From the 50th anniversary of the Torgiano Wine Museum (MUVIT), which will exhibit a selection of works at the fair, to the 60th anniversary of Rubesco Riserva Vigna Monticchio, the company’s iconic wine, and the restyling of the Il Pometo range, a look at Lungarotti’s Vinitaly
April 8th 2024 – Lungarotti is preparing for an important edition of Vinitaly. Indeed, this year the historic Torgiano company will celebrate two anniversaries at the Verona fair: the 50th anniversary of the Torgiano Wine Museum and the 60th anniversary of Rubesco Riserva Vigna Monticchio, the wine that has made the Umbrian company famous throughout the world. But there’s more: also during Vinitaly, the restyling of the Il Pometo range will be unveiled, 4 fun and beautifully drinkable monovarietal wines.
1974 – 2024. The Torgiano Wine Museum turns 50. To celebrate this anniversary it will exhibit at Vinitaly, in the area reserved for the Ministry of Agriculture, 34 artworks that reveal the many uses and meanings of wine in everyday life and in the collective imagination from its origins to today. Visitors will thus have the unique opportunity to admire a collection of extraordinary pieces including archaeological finds, ceramics, engravings and contemporary works, with artifacts ranging from the 3rd millennium B.C. to Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Renato Guttuso, Gio Ponti. The celebrations for the 50th anniversary will continue throughout 2024 with many initiatives to celebrate art, the culture of wine and good drinking that the MUVIT has been embodying/symbolized for half a century. For the occasion Lungarotti has even designed a celebratory label for the limited edition of Brut Millesimato Lungarotti, an invitation to toast this anniversary.
Defined by the New York Times as “the best wine museum in Italy” for the quality of its collections, in the 20 rooms of the historic Palazzo Graziani-Baglioni in Torgiano, the MUVIT exhibits archaeological finds, ceramic wine containers from the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and contemporary periods, engravings and drawings from the 15th to the 20th centuries and other works documenting the importance of wine in the collective imagination of the civilizations that have inhabited the Mediterranean basin. It was one of the first museums in Italy to establish a dialogue between wine and the decorative arts, recounting 5000 years of history through a precious collection that now exceeds 3000 artifacts and continues to grow. An adventure embarked upon by Giorgio and Maria Grazia Lungarotti who, back in the 1970s, had already sensed how viticulture could generate satellite activities linked to specialized tourism, accomodations and hospitality, thus proving themselves as pioneers in wine tourism.
1964 – 2024. Rubesco Riserva Vigna Monticchio (Torgiano Rosso Riserva DOCG) turns 60. It was 1964 when Giorgio Lungarotti, a pioneer of modern Italian oenology, first produced what would soon become Lungarotti’s flagship wine, considered by critics as one of the best Italian reds. Giorgio had immediately realised that from the Monticchio vineyard on the hills of Torgiano, thanks to perfect exposure and unique soil, extraordinary Sangiovese grapes could be obtained. Innovative for its time, this Cru was immediately noted for its clear personality and delicate balance between power and finesse. Produced only in vintages that deserve to be recounted, Rubesco Riserva Vigna Monticchio has evolved in style, always respecting tradition, and today reflects the acumen of the members of the Lungarotti family at the helm of the winery. “Tasting in sequence from the first vintage to the one currently on the market,” explains Chiara Lungarotti, “is like leafing through a book that reveals how the expression of Sangiovese has evolved over all these years, based also on environmental and climatic changes. Changes that have demonstrated the extraordinary ability of this grape variety to adapt when planted in a highly vocated territory as Torgiano has proven to be”.
At Vinitaly this special birthday will be celebrated with the presentation of a commemorative packaging where some of the accolades received by this cru are reproduced, revealing its decades-long history.
2024 – The Il Pometo line, consisting of easy-drinking white wines such as Grechetto (Umbria IGT Grechetto), Trespo (Umbria IGT Bianco), Pinot Grigio (Umbria IGT Pinot Grigio) and a Sangiovese-based red (Umbria IGT Sangiovese), will be unveiled at Vinitaly with a new, fun and carefree look that reflects the fresh and dynamic style of these four wines. Crisp, vibrant, territorial, they come from grapes harvested in an area of Torgiano where Lungarotti has experimented with different grape varieties for years. The name Il Pometo recalls that of a farmhouse, the Fattoria del Pometo, located within the estate, so named because it is surrounded by an orchard of heirloom varieties of pome fruits (apples and pears) recovered from an archaeological tree nursery in Umbria. The new label, which reproduces a fanciful toasting cat, recalls an ex libris on display at the Torgiano Wine Museum, created by Polish designer and illustrator Andrzej Kot especially for MUVIT, thus creating a bridge between art and wine.
LUNGAROTTI
Lungarotti has contributed to writing the history of Italian wine in the world. A story which began with Giorgio Lungarotti, a pioneer of modern Italian viticulture who after the Second World War transformed the family’s agricultural estate in Torgiano into a successful winery. A story that continues, thanks to the commitment, passion and expertise of the 3 generations of the Lungarotti family who now conduct the activities, innovating without losing sight of the unmistakable character of iconic wines such as Rubesco Riserva Vigna Monticchio – Torgiano Rosso Riserva DOCG, considered one of the best Italian reds, and Rubesco – Rosso di Torgiano DOC.
Lungarotti totals 250 hectares of vineyards situated in the Torgiano Estate (230 ha, VIVA certification) and the one in Montefalco (20 ha, certified organic); the viticulture practised at both wineries is based on sustainability and biodiversity. One of the winery’s cornerstones is wine tourism and promoting the culture of wine, olive oil and artistic heritage through the Wine Museum (MUVIT) and the Olive and Oil Museum (MOO) of Torgiano. www.lungarotti.it
