Where is Argillae and how do I get there?

Argillae is at Vocabolo Pomarro 45 in Allerona, about 13 km north-west of Orvieto in Umbria. The drive from the centre of Orvieto takes around 20 minutes. From the A1 motorway, leave at Fabro or Orvieto and follow the Strada Provinciale della Sala, then the signs to the estate.

Do I need to book a visit to Argillae?

Yes, book ahead, on the estate's website or by phone on +39 339 285 8568. The estate is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 7pm, and on Sundays and public holidays by appointment. Tastings, tours, lunches and the cooking class are all sold online.

Can I visit Argillae without a car?

Yes. The estate runs a shuttle to and from Orvieto on request, charged per group. Call +39 339 285 8568 first to check times. Then book your visit online and meet the driver at the agreed pick-up point.

Which Argillae wine is best known?

Panata, an Orvieto Classico Superiore, is the estate's flagship white. It is 80% Grechetto and 20% Procanico, and its 2023 vintage won Tre Bicchieri in Gambero Rosso's 2026 guide. Ambra Grigia, made only from Grechetto, is the estate's everyday white.

Argillae is in conversion to organic farming, its website says. It already limits sprays by timing each treatment with data from two weather stations. The vines are fed only with manure, and field beans are sown to put nitrogen back into the soil.

Can children come on a visit to Argillae?

Yes, children are welcome on most visits, at a lower price. The tour and the lunches come with a children's menu, and the estate keeps colouring materials and games for young guests. The cooking class has child-friendly tools and simple dough recipes.

Argillae

Argillae is a wine estate in the hills between Allerona and Ficulle, about 13 km north-west of Orvieto in Umbria. Giuseppe Bonollo, from a family of Italian distillers, found the land in the mid-1980s. His granddaughter Giulia runs it today. The vines grow in clay soil full of fossil seashells, and the flagship is white Orvieto, made mainly from Grechetto and Procanico. Visitors can book tastings, vineyard tours, lunches and cooking classes on the estate's own website.

Umbria
Tastings
Tours
Booking required

Book a visit 4 experiences · from €35

Argillae's buildings and a row of cypress trees, with rolling hills beyond

About Argillae

Giuseppe Bonollo comes from a family of distillers that goes back to the early 1900s. After building up the Bonollo distillery, he went looking for land to make fine wine. In the mid-1980s he found it in the hills north of Orvieto. For years Argillae sold almost all its wine abroad. That changed in 2015, when his granddaughter Giulia joined. She now runs the estate herself and has turned more of its attention to Italy and to the Orvieto area. Two wines arrived with her. Primo d'Anfora is a white fermented in terracotta amphorae. The other is a sparkling Brut that the estate makes in its own cellar.

Argillae means clays in Latin, and clay is what the estate stands on. Its land covers about 120 hectares between Allerona and Ficulle. Only 15 of them are vines, about the size of 21 football pitches. On some slopes the clay and sand break into calanchi, deep, wide gullies cut by erosion. The soil is also full of fossil seashells from a time when the sea covered this land. The vines grow 150 to 300 metres up, on slopes facing east and west. All the pruning and picking is done by hand.

The estate has made Orvieto from the start, and it is still at the centre of the range. Panata is the top white, an Orvieto Classico Superiore of 80% Grechetto and 20% Procanico. Its 2023 vintage won Tre Bicchieri, the top award in Gambero Rosso's 2026 guide. The name comes from the panata, a big-bellied jug with a long spout. Medieval Orvieto used it to pour water and wine, and the bird on the label is taken from one. Mater Maris is the estate's fresh, dry Orvieto. Ambra Grigia is made only from Grechetto, Umbria's signature white grape. Vascellarus, a red, is named after the Vascellari, the potters of medieval Orvieto. There is also a young red, Sinuoso, a rosé and the sparkling Brut.

The cellar was designed to fit into the landscape, with a floor built underground so it needs less energy to keep the wine cool. Steel tanks and the tasting room sit on one floor. Below them are two barrel rooms, one for white wines and one for reds. A biomass boiler heats the buildings, and a bed of water plants cleans the cellar's waste water. The farm is now in conversion to organic growing, and the vines are fed only with manure. Lorenzo Landi, a consultant who advises more than 30 Italian wineries on vines and wine, has worked with Argillae since 2005.

