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Orvieto Classico
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Classification: DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata - Quality Wines Produced in a Specific Region)
Color: fairly intense straw yellow
Region of production: Umbria
Minimum alcohol content: 11.5% Grapes used: Trebbiano (40-60%), Verdello (15-25%), Grechetto and/or Canaiolo bianco and/or Malvasia toscana (15-45% with a maximum of 25% for the Malvasia toscana)
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Umbria is a famous wine-producing region in the center of Italy. Orvieto Classico, the Umbrian wine par excellence, is well-known abroad as well as in Italy. This is thanks to the thousands of tourists who each year visit Orvieto, this splendid city of art after which the wine is named, and decide to take some of the local wine home as a souvenir.
To tell the truth, the "Orvieto" appellation also includes areas around Viterbo, while it is only the "Orvieto Classico" sub-zone that can be considered the exclusive dominion of the wine's namesake town.
The color is a lovely straw yellow, the intensity of which various considerably, while the bouquet is striking for its delicacy, one of the hallmarks of this wine.The flavor is dry, with a characteristic bitter aftertaste, but you also find Orvieto wines that range from slightly to genuinely sweet; ideal with dessert or for dunking the dry Umbrian cookies in.
It all depends on the types of grapes selected by the wine makers and the amount of Malvasia grapes that are used, a percentage that may not exceed 25% by law.
The other grapes used to make Orvieto are Trebbiano, Verdello, Grechetto and Canaiolo bianco, varieties that manage to combine delicate taste and character.
So it should come as no surprise that Orvieto is a wine that goes well with any kind of food, although it's best with fish dishes and recipes featuring white meats in general. We also recommend this wine with soups featuring spelt or any of the other grains found in Umbria, not to mention dishes made with truffles. A treasure that makes Norcia one of Italy's main truffle-producing centers, thanks to the famous black truffle of Norcia.
Orvieto wine is also available in a "Superiore" quality, but for this designation the alcohol content must be 12% and the wine must have aged at least 4 months. It's also excellent as a before-dinner drink, served at around 11-13 °C.
In order to get to know more about the Umbrian wine towns, in addition to Orvieto, we suggest visiting the pearl of the valle del Paglia, Castel Viscardo, a little town not far from Lake Bolsena, or Ficulle, another famous wine-producing town, brimming with exciting flavors and history. This happens to be the region where the famous painter, Pietro Vannucci-better known as Il Perugino- was born.
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