Hi - we have our itinerary set for the cities we are staying in October in Umbria and the Valle d'Itria. We will be in Orvieto 4 nights, Assisi 4 nights, and Ceglie Messapica 4 nights (we are also visiting other cities in Puglia). Outside of visiting the major villages, sights and churches, we are looking for suggestions on local wine and olive oil tastings or something that is unique to these regions. Anyone have an awesome experience they would like to share or suggest? I look forward to your suggestions and appreciate your time in responding.
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Milan Italy
28 posts
Hi, Giangilberto from Milan, so as far as Umbria is concerned, which is a region that I love very much and where it is always pleasant for me to return, I can tell you that, as in almost all of Italy, you can find very good food and wine.
I can tell you that in terms of food and wine they are really doing well if you want to try a truly typical Umbrian wine my advice is to go to Montefalco where the legendary Sagrantino is born there are a few wineries where you can try it because it is truly the typical wine of Montefalco my advice is to go to the one that is still considered by everyone to be the number one because he was the first to bring forward this discussion precisely on Sagrantino which is the winery of Arnaldo Caprai there you can do tastings paired with all the wines they have they also have a very good white wine that I particularly like called Grecante which is entirely made with Grechetto grapes, this is the website:
https://www.arnaldocaprai.it/en/
As for the oil there are various producers the Umbrian oil is very good I would say to you to do a search on the web I can do it for you because I don't have a specific producer to give you, but Umbria's oil has a DOP (denominazione di origine protetta).
Another advice I can give you since you are in Montefalco, there is a restaurant which is that of the very legendary Giorgione Orto e Cucina a great personality also of Italian television cooks especially on TV channels dedicated to food like Food network or Il Gambero Rosso, I personally know Giorgione he is a special person his restaurant is the best you can try in that area, let's say it is not a gourmet restaurant but it reflects his personality as a person tied to the land with typical products and very abundant dishes of Umbrian cuisine and more. His restaurant is called "Alla via di mezzo", here the official website:
https://www.ristoranteallaviadimezzo.it/
If you were to decide to go to Giorgione, the advice is to book well in advance because it is practically always full. In reality, there are two restaurants: one is his historic one inside the walls of Montefalco and the other is his son's, which is just outside, which is a sort of farmhouse. They are both managed by him and owned by the family, so they have the same value. Let's say that I would recommend you go to the historic one inside the historic center of Montefalco.
As you may have understood from the answer, I am a super wine enthusiast. What I can tell you about Puglia is less important than Umbria because it is a region that I have always visited, but not from a wine aspect but for example, Puglia is the Italian homeland for rosé wine, so if I were you, I would do some research on these types of wines, which in Puglia are only among the best, however, they also have wines like Primitivo di Manduria, based on Primitivo grape, for example in California there is a wine called Zinfandel is the same grape, or another very important wine is Salice Salentino, which is based on Negroamaro grape.