We are thrilled to be working with Sara and Federico Gallina from Montecorneo 570, a small winery and organic farm located in Umbria, Italy - more specifically in the tiny parish of Sant’Andrea d’Agliano, in the province of Perugia. Now in its fifth generation, Sara (pictured above) and her brother Federico are running the estate with the help of their parents, Maria Cristina Ceccucci and Fausto Gallina. Following the principles of organic and biodynamic agriculture, they grow wheat, fruit, olives and grapes, and raise livestock as well.

For white grapes, Grechetto is a major part of the plantings along with some Malvasia and Trebbiano Spoletino. For reds, her grandpa loved Montepulciano and decided to plant it, even though it is traditionally grown in Abruzzo, and there are some Merlot vines as well. Grechetto is a thick-skinned grape that is resistant to mildew and has a history in Umbria for producing sweet wines. It's a small part of the blend in Umbria's most recognized white wine, Orvieto DOC, but in the area around Perugia, it seems to hold more importance. Sara explained that the name of one of their wines, Hambre ("hunger" in Spanish, inspired by a Neruda poem), comes from an old adage that "you'll never be hungry if you use the Grechetto grapes until the end." Apparently, most winemakers in the area nowadays only use the first press of Grechetto, because the juice has a tendency to quickly turn amber in color with exposure to oxygen. The skins also impart tannic structure to the juice, so the latter part of the press of Grechetto is typically not used. Sara and her brother do things the old fashioned way, using all of the Grechetto. Leonia is a fresher white from direct press, with minimal exposure to oxygen and no skin contact, Hambre is made from the second part of the press, with more amber hue and tannic structure. They also continue to produce the traditional wine of the estate, the Bianco di Sant'Andrea, which is a nod to how their grandparents' generation "solved the problem" of Grechetto, by blending grapes to balance Grechetto's tannic structure with the aromatics and freshness of Malvasia and Trebbiano Spoletino. 

The rest of the wines on offer today come from their red grapes. Tilt, their incredibly delicious rosato (rosé), and Allius, are made from Montepulciano. As mentioned before, Sara and Federico's grandfather liked Montepulciano, so he planted it even though it is a grape from Abruzzo. We can't complain, as both wines are excellent, balanced and expressive, with fullness and elegance. Travento is a fresh, medium-bodied Merlot made in a "millefeuile" style, where destemmed grapes are layered with whole clusters in a tank before press (after alcoholic fermentation), in order to create a delicate style of wine that nonetheless yields more substance than a carbonic maceration approach (for example).

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