A PORTRAIT OF THE WINERY

The Spoletoducale winery is located halfway between Montefalco and Spoleto where the valley intersects with the Clitunno river, and is one of the most important wine cooperatives of Umbria. It all began in 1969 as “Colli Spoletini”, when a handful of local winemakers decided that by uniting their forces as a co-op they would be able to create a better wine and improve their sales. After this pioneer beginning, a small nucleus of some fifty members embarked on a more serious production initiative in 1973, diversifying their product line and striving to make wine with only the very best grapes from the many vineyards to enhance the quality and broaden their market. This choice turned out to be a real learning experience for its members and brought modern technology into the cantina, where a team of agronomists oversees every step of the production of the wine, from the planting of new vines to the grape harvest and the vinification. The job of finding the right market for the labels produced by the winery today has resulted in some interesting marketing techniques and have an unusual “hierarchy”: from Spoletoducale to Casale Triocco, Ducato del Sole and Arcoducale.

THE VINEYARD AND TERROIR

Every vineyard has its own particular exposure and soil composition as the production zone is scattered not just in the Montefalco DOC and DOCG areas, but also that of Colli Martani. This allows the cantina to choose from a wide variety of grapes grown by members in their own characteristic vineyards.

THE GRAPE VARIETIES GROWN

The grapes produced by the members include sagrantino, sangiovese, grechetto and trebbiano spoletino, a varietal that since 1982 has helped save this winery from extinction (they also use it to make a rare version of passito). The international merlot and cabernet sauvignon varietals are also widely grown.

WINES

The Montefalco Sagrantino secco ages in large wooden barrels then in barriques and is, of course, the most important wine they make – so much so that they actually make various versions of it. Their Montefalco roSSo is a fine blend of sangiovese, sagrantino, merlot and cabernet; and their famous and much sought-after Sagrantino PaSSito is made in limited series. Their SangioveSe dei colli Martani is also aged in large wooden barrels, while their white grechetto of the same DOC appellation is refined only in steel.