Cantine Monrubio

Cantine Monrubio is a wine cooperative in Monterubiaglio, a hill village a few kilometres north-west of Orvieto in Umbria. Local growers set it up in 1957, and more than 400 members now bring their grapes to its cellar. Riccardo Cotarella, who was born in the village, has run the winemaking since 1981. The cooperative bottles Orvieto Classico, the local white made mainly from Grechetto and Trebbiano, under its own name. Visitors can buy its wines at a small shop by the cellar, open Monday to Saturday.

Aerial view of the Cantine Monrubio cellar, with rows of steel tanks and tractors pulling grape trailers

About Cantine Monrubio

In 1957 a group of growers in Monterubiaglio began meeting to start a cooperative. Back then every family in the village made wine, in a small cellar under the house. For many it was the main source of income. The cooperative was founded with 83 members, but it took almost ten years of meetings and planning to get going. Its cellar made its first wine in 1966: about 500,000 litres. The first members came from Monterubiaglio, Castel Viscardo, Allerona and some nearby parts of Orvieto. The cellar still stands where it was built.

The cooperative was first called Vi.C.Or., short for Vitivinicola Colli Orvietani. Its turning point came in 1981, when Riccardo Cotarella took charge of the winemaking. Cotarella was born in Monterubiaglio in 1948, and he now leads Assoenologi, the Italian winemakers' association. The name Monrubio arrived in the mid-1980s, when the cooperative began to sell wine in bottle. Over the years it took in three other local cooperatives, at Sugano and at Allerona Scalo, and the nearby Sasso dei Lupi cooperative. The last of those mergers changed the name from Cantina Monrubio to Cantine Monrubio. A regional scheme for merging cooperatives required it. Vincenzo Cecci has been the president since 2010.

Today more than 400 members bring their grapes here, from small family growers to large farms. Between them they farm about 1,300 hectares of vines, roughly 1,800 football pitches, in Umbria and the north of Lazio. The grapes come from all over the Orvieto zone, a DOC that reaches into Lazio. The cellar takes in more than 10,000 tonnes of grapes a year and can hold about 12.7 million litres of wine. The cooperative can pay members a first instalment, 40 to 60 per cent of the total, on the Monday after the harvest ends. Its main trade is still wine sold in bulk to other wineries. The Antinori group and the Cotarella family are among its main customers.

Alongside the bulk trade, Monrubio bottles a range under its own name. Dieci Gradi means ten degrees, and this Orvieto Classico has about 10 per cent alcohol. In 2024 the Orvieto rules were changed, at first for a trial period, to allow wine that low in alcohol. Monrubio backed the idea from the start, and the change was made permanent in 2025. Soana and Coriglia are Superiore whites. Soana is a blend of Grechetto, Trebbiano, known locally as Procanico, and Vermentino. Coriglia is half Grechetto, fermented and aged in oak barriques, and half Trebbiano, kept in steel. Papabile is a fuller white made to keep, and Falstaff scored its 2020 vintage 90 points. Mons Rubens, a Cabernet, Merlot and Sangiovese red, is sold as Umbria IGP, and there are two sparkling wines. The cellar also makes Rosso Orvietano, the red DOC of the Orvieto area.

The cellar is at Le Prese, in Monterubiaglio, a village of about 500 people where the castle of the Monaldeschi family still stands. Orvieto, on its cliff of tufa, is a short drive to the south-east. The cellar lies on the Strada dei Vini Etrusco Romana, the wine road of the province of Terni. Its shop is open Monday to Saturday and sells every wine in the Monrubio range. The cooperative does not advertise tastings or tours, so call ahead if you hope to see more than the shop.

Editorial · ItalianWines.co.uk

Plate I · UMBRIA

Cantine Monrubio on the Umbria wine atlas

Anchored in Orvieto, the editorial heart of Umbria.

Largo Monrubio 1, Monterubiaglio, 05014 Castel Viscardo (TR)
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Experiences at Cantine Monrubio

Nothing here can be booked online yet. The experiences below are documented by our editors. The estate's contact details are in Practical info.

Wine shop at the cellar at Cantine Monrubio Experience

Wine shop at the cellar

Every Monrubio wine is on sale here, Monday to Saturday. Opening hours are not published, so call before you travel.

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monrubio.it/it/
Largo Monrubio 1, Monterubiaglio, 05014 Castel Viscardo (TR)
+39 0763626064
[email protected]

Common questions

  • Yes. A small shop at the cellar in Monterubiaglio is open Monday to Saturday and sells every Monrubio wine. The cooperative does not advertise tastings or cellar tours. Its opening hours are not published, so call +39 0763 626064 or email [email protected] before you travel.
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