Side trip to La Velette Winery

The three hour bus ride from Florence to Rome was broken up by a stop at La Velette Winery near Orvieto.  Le Velette has been owned by The Bottai family since the late 19th century and produces olive oil and fine wines.  The wines are sold on a limited basis in the USA. The estate is above a small valley, across which is Orvieto, one of the most picturesque hill towns in Umbria. 

Alessandro the estate's manager gave us a tour of the wine cellars, a primer on cultivating grapes so they become great wines, and hosted a tasting of four of their wines.    The estate’s buildings date from the 17th century.  At one time it was a Franciscan friary.  And the caves, where the wine is stored until shipment, have been used for one purpose or another since the 2nd or 3rd BC.

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Part of what makes this winery so memorable is its setting - atop a hill overlooking a valley, and the city of Orvieto, one of the most picturesque hill town in Italy, on the other side of the valley.

And the wine tasting was as good as the view.

Left to right the wines are: Berganorio (white), Lunato (white), Colanco (red)' and Il Raggio (white dessert)