Tenuta Alzatura

Tenuta Alzatura is owned by Famiglia Cecchi, a Tuscan winegrower since 1893, and the owners of Villa Cerna, Val delle Rose, and Villa Rosa. Cecchi purchased this estate in the late 1990s, their first venture outside their homeland of Tuscany. Andrea Cecchi realised the great potential of Sangiovese in Umbria, but more importantly, the region's signature variety, Sagrantino.

Montefalco is a small region of around 800 hectares in the landlocked region of Umbria in Central Italy. This region shares a border with Tuscany, so the wines often fall into the sphere of influence of their more renowned neighbour, certainly with Sangiovese, one of the two important black varieties grown here. The other main variety is Sagrantino: a vine which nearly disappeared in the 1960s, but it's undergoing a solid revival, mostly but only partially down to the work of pioneering viticoltore Arnaldo Caprai, whose wines firmly put this variety back on the map In 1970 there were a mere 78 hectares of Sagrantino in Italy. The latest vine census 2010 recorded 994 hectares scattered between Umbria and Tuscany. This great work is continued by a band of highly motivated, small producers such Tenuta Alzatura.

The next variety due for revival is the rare Trebbiano Spoletino. There are seven varieties in Italy, all with the name Trebbiano, yet they are distinct varieties that have very little genetic connection. Alzatura has worked tirelessly to cultivate the best clones of this variety for their Montefalco Bianco, producing two rich, creamy whites.