Can you visit Tenuta Vitalonga for a wine tasting?

Yes, all year round, as long as you book ahead. The estate lists five tastings, priced from EUR 40 to EUR 150 per person on its website. The shortest takes about 30 minutes: three wines with local cured meats and cheese. The others add a guided walk, through the vineyard and cellar or out to the Etruscan caves, with four or five dishes to match the wines. Book through the estate's website, by email at prenotazioni@vitalonga.it or by phone on +39 0763 836722. Winedering also sells two of the tastings online.

Where is Tenuta Vitalonga?

It is at Strada Montiano 8, in the countryside of Ficulle, in the province of Terni in south-west Umbria. Orvieto lies to the south, and the border with Tuscany is close by. From the estate the view takes in Orvieto, the Cimini hills, Cetona and Monte Amiata.

Can you stay overnight at Tenuta Vitalonga?

Yes. Casale Vigneria, the estate's old farmhouse on its highest hill, sleeps up to 12 guests. The house has five bedrooms and four bathrooms, and a small outbuilding with its own bathroom brings the total to six bedrooms. There is a living room, a dining room, a kitchen with a fireplace and a garden with a barbecue. The pool looks over the vines to the rock of Orvieto. You can book the house online through the estate's own booking page.

Does Tenuta Vitalonga have a restaurant?

Yes. The estate runs its own osteria, where several of the tastings are served with seasonal dishes. The kitchen uses vegetables and herbs from the estate's garden, and summer truffles from its woods when they are in season. Meals are by reservation, so book ahead.

Is Tenuta Vitalonga organic?

Yes. The estate began converting its vineyards to organic farming in 2014 and has been certified organic since the 2018 harvest. Its extra virgin olive oil is certified organic by CCPB. The rosé was the first organic wine the estate made.

What wines does Tenuta Vitalonga make?

Mostly reds, from Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Merlot and the two Cabernets. Three reds lead the range. Phiculle blends Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese, and Terra di Confine is a soft, round red made partly from dried grapes. Maravalle Franciosini 1897 is a selection from the best rows. Montenibbio pairs Merlot with Sangiovese, and Elcione blends Merlot, Cabernet and Sangiovese. There is also an organic Rosso Orvietano DOC, a Chardonnay and a rosé of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Tenuta Vitalonga

Tenuta Vitalonga is an organic wine estate on the hills of Ficulle, north of Orvieto in south-west Umbria, close to the border with Tuscany. The Maravalle family has owned it since the early 1950s. Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Merlot and Cabernet grow on a ridge ringed by oak woods. Three reds lead the range: Phiculle, Terra di Confine and Maravalle Franciosini 1897. Visitors can tour the vineyards and Etruscan caves, eat at the estate's osteria and stay in its old farmhouse.

Umbria
Tastings
Tours
Accommodation
Booking required

Book a visit 3 experiences · from €100

Vineyards at Tenuta Vitalonga running up to stone buildings among the trees, with the valley below

About Tenuta Vitalonga

The Maravalle family bought Vitalonga in the early 1950s. It was a mixed farm then, and its vines grew up trees between fields of crops. In the early 1970s those vines gave way to high-yield rows. The grapes went in bulk to a co-operative winery. By the late 1970s the family was making a little wine of its own again, for relatives and friends. It came from a small vineyard at the edge of the fields. Nobody had ever sprayed it, because it was too awkward to reach. Its grapes stayed healthy, so the family began using fewer synthetic fertilisers, weedkillers and pesticides. The vineyards were replanted between 2001 and 2003. The estate has been certified organic since the 2018 harvest. The brothers Luigi and Francesco Maravalle lead the team.

The vines sit on a ridge that falls south from 450 to 350 metres. On both sides, cliffs drop 80 to 100 metres, and oak woods fill the view. The vineyards cover about 20 hectares, roughly 28 football pitches. In the plots called Elcione, Cipresso and Maria, sand outweighs clay. The soil there is rich in fossil shells, a sign that this hill was once under the sea. Summers are hot and dry. A light breeze along the rows keeps mould away, which makes organic farming easier. One small plot of Sangiovese is still trained up living trees, the old Etruscan way. In the woods, summer truffles are found from late May to late August.

Most of the range is red. Fabio Maravalle, a geologist and farmer, made a long study of the grapes in the highest vineyards. He worked with his friend, the winemaker Riccardo Cotarella. The result was Phiculle, first made in 2009 from Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese grown at 400 to 450 metres. Terra di Confine means borderland, a nod to the place of Ficulle on the border between Umbria and Tuscany. It also marks a change of ground, from the volcanic soil around Orvieto to the chalky clay of Ficulle. The name is what the family's forebears called the wine they made in an Etruscan cave that became a cellar in the 1800s. Since the 2013 vintage a small share of its grapes has been dried before winemaking, for a softer, rounder red. Maravalle Franciosini 1897 is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Sangiovese from the best rows. It spends a year in new French oak.

Phiculle and Terra di Confine carry the regional IGT label for Umbria, like the estate's Chardonnay and its rosé. There is also an organic Rosso Orvietano, sold as a DOC, and the 2021 vintage is 60% Sangiovese and 40% Cabernet. Most wines ferment in steel; some selections can be made in wooden vats or terracotta jars. The estate sees the clay jars as a link between the two oldest trades of Ficulle, wine and terracotta.

