Orvieto, the sun of Italy in a bottle
The first to understand and exploit the viticultural potential of the area were, of course, the Etruscans, who fermented grape must in caves carved into the tuf- faceous rock on which the city rises, but it wasn’t until the Middle Ages that the white wine of Orvieto became truly famous.
It soon reached the tables of Popes and finally became a vital economic resource for the city, so much so that it helped to finance, in many ways, the construction of the magnificent Duomo itself. Luca Signorelli, whose series of frescoes adorn the cathedral, asked to be paid with a supply of twelve some (a thousand liters) of Orvieto wine every year for the rest of his life, and depicted his love for Bacchus in the bas-reliefs of the Duomo, where the theme of grapevines and grapes is a dominant one. The historical anecdotes do not end here. Garibaldi and his “thou- sand men” toasted to the success of their mission, before starting out, with glasses of Orvieto wine and D’Annunzio renamed this nectar “the sun of Italy in a bottle”.
Orvieto dates to the Villanovian period and owes is fortune to the geological for- mations caused by the eruptions of the Volsinii volcanoes and their later erosion by water, as well as the favorable microclimate that distinguishes the Paglia and lower Tiber valleys. An extraordinary scenario stretches before us from this hilltop perch: luxuriant hills are dotted with vineyards and irrigated fields, interspersed by towns and ancient monasteries. This landscape traces the boundaries of the Orvieto DOC and Orvieto Classico (the historical zone), in all their variations. Among the most well-known and popular white wines in the world, Orvieto alone counts for three-quarters of the volume of appellation wines made in Umbria. The late-harvest and the sumptuous Muffe Nobili, made from grapes that have been affected by the all-important, in this case, botrytis bunch rot, are unique and delicious wines; the red variations are more recent, protected by the Rosso Orvi- etano regulations and, also in the same area, Corbara Lake.
Antonio Boco, L’Umbria nel bicchiere
