Autumn Wine Run - Cantina Dionigi
Now that Autumn is here, a chilled glass of white or rosè doesn’t beckon the way it does on a hot summer afternoon. We’ve moved on to lush, warming reds. Since we were low on reds, we decided to head over to one of our favorite local wineries, Dionigi, located just outside of Bavagna. They’ve been producing wine since 1896.
The location in the Umbrian hills is beautiful. During the summer, you can sit and have a tasting outside on the covered patio that overlooks the vineyards. The Cantina itself has an area to stand and taste, an area for banquets, and, of course, the cellar where the wine is made. The Vintner, Roberto, is always welcoming and gracious.
We visit Dionigi several times per year and we never leave empty-handed. Yesterday was no exception. I thought we would just stop in with our list, buy some wine and head out. However, when we arrived there was a couple in the cellar doing a tasting. When we were asked if we also wanted to taste, how could we refuse?
Of course we started with whites. Two of their whites that we enjoyed a lot this summer were the Chiarina, which is a chardonnay (crisp with hints of apple and pineapple), and Goccio which is made with the grape Bianco IGT Umbria. Then we moved on to their beautiful very dry Rosagrà, a rosè made with Sagrantino grapes. We finished this round with their unique Sestum, an incredible dry moscato. I usually find moscato cloyingly sweet, but this dry version takes moscato to a whole new lever and opens up new pairing possibilities. They recommend serving it with salmon and artichoke based dishes.
Next, we moved onto the reds, the actual object of our mission. We started with the Montefalco Rosso, a blend of Sangiovese, Sagrantino, and Merlot, followed by the Montefalco Rosso Riserva, a blend of Sangiovese, Sagrantino, Merlot, and Cabernet Savignon. Both are rich with smooth tannins. The Riserva has a spicier note. Both are excellent with lasagna, eggplant parm, or grilled meats. Next we tasted their Gabrino, an excellent merlot. We are planning to have it tonight with mushroom risotto. We finished the reds with a Sagrantino. These are ready after 8 years. If you drink them any younger, the tannins will be too aggressive. With this wine, you get the essence of blackberry and spices like pepper and cinnamon. This wine is great with strong cheeses, roast meat, grilled meat.
This visit we also tried some of their dessert wines. As a group, the sweet wines are referred to as Passiti. Normally we do not care for sweet wines, but Roberto persuaded us to try them, and we were glad we did. We tasted two, one made with Sagrantino, the other with Moscato. The ruby red Sagrantino passito is full of fig and plum flavors, while the amber Moscatto has apricot and citrus notes. The Moscatto was amazing with some gorgonzola cheese after dinner.
Add Cantina Dionigi to you list of places to visit in Umbria; however, if you can’t make it, you can order from their web site.