Visitors can book every visit on the estate's own website. The simplest is a guided tasting of four wines with local cheeses, cured meats and bruschetta made with the estate's olive oil. The tour adds a walk through the vineyards and the cellar, ending in the barrel room with its clay jars. There are also lunches by Trattoria da Carlo of Orvieto, a cooking class and a picnic in the vines. Other sessions pair the wine with painting or yoga. Visits run in English or Italian, and a shuttle can collect guests in Orvieto.

Editorial · ItalianWines.co.uk

Plate I · UMBRIA

Argillae on the Umbria wine atlas

Anchored in Orvieto, the editorial heart of Umbria.

Voc. Pomarro, 45, 05011 Allerona, Terni (Umbria)

Get directions

Visit & Experiences

4 bookable experiences at Argillae

3 tastings and 1 other experience, checked by our editors. From €35.

At a glance, editorially verified

Tastings 3 bookable Tours 1 bookable

Accommodation Not listed

Booking Required in advance

Tasting

Guided wine tasting at Argillae Winery

1h 30 From €35 per person English · Italiano

Discover the Argillae winery and enjoy a tasting of 4 wines accompanied by local pork products, zero-mile cheeses, and bruschetta

Book this tasting

via Winedering

Tasting & Tour

Winery tour and guided tasting

2 hours €48 per person Voucher or new date if cancelled 24 hours ahead; no refunds English, Italian

A walk through the vineyards, where the guide explains the clay soils, then through the two-level cellar to see how the sparkling wine is made and how wine ferments in clay amphorae. It ends with a guided tasting of four wines, with bruschetta in Argillae's own olive oil and local cheeses and cured meats chosen by Trattoria da Carlo of Orvieto.

Book this tour

on argillae.eu

Food Pairing

Lunch with winery tour

3 hours €65 per person Voucher or new date if cancelled 24 hours ahead; no refunds English, Italian

A full tour of the vineyards and cellar, a guided tasting of four wines and the estate's olive oil, then lunch from a menu by Trattoria da Carlo of Orvieto. Umbrian cheeses and cured meats with rosemary focaccia come first, then a seasonal first course such as black truffle tortelli or lasagne, and tozzetti biscuits. Vegetarian and gluten-free dishes are available.

Book this pairing

on argillae.eu

Experience

Umbrian cooking class with lunch

3 hours €130 per person Voucher or new date if cancelled 24 hours ahead; no refunds English, Italian

Learn to make umbricelli, a hand-made pasta typical of Umbria, and lumachella orvietana, an Orvieto speciality protected by a Slow Food Presidium, then a ricotta and cinnamon dessert. Aprons, boards and rolling pins are provided. A light lunch follows, with a guided tasting of four Argillae wines. Children can join, with child-friendly tools. It runs for groups of four or more.

Book this experience

on argillae.eu

Not seeing the estate you want? Estates without an online listing are reachable directly, and their phone and email are in Plan your visit.

Some booking links earn italianwines.co.uk a commission. This never affects price or what we recommend.

Wines from Argillae

Wines Coming Soon

Wines for this winery are still being curated. Check back as the UK retailer selection expands.

Plan your visit

argillae.eu/

Voc. Pomarro, 45, 05011 Allerona, Terni (Umbria)

+39 0763624604

[email protected]

Common questions

Argillae is at Vocabolo Pomarro 45 in Allerona, about 13 km north-west of Orvieto in Umbria. The drive from the centre of Orvieto takes around 20 minutes. From the A1 motorway, leave at Fabro or Orvieto and follow the Strada Provinciale della Sala, then the signs to the estate.
Yes, book ahead, on the estate's website or by phone on +39 339 285 8568. The estate is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 7pm, and on Sundays and public holidays by appointment. Tastings, tours, lunches and the cooking class are all sold online.
Yes. The estate runs a shuttle to and from Orvieto on request, charged per group. Call +39 339 285 8568 first to check times. Then book your visit online and meet the driver at the agreed pick-up point.
Panata, an Orvieto Classico Superiore, is the estate's flagship white. It is 80% Grechetto and 20% Procanico, and its 2023 vintage won Tre Bicchieri in Gambero Rosso's 2026 guide. Ambra Grigia, made only from Grechetto, is the estate's everyday white.
Argillae is in conversion to organic farming, its website says. It already limits sprays by timing each treatment with data from two weather stations. The vines are fed only with manure, and field beans are sown to put nitrogen back into the soil.
Yes, children are welcome on most visits, at a lower price. The tour and the lunches come with a children's menu, and the estate keeps colouring materials and games for young guests. The cooking class has child-friendly tools and simple dough recipes.

