The apparent never-ending world of indigenous grape varieties gives Italy an unexampled charm and allure for its red wines. This is a sun-drenched and powerful wine (with a noticeable 15 alcoholic content) that delivers rich plummy fruit and thick textural layers. While picturesque hillsides, endless coastlines and a favorable climate serve to unify the grape-growing culture of this country. The 2015 Villa Fidelia Rosso is a blend of 70 Merlot, 20 Cabernet Sauvignon and 10 Cabernet Franc, aged in barrique for 12 months. The Sportoletti brothers also own 3,000 olive trees on land that is 1,600 feet in altitude, on the slope of the Monte Subasio. In the last few years the prominent enologist Riccardo Cotarella has consulted with the winery. Vinification is carried out in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks and the best reds are refined in French oak. The same care is taken in the cellar where the vinification takes place utilizing an air press for a soft pressing. The vines are followed very attentively up to their harvest, when the grapes are handpicked. Recently, Sportoletti went through a process of renewing the vines with new grape clones of Grechetto and Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Nero which is showing very promising results in Italian Oenology. Today the company owns 50 acres of vines all situated in the hills of Assisi and Spello, an area highly regarded for its climate and for its association with the Denominazione di Origine Controllata of Assisi.
In 1979 Sportoletti decided to start producing fine wines of high quality, with the philosophy of respecting the characteristics typical of the hilly area of central Umbria. Sportoletti is a family owned agricultural business which for several generations has relied primarily on revenue from farming.