THE WINERY 

 

Adanti counts among the small handful of artisan wineries that resuscitated the Sagrantino grape and the Montefalco region in the mid-20th century. Founded in 1972, Domenico Adanti purchased and renovated an old Celestine Monastery in Arquata and quickly got to work revitalizing the abandoned vineyards that surrounded the property. By the late 1970s, Adanti approached his good friend Alvaro Palini, who was working as a tailor in Paris, to supervise winemaking.

While untrained, Palini had an excellent palate and carried tremendous respect for his native Umbrian terroir. This allowed him to excel and bottle classically styled Sagrantino-based wines for Adanti. Palini took several of the techniques he observed while living in France and applied them to the difficult Sagrantino. He reduced yields to maximize ripeness and mastered his maturation regimen, employing extended aging in large Slavonian oak botti, to help lead the charge among this new dry Sagrantino category. Palini was also among the first to plant Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the region, which continue to feature in Adanti’s Montefalco Rosso wines.

Today, Adanti is helmed by the second and third generations, led by Domenico’s daughter and granddaughter Daniela and Stella. They operate 30 hectares of vineyard, which they farm organically and harvest by hand. Adanti has also installed solar panel at the winery to continue their sustainability efforts into the vinification process.

MONTEFALCO, ITALY

 

The landlocked Umbria beats at the heart of Italy. At the dead center of the Italian Peninsula, it is surrounded by such titans as Tuscany to the north and west, Lazio (which includes Rome) to the south, and the Marche to the east. While Umbria borrows much culturally from their Tuscan neighbors, this mountainous region, sitting on the spine of the Apennines, celebrates its own heritage and unique traditions. A religious stronghold, home to Saint Francis of Assisi, Umbria is rich in gastronomy—yielding prized black truffles and saffron, as well as a distinctive portfolio of wines.

Montefalco sits near the middle of Umbria and is the region’s most famous red wine territory. The earliest evidence of winegrowing in Montefalco traces to 1088, and documents scattered across the next few centuries in the Middle Ages and early Renaissance detail various legal protections afforded to viticulture. In 1622, the local cardinal decreed the death penalty as punishment for anyone who cut down a vine. 

For the near entirety of its history, Montefalco produced sweet red wines made from dried grapes. These can still be experienced today with the singular Sagrantino Passito category. The grape is, however, challenging to tame and lays claim to being the most tannic of any variety in the world. Nevertheless, beginning in the 1960s, the region began to experiment with dry winemaking from Sagrantino, which, at this point, faced the precipice of extinction. Spearheaded by the efforts of Marco Caprai, these dry Sagrantino wines created a modern identity for Montefalco and gave new birth to the variety. 

The Montefalco denomination today follows the geological boundaries of fluvial deposits formed by the Bastardo Basin two million years ago. More continental than neighboring Tuscany, the region experiences cold winters and beneficially increased rainfall that aids Sagrantino in the vineyard. In addition to monovarietal Sagrantino, Montefalco Rosso blends the grape with Italy’s signature Sangiovese to yield wintery, but more approachable red wines. White wines are also crafted from Trebbiano Spoletino and Grechetto.

grape spotlight:

SAGRANTINO

While once believed to have been brought from Greece to Italy by medieval Byzantine monks, Sagrantino is most likely, in fact, native to Umbria, where almost all plantings are concentrated today. Its name is believed to be a derivation of sacro or “sacred,” a potential reference to its religious usage, though other theories suggest it evolved from sagra or “feast,” as its historically sweet wines were enjoyed during various holidays. Sagrantino faced extinction by the 1960s, until it was fortunately championed by Marco Caprai and neighboring winegrowers. Today it provides many of Italy’s most ageworthy and collectible red wines.

Grown almost exclusively in the Montefalco region, Sagrantino is among the most phenolically rich grapes in the world—with astoundingly high concentrations of pigment and tannin. Its monovarietal expressions are uncompromisingly austere when young, but age with outstanding grace and complexity. Even in small contributions to a blend, Sagrantino is thanked for its piney, wintery dark-fruited flavors. In addition to dry wines, Sagrantino also yields beautiful sweet appassimento wines.

grape spotlight:

SANGIOVESE

Italy’s most planted grape variety, Sangiovese forms the foundation of some of the world’s most cherished red wines. Its name is said to derive from the Latin sanguis Jovis or “blood of Jupiter,” a poetic moniker said to be first awarded by the monks at Santarcangelo di Romagna. While widely associated with Tuscany, a 2004 study revealed the grape to be a natural cross of its common blending partner Ciliegiolo and, surprising, the Southern Italian variety Calabrese di Montenuovo. While Sangiovese is cultivated across the Italian Peninsula—especially in Umbria, Lazio, and Emilia-Romagna—its most famous wines are, indeed, such Tuscan treasures as Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.

Sangiovese wines are recognized for their elegant power, complexity, and ageworthiness—marked by both soaringly high acidity and taut, gripping tannins. A gentle bitterness underscores flavors of red berries, dried herbs, roasted tomatoes, and a fittingly “sanguine” quality.