Is the SPUM.E project the first step toward an Apennine vineyard in Umbria? Sparkling wine production and mountain wine district: Caprai and Semonte wineries present the results of the SPUM.E project created in collaboration with the University of Milan.
L’Umbria of wine looks to the future and does so by “climbing” the Apennines, turning the spotlight on mountain viticulture, a recognized but as yet unexplored potential, with the presentation of the Spum.E – Spumantistica Eugubina, the result of two years of careful study of the territory. This ambitious project marks the region’s debut in the vast and competitive panorama of sparkling wine production, distinguishing itself by a structured and innovative approach, laying the groundwork for the possible birth of an Umbrian sparkling wine district, which could go on to enhance the mountainous areas of the Apennines that are being abandoned, promoting their recovery and resettlement.
For the first time, Umbria is establishing itself as an organized player in the bubbly sector, opening up new prospects for its wine heritage.
Mountain sparkling wines, pioneering project toward Vinitaly 2025
Making themselves promoters of this ambitious path are two prominent wineries in the Umbrian wine scene, which have always been protagonists of innovative and regenerative initiatives: the Caprai Winery of Montefalco and the Semonte Winery of Gubbio. Sul fronte della ricerca scientifica, invece, un contributo fondamentale proviene dall’ University of Milan, which conducted the preliminary studies, laying the groundwork for the development of this pioneering project. Entrepreneurs Marco Caprai and Giovanni Colaiacovo
, during the conference, presented the results obtained from the sparkling wine making of the 6 hectares of mountain vineyard. The bottles that will debut at the next Vinitaly 2025 represent the evolution of a burgeoning sparkling wine tradition. Arnaldo Caprai, with its Brut, has seen exponential growth in recent years, going from a production of a few migliaia of bottles to more than 10,000, with prospects for further expansion
up to 25 thousand, thanks in part to the SPUM.E. project. Similarly, Semonte is refining its Metodo Classico, currently produced in 5 thousand bottles, with the ambitious goal of tripling production in the next an years.
From spatial analysis to experimental results
SPUM.E was born out of the need for environmental, economic and social sustainability of the production of sparkling wine bases in the Eugubino Gualdese Apennine area. The project, funded by the Umbria Region through the Rural Development Plan (RDP), was developed by researchers from the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Milan, the two Umbrian wineries and Leaf, a consulting firm specializing in the wine sector.
During the conference, Professors Leonardo Valenti and Gabriele Cola, of the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Production, Territory and Agroenergy at the University of Milan, together with Chiara Mazzocchi, associate professor in Agricultural Economics at the same university, and Paolo Tarolli, full professor in Agricultural Hydraulics at the University of Padua, offered an in-depth illustration of the study phases that preceded the project.
The geographical features
Starting from the analysis of the regional surface area, the geographical characteristics of the area in order to identify the most suitable areas for viticulture. Nearly 40 percent of the territory is located at an altitude between 200 and 400 meters above sea level, 26 percent between 400 and 600 meters, 13 percent between 600 and 800 meters, and 14 percent exceeds 800 meters. Currently, most of Umbria’s winegrowing activities are concentrated in areas between 200 and 600 meters above sea level, where there is an increasing challenge related to the consequences of extreme weather events, particularly frosts and heat waves. Wanting to make a comparison with the national panorama, in Italy 9% of vineyards (UIV Observatory data) are cultivated at more than 700 meters above sea level.
They were then cross-referenced all indices of socio-economic, agricultural and tourism fragility in Umbria (taken over the course of the two-year study), resulting in a Suitable Index map that highlights the most promising areas for new investment in vineyard planting. From the map Three key areas emerge.: the northeast and northwest of the region, which include the Gubbio and Val Nerina areas, and the southwest, bordering Castelgiorgio, toward Lake Bolsena.
The experimental vineyard
The studies of the SPUM.E project were done in the 6-hectare experimental vineyard, planted between 2017 and 2019 with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the San Marco locality of Gubbio, land belonging to the Semonte farm, which lies between 750 and 850 meters. These lands were abandoned and previously used for arable crops and pastures. The success of the project is not only limited to the feasibility and competitiveness of the vineyard placed at these altitudes, but also represents one of the first examples of virtuous recovery of the rural economy in an area marked by abandonment, aging and decline of economic activities.
The Eugubino mountain wine-growing area is distinguished by abundant rainfall, about 1,050 mm per year, uniform throughout the year and, especially at higher altitudes, the low incidence of heat waves: less than 20 days per year with summer temperatures above 32 °C, compared with an average of nearly 50 days in the lowland areas of the Perugia wine-growing area.
Toward a sustainable future: the Umbrian sparkling wine district
The SPUM.E project, thanks to the continued support of local institutions, could pave the way for the birth of an Umbrian sparkling wine district, capable of revitalizing the mountainous areas of the Apennines, victims of abandonment since the 1970s. With 11.3 percent of Umbria’s utilized agricultural area (UAA) located in these areas, and with a good suitability for vine cultivation., these fragile territories could benefit from new investments aimed at reinvigorating the rural economy. Studies conducted over the past two years have shown that altitude not only improves the quality of grapes compared to those grown at lower altitudes, but also offers significant advantages, such as a later harvest and lower water requirements
. Le tecnologie innovative implementate nei vigneti sperimentali – dal monitoraggio climatico alla modellizzazione degli eventi avversi – hanno permesso di sviluppare un sistema vitivinicolo a basso impatto ambientale, perfettamente integrato nell’ecosistema appenninico.
The ambition to create a sparkling wine district in Umbria is not just a local challenge, but a virtuous example for other Italian mountain areas. However, structural obstacles such as depopulation, land fragmentation and regulatory limitations on replanting rights could slow this path.
Legislative intervention to facilitate land consolidation, along with specific support measures for mountain viticulture, are therefore desirable to ensure a more sustainable and productive future not only for sparkling wine but for all mountain agriculture.
