Azienda Agricola Palazzone

Palazzone is a family wine estate in the hills just north-west of Orvieto, in Umbria. Angelo Dubini and his wife, Maria Locatelli, bought the farm in 1969. Their grandson Pietro now carries it into a third generation. Its best-known wine is Campo del Guardiano, an Orvieto Classico Superiore that ages well for years. Its medieval palace, once a hostel for pilgrims bound for Rome, is now a small hotel. Visitors can book tastings, vineyard tours and lunches, and see a cave dug in Etruscan times.

Book a visit 7 experiences · from €20
Palazzone vineyard on a grassy slope, with the towers and cathedral of Orvieto on the skyline

About Azienda Agricola Palazzone

The estate takes its name from the Palazzone, a stone palace on a hill near the hamlet of Rocca Ripesena. According to the estate, Cardinal Teodorico built it as a hostel for pilgrims on their way to Rome for the Jubilee of 1300. Angelo Dubini and Maria Locatelli bought the property in 1969, when the farm was half abandoned. They planted 24 hectares of vines, about 60 acres, on land that had grown the area's best grapes for centuries. Their sons Giovanni and Lodovico made the first small vintage in 1982. In 1988 the family built its own cellar and began to sell the wine. Giovanni still makes the wine today, and Angelo's grandson Pietro is the third generation.

The vines grow on gentle slopes between 210 and 340 metres above sea level, mostly facing east. The soil is clay, silt and sand, left by a sea that covered this land 2.5 million years ago. Most of the vineyard is planted with Grechetto and Procanico, the local name for Trebbiano. These are the two main grapes of Orvieto. Verdello and Malvasia complete the blend. The family calls Grechetto the more fragrant of the pair and Procanico the more serious. Palazzone was also among the first in Italy to grow Viognier. The red Armaleo, mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, grows where the frost of 1985 killed an old olive grove. For its reds, though, the family now puts its effort into Sangiovese, the area's own red grape.

Campo del Guardiano comes from the most beautiful plot on the estate, a field local farmers have known by that name for generations. It was first made in 1989. After bottling it rests in the cellar for 18 months, and it keeps its fruit and freshness for years. Five of its vintages have won Tre Bicchieri, the top rating in Gambero Rosso's guide to Italian wine. Palazzone never releases its Orvieto before late spring, because the wine gains depth with time in the cellar. The family learnt this from the plain whites the farm once made for its own table, some still in fine shape after ten years. The name of Terre Vineate, first made in 1984, means "vined lands" and comes from a medieval land register.

Orvieto has been known for sweet wine since Etruscan times, and Palazzone makes two. Vendemmia Tardiva comes from grapes picked late, at their ripest. Muffa Nobile relies on the morning mists of autumn, which bring noble rot to the grapes. It blends Grechetto and Procanico with Sauvignon Blanc, which the estate grows for this wine. Orvieto is one of the few parts of Italy suited to sweet wines of this kind.

Musco is made the old way, from a small plot where Procanico, Verdello and Malvasia grow mixed in the same rows. No electricity is used to make it, and even the bottling is done by hand. The grapes go into open chestnut vats, and the skin contact lasts four to six days before an old hand press does the pressing. The wine then spends a year in chestnut barrels and eight months in glass demijohns before it is bottled. The bottles lie flat in the Grotta del Musco, a cave dug into the soft volcanic rock in Etruscan times. It was once used as a tomb, and it sits under the estate's chestnut wood. One of the visits goes there. Only 1,600 numbered bottles are made.

Editorial · ItalianWines.co.uk

Plate I · UMBRIA

Azienda Agricola Palazzone on the Umbria wine atlas

Anchored in Orvieto, the editorial heart of Umbria.

Località Rocca Ripesena, 68, 05018 Orvieto, Terni (Umbria)
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Visit & Experiences

7 bookable experiences at Azienda Agricola Palazzone

4 tastings, 2 tours, and 1 stay, checked by our editors. From €20.

Hosted by the estate7 available

Tasting Palazzone at Azienda Agricola Palazzone Tasting

Tasting Palazzone

30 min From €20 per person English · Italiano

An essential introduction to our world: three wines selected to showcase the winery's production philosophy and the characteristics of our vineyards. A perfect opportunity for those who wish to savor the authentic identity of Palazzone, in an atmosphere of tranquility and beauty. Tasting of 3 wines (2 whites and 1 red): Terre Vineate Orvieto Classico Superiore D.O.C., Viogner Umbria I.G.T., Sangiovese Umbria I.G.T.

