SAGRANTINO, THE SECRET IS IN THE TANNINS, WHICH BY TYPE AND CONCENTRATION, MAKES IT A UNIQUE GRAPE VARIETY AND THE KING OF WINES IN MONTEFALCO, EXPLAINED FULVIO MATTIVI (MACH FOUNDATION IN SAN MICHELE ALL'ADIGE).

Sagrantino di Montefalco wine has ancient roots. It was "discovered" in the Middle Ages by the Franciscans, who made it their wine for Mass. today it is one of the most important pioneers of Italian wine, after being lost then rescued and re-launched in the world by Caprai winery. Sagrantino drives an entire area, and its uniqueness, which sets it apart from all other wines and grapes on the entire planet, is "its type and concentration of tannins".

Fulvio Mattivi of the Edmund Mach Foundation in San Michele (www.fmach.it) explained to WineNews that today, in the Umbrian town "Preview Sagrantino 2011" ("5 stars” vintage ed.) presented the study
"Montefalco Sagrantino is known by its tannins", organized together with the Montefalco Wine Consortium (www.consorziomontefalco.it).
“Due to the genetic composition of the grape, Sagrantino”, explained Mattivi, “it accumulates a quantity of tannins superior to any other grape variety in the world in the skin of the grape, which can be easily removed, and in a higher concentration than any other grape variety known. This is why analytically speaking, it is suitable for producing elegant wines; we can say simply that Sagrantino wines begin where others end”.
The real secret”, Mattivi continued, “is the intimate structure of the tannins and the composition, which is only slightly different than that of other varieties, but sufficiently different to make the wine less astringent- and that's why you can have a fine Sagrantino wine with 4 grams per liter of polyphenols, which would be intolerable in any other high quality wine. The other international varieties that are used to make wine are all far below our concentration of tannins. Usually, one compares it to Tannat Uruguay, but Sagrantino is clearly above Tannat”.

It is a unique feature, therefore, which must obviously be enhanced.
“It is possible to do so by recognizing its characteristics: muscular frame of grape and wine, relevant body and astringency that must be respected and valorized, the right refinement, and not confusing it with other wines. And then, explaining that nutritionally, with caution because we are talking about an alcoholic drink, it contains a great amount of tannins and procyanidins, which are a very interesting class of compounds, found also in fruits and foods such as apples or black cocoa”.
It is unique in the world, among the exclusive wealth of indigenous varieties in Italy and should be highly valorized.