Sagrantino

---

title: "Sagrantino" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["red-wine-grape-varieties", "wine-grape-varieties-of-italy"] description: "Variety of grape" topic_path: "geography/italy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrantino" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Variety of grape ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox grape variety"]

Field	Value
name	Sagrantino
image	Montefalco z09.jpg
caption	Sagrantino grapes
alt
color	Noir
color_alt
species	Vitis vinifera
vivc_number	10457
origin	Umbria, Italy
pedigree0
pedigree1
pedigree2
regions	Umbria
notable_wines	Montefalco Sagrantino, Montefalco Rosso
hazards
breeder
institute
crossing_year
selection_year
protection_year
seeds_formation
flowers_sex
::

| name = Sagrantino | image = Montefalco z09.jpg | caption = Sagrantino grapes | alt = | color = Noir | color_alt = | species = Vitis vinifera | vivc_number = 10457 | also_called = | origin = Umbria, Italy | pedigree0 = | pedigree1 = | pedigree2 = | regions = Umbria | notable_wines = Montefalco Sagrantino, Montefalco Rosso | soil = | hazards = | breeder = | institute = | crossing_year = | selection_year = | protection_year = | seeds_formation = | flowers_sex = Sagrantino is an Italian grape variety that is indigenous to the region of Umbria in Central Italy. It is grown primarily in the village of Montefalco and the surrounding area, with a recent rapid increase in planting area from 351 ha in 2000 to 994 ha by 2010{{Cite book | title = Which Winegrape Varieties are Grown Where? A Global Empirical Picture | author-last1 = Anderson | author-first1 = Kym | author-last2 = Aryal | author-first2 = Nanda R. | isbn = 978-1-922064-67-7 | doi = 10.20851/winegrapes | year = 2013 | publisher = University of Adelaide Press

History

The origins of the variety are unclear and poorly documented, but the first written record of it is in Umbria in the late 16th century as a communion wine, although Pliny the Elder mentioned red wines from Montefalco that may have been Sagrantino. The name itself is also of uncertain origin, possibly from sagra (feast) or sacrestia (communion wine).

Historically Sagrantino was used primarily for making sweet passito wines, partially drying the grapes to yield a thick, syrupy wine with raisin and blueberry qualities, much like a Recioto della Valpolicella. Since the 1970s however, the wines have been made principally in a dry secco style, with typically bold extraction and complete fermentation.

Viticulture

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Sagrantino_wines_from_Italy_and_Australia.jpg" caption="Sagrantino wines from Italy and Australia."] ::

Sagrantino is a vigorous, relatively disease-resistant yet low-yielding vine. Although it flowers early, and reaches veraison early to form thick dark skins and large pips, it requires a long hot season to ripen, producing small slightly conical winged bunches, late in the season; in Umbria usually late October. The grape has one of the highest tannic levels of any variety in the world. Its wines contain more tannin than those made from Aglianico or Tannat, and twice the level of Cabernet Sauvignon or Nebbiolo wines. It creates wines that are inky purple with an almost-black center. The bouquet is one of dark, brooding red fruits with hints of plum, cinnamon, and earth.

Italy

Almost all of the world's Sagrantino is grown in Umbria, to make Montefalco Sagrantino and Montefalco Rosso wines. Granted DOCG status in 1992, Montefalco Sagrantino must be made entirely from Sagrantino grapes and requires a minimum of 37 months ageing before release, 12 of which must be in oak barrels. With production still relatively limited, the wine is not widely known outside Italy. Montefalco Rosso is a Sangiovese-dominant DOC red wine that requires between 10 and 25% of the blend to be Sagrantino.

Australia

Sagrantino was first brought into Australia in 1998 by the Chalmers Nursery, and the first wine to be produced in Australia was the Chalmers 2004 vintage from their vineyard in Euston, New South Wales.{{cite journal | title = More is more when it comes to diversity | journal = Wine Industry Journal | first = Kim | last = Chalmers | date = January 2009 | volume = 24 | issue = 1 | page = 9 | title = Interest in Italian varietal beauties turns heads toward Sagrantino | journal = Australian Viticulture | author-last = Rowley | author-first = M. | date = 2010 | volume = 14 | number = 5 | page = 84

United States

Sagrantino is being grown in small areas in the United States mainly in California, but also in Washington, Texas, North Carolina, and Sonoita Arizona. Producers such as DaVero, Benessere, Clesi, Raffaldini, and Messina Hof are growing and vinifying Sagrantino as a result of trialling grape varieties that handle hotter and drier conditions than Cabernet Sauvignon and other traditionally grown varieties.

Brazil

Sagrantino is grown on small properties in southern Brazil, in the region of Faria Lemos, a district of the municipality of Bento Gonçalves, Rio Grande do Sul.

References

References

1. "Consortium Montefalco".
2. (2014). "Native Wine Grapes of Italy". University of California Press.
3. (9 April 2020). "Use of Untargeted Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Metabolome To Discriminate Italian Monovarietal Red Wines, Produced in Their Different Terroirs". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
4. (20 May 2015). "Regulation of vascular endothelial function by red wine procyanidins: implications for cardiovascular health". Tetrahedron.
5. "Consortium Montefalco - Sagrantino, Umbria's Jewels".
6. Wright, Corrina. (March 2013). "Savouring Sagrantino". Wine & Viticulture Journal.
7. (1 December 2015). "Sagrantino Wine Information". Wine-Searcher.
8. (2020). "2019 Texas Wine Grape Varieties". [[United States Department of Agriculture]].
9. Willcox, Kathleen. (19 September 2019). "The Rise of Italian Grapes in American Vineyards". Wine Enthusiast.
10. Robertson, Dale. (8 October 2018). "Great Texas wines to try for Texas Wine Month". [[Houston Chronicle]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::