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Pilgrim Tour at Azienda Agricola Palazzone Tour

Pilgrim Tour

1h 30 From €35 per person English · Italiano

Visit of the vineyards and the cellar; story of the place, the people and the work. In the historic residence, tasting of 4 "unique in their differences" wines combined with samples of typical local products.

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Musco: The Wine of the Etruscan Cave at Azienda Agricola Palazzone Tasting & Tour

Musco: The Wine of the Etruscan Cave

2h From €50 per person

Visit to the Grotta del Musco, excavated in Etruscan times and still used today after centuries to produce wine with ancient methods and tools. In the historic residence tasting of 4 of ours "Orvieto Classico" comparing past and present, combined with tastings of typical local products.

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Cardinal's Tour - With lunch at Azienda Agricola Palazzone Tour

Cardinal's Tour - With lunch

3h From €60 per person English · Italiano

A walk through the historic vineyards leads to the winery and Locanda Palazzone, allowing you to discover, step by step, the agricultural soul of the estate and the architectural history of the historic residence. Before lunch, we will take an introductory wine tour of the winery's production philosophy, through 4 wines that interpret the territory with style and personality. We will continue during lunch with a tasting of wines from the best plots of our vineyards, an expression of complexity and finesse, as well as a surprising aging potential. 4 Wines before lunch (3 whites, 1 red): Terre Vineate Orvieto Classico Superiore DOC, Grechetto Umbria I.G.T., Pinot Grigio Ramato Umbria I.G.T., Sangiovese Umbria I.G.T. 4 Wines paired with lunch (1 sparkling MC, 1 white, 1 red, 1 dessert): Metodo Classico, Campo del Guardiano Orvieto Classico Superiore DOC, Armaleo Umbria Rosso I.G.T., Vendemmia Tardiva Orvieto Classico Superiore DOC

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The Sweet Noble Rot at Azienda Agricola Palazzone Tasting

The Sweet Noble Rot

45 min From €25 per person English · Italiano

The magic of Noble Rot, the vocation of a wonderful territory. When morning mists caress the clusters and the autumn sun slowly dries them, Noble Rot is born: a natural phenomenon that transforms grapes into liquid gold; a process made of waiting and hope, which gives us a unique wine and reminds us of the fortune of living in a land as suited to viticulture as Orvieto. This guided tasting, which compares two extraordinary wines, Noble Rot and Late Harvest, reveals the most intimate and poetic side of Palazzone. Paired with a gastronomic selection designed to enhance the sweet complexity of these unique wines.

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Musco: The Etuscan Cave Wine with Lunch at Palazzone at Azienda Agricola Palazzone Food Pairing

Musco: The Etuscan Cave Wine with Lunch at Palazzone

2h From €80 per person English · Italiano

A rare and authentic experience, dedicated to those who love wine as a story of culture and civilization.

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Stay at Locanda Palazzone at Azienda Agricola Palazzone Accommodation

Stay at Locanda Palazzone

Five suites and two apartments in the estate's 13th-century palace, built as a hostel for pilgrims. Each suite has a sitting area and a view over the vineyards, and a bottle of Palazzone wine waits in the room. Guests can use the pool, garden and terrace, and the restaurant opens by reservation.

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on locandapalazzone.it

Lunch with the winemaker at Azienda Agricola Palazzone Food Pairing

Lunch with the winemaker

About 3 hours

Giovanni Dubini, owner and winemaker, tells the story of Palazzone over a four-course lunch on the terrace of the historic house. He picks the wines and talks you through each one, with a view over the vineyards to Orvieto. For two guests or more; ask the estate to book.

Ask the estate

Not bookable online yet

Tours that visit Azienda Agricola PalazzoneRun by a tour operator. The estate is one stop of several. Booking completes on the platform that runs the tour.

Unique EnoBike experience with tasting in 2 excellent wineries

5 hours From €170 per person
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Booking viaViator

Private Orvieto Daytrip from Rome with Winery Visit

8 hours From €590 per person
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Booking viaViator

Private Orvieto Wine Tour from Rome Iconic Tasting and Lunch

9 hours From €505 per person
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Booking viaViator

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Wines from Azienda Agricola Palazzone

Wines Coming Soon

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

Plan your visit

palazzone.com/
Località Rocca Ripesena, 68, 05018 Orvieto, Terni (Umbria)
+39 0763344921

Common questions

  • Yes, Palazzone sells five tastings and tours, and you can book them on the estate's website or from this page. The shortest is a 30-minute tasting of three wines. The Pilgrim's Tour adds a walk through the vineyards and the cellar, and the Cardinal's Tour ends with lunch. The Sweet Noble Rot tasting compares the estate's two sweet wines, and the Musco visit takes you to the Etruscan cave.
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