Plan a visit

Ask us to arrange your visit to Argillae

This form reaches the ItalianWines.co.uk team, not the winery. Tell us when you would like to come and how many you are: we contact Argillae for you and come back with availability and prices, usually within two working days.

More wineries in Umbria

See all Umbria wineries

Umbria · Torgiano

Lungarotti

The Lungarotti family's modern winery, founded by Giorgio in 1962 in the Tiber valley town of Torgiano. It bottles Umbria's first DOCG, Torgiano Rosso Riserva, from the Vigna Monticchio cru, alongside the everyday Rubesco Rosso di Torgiano DOC and a Montefalco Sagrantino range from Tenuta Brancalupo. VIVA-certified and run by the sisters Chiara and Teresa, with two cellars open for tasting, two museums and the Le Tre Vaselle relais.

Sangiovese

Grechetto

Vermentino

16wines From £12.65

Umbria · Montefalco

Arnaldo Caprai

Founded by Arnaldo Caprai in 1971 and led by his son Marco since 1986, this Montefalco estate set the modern dry Sagrantino style. The 25 Anni is its benchmark wine. The cellar runs tastings every day and holds the Equalitas sustainability standard.

Sagrantino

Merlot

Sangiovese

14wines From £12.54

Est. 1940

Umbria · Ficulle

Castello della Sala

Castello della Sala is Antinori's Umbrian estate near Ficulle, built around a 14th century fortress. It is known for Cervaro della Sala, Muffato della Sala and Pinot Nero della Sala. The listed bottles centre on Umbria IGT, with grapes such as Chardonnay, Grechetto and Sauvignon Blanc.

Chardonnay

Grechetto

Sauvignon Blanc

6wines From £18.53

Est. 1961

Umbria · Baschi

Barberani

Family estate above Lake Corbara, in the historic Classico heart of Orvieto. Niccolo and Bernardo Barberani, the third generation, farm 55 hectares of certified organic vines and keep about 30 hectares of forest. Best known for the Castagnolo and Luigi e Giovanna Orvieto Classico Superiore, the noble-rot Calcaia, and the red blend Polvento.

Grechetto

Trebbiano

5wines From £12.50

Est. 1973

Umbria · Orvieto

Azienda Agricola Decugnano dei Barbi

Decugnano dei Barbi sits in the hills north-east of Orvieto, on sandy soil full of fossil seashells. Claudio Barbi took on the abandoned estate in 1973, and the estate says his first sparkling wine, from 1978, was the first of its kind in Umbria. His son Enzo carries on the work. Mare Antico, an Orvieto Classico Superiore, is the white the estate says best represents it, beside the red A.D.1212 and the sweet Pourriture Noble. Tours, tastings and cooking classes can be booked online, and Villa Barbi sleeps up to ten.

4wines From £17.08

Est. 1999

Umbria · Todi

Roccafiore

Roccafiore is a 15-hectare Baccarelli family estate above Todi, built on Grechetto di Todi clone G5 and Sangiovese on south-east-facing clay and marl slopes. With the Wine Resort and Spa, the Wine Chalet and Ristorante Fiorfiore, it is one of Umbria's easiest cellars to visit. It is certified under VIVA for sustainability and belongs to FIVI.

Grechetto

Sagrantino

Trebbiano

4wines From £13.70

Argillae

About Argillae

Argillae on the Umbria wine atlas

Denominations Produced

Grapes Used

Denominations Produced

Grapes Used

4 bookable experiences at Argillae

Guided wine tasting at Argillae Winery

Winery tour and guided tasting

Lunch with winery tour

Umbrian cooking class with lunch

Wines Coming Soon

Plan your visit

Common questions

Ask us to arrange your visit to Argillae

Lungarotti

Arnaldo Caprai

Castello della Sala

Barberani

Azienda Agricola Decugnano dei Barbi

Roccafiore