One of Italy’s least known high quality red wines, Sagrantino grows on fewer than 2,400 acres planted in Montefalco in the Province of Perugia, the Umbria region of central Italy, north of Rome  inland of Tuscany. Traditionally, Sagrantino was used to make a Passito or sweet dessert wine, but today, it is well known for the dry or secco versions.

A thick-skinned grape that is native to Italy, sagrantino needs a long time in oak to manage the tannins. Because it is typically dense, full-bodied and astringent when young,  Sagrantino is required in Umbria  to be aged for over three years with at least one year in oak. 

This month the Italian Food Wine Travel Crew hosted by Jeff Burrows is getting to know Sagrantino; read his invitation to participate here. Being rare and requiring so much aging makes this wine hard to find and an expensive proposition, plus we have plenty to write about already so Sue and I decided to pass on this month’s Italian Food Wine Travel challenge to write about Sagrantino.

Then, after attending the 2016 Bordeaux tasting in West Holly wood, we went to Wine House LA in Westwood. We were on the prowl for wines for various writing projects and assignments this spring, and with the hope to not only find the wines, but wines that are organic or biodynamic.

The staff at the Winehouse LA is so knowledgeable and friendly and helpful, and their inventory is extensive. With their assistance, we found what we were looking for.

On our way out the door, I decided to ask about Sagrantino — even though we had already decided NOT to join the group this month. We were directed to several including the biodynamic one above but as it was $60, we went with the one below:

2011 – Colpetrone – Montefalco Sagrantino – 14% alcohol – SRP around $30
purchased at Wine House LA for $24
7500 cases made

Right off the bat, this wine to me tastes like it’s much more expensive, like  $40 or $50 because it offers so much character on the nose and the palate.

Color: Mauvey ruby brown. dense with a corral ring

Nose:  Sue got rose right away, roses and cherry. I found forest floor, violets, and dark damp earth. More florals and herbs came out in stemless bordeaux glass including lavender, where as we noticed the earth more in the stemmed bordeaux glass

Palate: Tart cherry, raspberry, chai spices, strong tannins, there is a lovely roundness across the palate, leathery textured finish.

Pairing: This wine yearns for food, big bold flavors, blue cheese is wow amazing, the salt cured olives were too salty with it so no puttscanesca sauce. It was amazing with the spicy italian sausage puff. This would be fabulous with fuccili de diablo says Sue. Delicious with lasagna but I wish it had sausage in it. Next time I have a rich ragu, I want this wine. It’s going to be a great choice with red meat sauces and classic Italian dishes.

While I opened it after dinner one night to check it out and found it enjoyable; it really isn’t a starter wine or a wine to have while hanging out before diner with friends.

Sausage puffs by Sue

• 1 pkg  of your favorite puff pastry
• raw sausage without casing

Cut puff pastry in half, place sausage down the middle and roll up like a bun around a hot dog. slice into 3/4″ slices. bake on a cookie sheet 400 degrees for 20 min or till golden brown and sausage is fully cooked.

These are just what you need for Super Bowl finger food!

This month, our group of bloggers have been wrestling with Sagrantino, and you can take a look at their posts using the links below.

This Saturday Feb. 2 by 8am Pacific,, our posts will all be live and we’ll be chatting about our discoveries. Join us on Twitter at 10am CST at #ItalianFWT, we’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences with Sagrantino! Take a look at all the great ideas our group will be posting:

Final HTML ItalianFWT Feb 2019 Umbria Montefalco Sagrantino

• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares “Buridda for Befana + Còlpetrone 2011 Montefalco Sagrantino”
• Marcia from Joy of Wine shares “The Power of Sagrantino”
• Jill from L’Occasion shares “Azienda Agricola Fongoli: Making Natural Wine In Umbria“
• Katarina from Grapevine Adventures shares “A Biodynamic Expression of Sagrantino in Umbria”
• Susannah Gold from Avvinare shares “Nectar of the Gods: Antonelli’s Montefalco Sagrantino Passito DOCG”
• Lauren from The Swirling Dervish shares “Antonelli San Marco: Umbria’s Wine History in a Glass”
• Lynn from Savor the Harvest shares “Italy’s Finest Wine At A Great Price“
• Giselle from Gusto Wine Tours (in Umbria!) shares “#ItalianFWT – Sagrantino For The Win(e)”
• Gwen from Wine Predator shares “Get to Know Sagrantino“
• Jennifer from Vino Travels Italy shares “Lawyers to Winemaking with Antonelli San Marco”
• Nicole from Somm’s Table shares “Cooking to the Wine: Còlpetrone Montfalco Sagrantino and Pasta with Red Pesto & Truffle Meat Sauce“
• Jeff from Food Wine Click! shares “Montefalco Sagrantino to Warm a Minnesota Winter Night”

Next month I host our foray into biodynamic wine from Italy! It can be any biodynamic wine from any region; the easiest way to know whether it is biodynamic is to look for the certification on the label .

All are welcome to participate; email me and let me know you will be writing a post or just turn up for our twitter chat on Saturday March 2 at 8am Pacific.