2024 Sergio Mottura - Tragugnano Orvieto DOCG (750ml)

Sergio Mottura founded the estate that bears his name in the 1960s in Civitella d'Agliano, in the Lazio hills that border Umbria, where the family now farms some 120 hectares between the clay hills of the Calanchi Valley and the fertile plains along the Tiber. Sergio embraced organic farming decades before it became fashionable, and the estate has since adopted the porcupine, an animal found only on the cleanest, most natural land, as an unofficial symbol of that philosophy. His son, Giuseppe, the third generation to run the winery, now oversees production, working especially with old-vine Grechetto that has helped establish the family as one of Italy's foremost authorities on the grape.

Tragugnano draws each year on the best fruit from some of the estate's oldest vineyards, a blend of Procanico, Verdello, Grechetto, and Drupeggio grown on volcanic tufa soil that holds moisture through Lazio's hot, dry summers. The grapes are hand harvested and vinified separately, given a gentle pressing before fermenting at controlled temperature in stainless steel, then left on the lees into the following spring, when the various lots are tasted and blended together.

The wine shows pale straw yellow with golden highlights, offering fresh citrus and white flowers with a light herbal lift. On the palate it's dry and medium-bodied, with a saline, mineral finish and good persistence. It pairs well with risotto, gnocchi, pasta with butter and sage, or simple seafood.