Every Saturday, David Brenner of Villasfor2 in Abruzzo selects a delicious, top-value 'Everyday Italian Wine' for you to try at home - or enjoy on your Abruzzo vacation !

Orvieto Classico 'La Raggiera'. 2007. GIV
As you thunder down the Autostrada del Sole between Florence and Rome, start looking out for Orvieto once you've passed the turning for Perugia and Siena. Not that it's difficult to miss. It's the town you'll see over on your right, sitting majestically on top of a big plug of rock and surrounded by miles and miles of vineyards.  It's well-worth breaking your journey here. Park near the station and get the funicular up into the old town. See the Duomo and the 13th century Torre del Moro and sit in a cafe and enjoy a glass of the local white wine.

Orvieto's a wine that tries its best to cater for all tastes. There are versions that are dry (secco); semi-sweet (abboccato); and sweet (amabile). The main Orvieto grape variety is the trebbiano toscana, but into the mix can also go quantities of verdicchio, canaiolo and grechetto, so there's a practically limitless number of permutations and combinations of blend and sweetness that can be achieved. And that's a key Orvieto weakness. In trying to be all things to all wine-drinkers, it can become desperately bland and dull.

That's a criticism from which this particular everyday Orvieto is exempt. It carries a 'Classico' tag, which means it'll have been made from grapes grown in the traditional production area; those grapes were then turned into wine locally too, meaning that the entire process from vine to bottle is concentrated in and closely around Orvieto.

The brand-name La Raggiera means 'The Halo', and while it might fall a little short of such implied saintly qualities, it proves yet again that good wine can be found for a modest outlay.

The sweeter examples of Orvieto can take a little time in bottle. If you prefer secco, find the youngest bottle you can. This 2007, tasted in June 2008, was at its freshest, brightest, zippiest best. In the glass, it's a beguilingly clear greeny-gold.  A clean bouquet of fresh hay and meadow flowers and a taste that attractively mingles white peaches and greengages with a suggestion of something just a little richer and rounder. A pleasantly lingering finish too. The grape blend here is trebbiano toscana and grechetto. The makers don't say what the proportion is, but they've got it absolutely right.

At A Glance…

• This week's featured wine: Orvieto Classico 'La Raggiera'
• Vintage: 2007
• Producer: Gruppo Italiano Vini
• Designation: DOC
• Grape: Trebbiano Toscana and Grechetto blend
• Strength: 12.5%
• Closure: Cork
• This bottle cost: €2.99

Click on the pictures in the text for larger images - and if you like Italian wine, why not check out last week's 'Everyday Italian Wine' and bookmark this site for future weekly posts.

Next week: It's the 20th 'Everyday Italian Wine' - and we'll mark the occasion by naming the best wines we've reviewed so far for you to try at home, or on your Villasfor2 Abruzzo vacation !

Abruzzo vacation, Everyday Italian Wine, Orvieto Classico, Villasfor2

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 14th, 2008 at 2:10 am and is filed under David's 'Everyday Italian Wine', Eating and Drinking, Vineyards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.