Famous Wines of the Umbria Wine Region

To Your Health
It's long been believed that drinking red wine can benefit your health. But how much is enough? According to the Mayo Clinic, it depends on gender and moderation. Men should drink no more than two glasses, while women should drink only one. One drink is defined as 5 ounces (148 ml) of wine [source: Mayo Clinic]. Yet, just because medical research has shown that drinking wine can be beneficial to your health, depending upon your age, weight and medical history, you should first check with your doctor before you start to indulge. ­

Even though Umbria is best known for its white wines, red wine drinkers need not worry. Recently, th­e region has been adding to its reds. Many of Umbria's wines are produced from the Sangiovese variety. Among these are the acclaimed Torgiano Rosso "riserva," which is also known as Rubesco.

Taste these notable wines from the various cities and villages of the region from the DOC label:

Whites

  • Bianco
  • Bianco Scelto
  • Chardonnay
  • Ghechetto
  • Grechetto
  • Orvieto
  • Pinot Grigio
  • Riesling Italico
  • Trebbiano
  • Vin Santo [source: ItalianMade]

Reds and rosés

  • Aleatico
  • Cabernet
  • Cabernet Franc
  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Canaiolo
  • Ciliegiolo (red)
  • Gamay
  • Malvasia
  • Merlot
  • Novello
  • Pinot Nero
  • Rosato (rosé)
  • Rosso
  • Rosso Scelto
  • Sangiovese
  • Spumante Classico [source: ItalianMade]

From the DOCG label

  • Montefalco Sagrantino (red)
  • Torgiano Rosso "riserva" (red) [source: ItalianMade]

The region boasts IGT labels as well. Be sure to look for the regional IGT wines that come out of Allerona, Bettona, Cannara, Narni and Spello [source: ItalianMade].

Now that you've explored Umbria, find a corkscrew and pop one of the region's finest bottles. To find out more about these and other wines of Umbria, check out the sites on the following page.