Home >Wine Store >Raina Montefalco Rosso

Plum, licorice, black currant, dark chocolate, fig, lavender, vanilla and mushroom.

Umbria sits landlocked in the center of Italy and is a beautiful region that sometimes gets lost in the conversations about wine. Umbria's white Orvieto wines have garnered international attention but producers like Raina want to raise the profile of the reds. In 2002, young viticulturalist Francesco Mariani and his partner, Andrea Mattioli, aquired an old 40-acre farm in Turri, a suburb of Montefalco, the premier wine-growing area of Umbria. At an altitude of 800 to 1,000 feet, the farm buildings were refurbished as a state-of-the-art winery, and 33 acres were planted in the classic Montefalco varieties: Sangiovese, Merlot and Sagrantino which is a varietal unique to Montefalco and grown nowhere else in the world. Consulting enologist Tiziano Vistali, who has tremendous experience in the region, assisted in making the wines, which are all 100% estate grown.

This Montefalco blend calls out for either good country cooking with sausage and peppers or an upscale version of the same idea, like my recipe for Grilled Pork Chops with Peck Seasoning and Charred Peppers. Peck is an exquisite food emporium in Milan, and this mixture is an interpretation of the most popular seasoning in the Peck kitchen. You could just pour a glass and enjoy the wine with cheese such as Pecorino, a sheep's milk formaggio from Pienza, in Tuscany. For maximum impact, try a Pecorino that's studded with black peppercorns or truffles!

The town of Montefalco is the birthplace of no less than eight saints. Must be something in the wine.