2022 Cocco Ilaria “Ponderata” Spoleto Trebbiano Spoletino DOC, Umbria, Italy Paired with Carbonara with fried zucchini

Fact: The wine world lacks women in wine. But Ilaria Cocco didn’t let this stop her from replanting her grandfather’s 3.5 hectares (about 7 acres) of vineyards in the Montefalco region of Umbria north of Rome, south of Florence and east of Tuscany. The vineyards had fallen into disrepair, and he died in 1998. With her father’s help in 2000, they replanted and she brought the Montefalco vineyards into healthy production using organic practices as much as possible.

Ilaria Cocco in her Montefalco cellar

But soon Ilaria realized she wanted to make wine from her grapes and to carry on her grandfather’s tradition of winemaking Continue reading →