Colli del Trasimeno Wines
A good friend and neighbour asked me over dinner one evening: “You live near to the Lake, why don’t you ever write about the wines produced practically in your back garden?”
My response to this fair question was I didn’t know any of the winemakers or whether they would be in the slightest bit interested in a non Italian speaking, Brit reviewing their wines.
My friend, who is a highly regarded and very successful local businessman going by the name of Cristian Giardini replied: “That’s it! I will take you to a few wineries, belonging to local friends and associates of mine and we shall see what becomes of it!”
A few weeks later from this part arrangement, we met early one morning in Pozzuolo and after coffee, the car sped off in the direction of the lake…
A brief word about this amazing lake: firstly Lake Trasimeno also referred to as just Trasimeno, is in the province of Perugia in Umbria, the verdant region of central Italy, bordering with Tuscany, Le Marche and Lazio. The lake has a surface area of 128 square km (nearly 50 square miles) and is the fourth largest lake in Italy. Only two small streams flow into the lake and none flow out. The water level fluctuates significantly according to the rainfall levels, so generally Trasimeno is shallow, about 5 meters deep, it is rich in fish including pike, carp and tench. It has three islands and is surrounded by medieval hilltop villages and extensive olive groves.
Madrevite
Back to the wine trail, first up was Madrevite, a third generation winery, now in the very capable hands of Nicola Chiucchiurlotto who in 2003 started to restore his grandfather’s old vineyards, some dating back to the 1970’s. "The farm" as Nicola refers to the land is approximately 60 hectares of which 11 hectares are under vine. I asked why Madrevite? Well, it seems a "Madrevite" is an ancient tool used by Umbrian wine producers to fasten the spigot to the barrels full of wine, it symbolises the bond between the past and the modern agronomist practices of today.