Biography
The Lungarotti cellars were founded at Torgiano in 1962 just a few kilometers from Perugia and Assisi in Umbria, and from that moment on it became a reference point for the oenology of the entire region. Giorgio Lungarotti, who had created the firm to ferment the grapes of the various landed possessions of his family, has been defined as “the man who, after Saint Francis, has given Umbria the greatest visibility in the world”. His wife, Maria Grazia, remembers him as “a pioneer”. Overstated? Perhaps, but Giorgio Lungarotti, who died in 1999, was the first to create fine wine in a region which, up till then, had little to show in terms of quality wine. To give them a certain recognition all over the world, exporting half of his production. And up until his last days, 88 years old, he was still more foresighted than others when wine was discussed. After his death, the direction of the house has passed into the hands of his daughter Chiara, aided by her sister Teresa Severini, while Maria Grazia directs the work of the Lungarotti Foundation, well known for its work in spreading the culture of wine. The house, in fact, has created at Torgiano one of the world’s most important museums around the theme of wine, compiling an historic and artistic documentation with few equals. The family continues to direct the firm, working with a full respect for values which join tradition and history to territory and adds in an innovative spirit open to experimentation and new developments. Future-oriented, the firm is nonetheless firmly anchored in the present, and a few years ago acquired an estate at Montefalco in order to include Sagrantino in its wide range of wines. The most prestigious Lungarotti wines, however, are the lengthily-aged red wines (only marketed four or five years after the harvest) from two crus: the Rubesco Vigna Monticchio Riserva, a blend of Sangiovese and Canaiolo, and San Giorgio, which uses Caberent Sauvignon along with the regions native grapes. This was the first Super Umbrian of the region: first produced in 1977, it is released only in superior vintages.