Visits run all year and are booked ahead. All five tastings come with food, from a board of cured meats and cheese to truffle dishes and recipes inspired by the Etruscans. Meals are served at the estate's osteria, which cooks with vegetables and herbs from its own garden. One tasting includes a walk to the Etruscan caves beneath the winery and the vines trained up trees. The walk also takes in an orchard of rare native fruit trees, recovered by the arboreal archaeologist Isabella Dalla Ragione. Guests can stay at Casale Vigneria, the old farmhouse on the highest hill. Its pool looks across the vineyards to the rock of Orvieto.

Editorial · ItalianWines.co.uk

Plate I · UMBRIA

Tenuta Vitalonga on the Umbria wine atlas

Anchored in Orvieto, the editorial heart of Umbria.

Strada Montiano 8, Località Montiano, 05016 Ficulle, Terni (Umbria)

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Visit & Experiences

3 bookable experiences at Tenuta Vitalonga

2 tastings and 1 stay, checked by our editors. From €100.

At a glance, editorially verified

Tastings 2 bookable

Tours Not bookable here

Accommodation 1 bookable

Booking Required in advance

Tasting

Taste of Vitalonga: Wine Tasting & Lunch at Tenuta Vitalonga

3h From €100 per person English · Italiano

Visit the vineyard and winery, taste wine from a barrique, and end with a 5-course tasting lunch paired with 5 great wines

Book this tasting

via Winedering

Food Pairing

Wine and truffle lunch experience at Tenuta Vitalonga

2h 30 From €150 per person English · Italiano

Meet the king of the forest with a vineyard and cellar tour followed by a pairing of estate wines and gourmet truffle dishes.

Book this pairing

via Winedering

Accommodation

Casale Vigneria: the estate farmhouse for up to 12 guests

The old farmhouse on the estate's highest hill, in a grove of oaks and holm oaks among the vines. Five bedrooms in the house and one more in a small outbuilding sleep up to 12. There is a kitchen with a fireplace, a garden with a barbecue and a pool that looks across the vineyards to the rock of Orvieto.

See rooms and rates

on tenuta-vitalonga.amenitiz.io

Tasting & Tour

Desco Etrusco: the Etruscan caves walk with four wines and four dishes

About 3 hours €150 per person

A guided walk through the old vineyard where vines climb living trees. It goes on to the Etruscan caves, the vegetable garden and an orchard of rare native fruit trees. Afterwards four estate wines are served with four dishes inspired by Etruscan cooking: Vitalonga Chardonnay, the organic Rosso Orvietano DOC, Terra di Confine and Phiculle.

Ask the estate

Not bookable online yet

Tasting

Benvenuti all'Elcione: three wines with local cheese and cured meats

About 30 minutes €40 per person

The estate's shortest tasting. Three of its wines, Vitalonga Chardonnay, Terra di Confine and Phiculle, are poured with a selection of local cured meats and cheeses.

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Not bookable online yet

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Wines from Tenuta Vitalonga

Wines Coming Soon

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

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vitalonga.it/

Strada Montiano 8, Località Montiano, 05016 Ficulle, Terni (Umbria)

+39 0763836722

[email protected]

Common questions

Yes, all year round, as long as you book ahead. The estate lists five tastings, priced from EUR 40 to EUR 150 per person on its website. The shortest takes about 30 minutes: three wines with local cured meats and cheese. The others add a guided walk, through the vineyard and cellar or out to the Etruscan caves, with four or five dishes to match the wines. Book through the estate's website, by email at [email protected] or by phone on +39 0763 836722. Winedering also sells two of the tastings online.
It is at Strada Montiano 8, in the countryside of Ficulle, in the province of Terni in south-west Umbria. Orvieto lies to the south, and the border with Tuscany is close by. From the estate the view takes in Orvieto, the Cimini hills, Cetona and Monte Amiata.
Yes. Casale Vigneria, the estate's old farmhouse on its highest hill, sleeps up to 12 guests. The house has five bedrooms and four bathrooms, and a small outbuilding with its own bathroom brings the total to six bedrooms. There is a living room, a dining room, a kitchen with a fireplace and a garden with a barbecue. The pool looks over the vines to the rock of Orvieto. You can book the house online through the estate's own booking page.
Yes. The estate runs its own osteria, where several of the tastings are served with seasonal dishes. The kitchen uses vegetables and herbs from the estate's garden, and summer truffles from its woods when they are in season. Meals are by reservation, so book ahead.
Yes. The estate began converting its vineyards to organic farming in 2014 and has been certified organic since the 2018 harvest. Its extra virgin olive oil is certified organic by CCPB. The rosé was the first organic wine the estate made.
Mostly reds, from Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Merlot and the two Cabernets. Three reds lead the range. Phiculle blends Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese, and Terra di Confine is a soft, round red made partly from dried grapes. Maravalle Franciosini 1897 is a selection from the best rows. Montenibbio pairs Merlot with Sangiovese, and Elcione blends Merlot, Cabernet and Sangiovese. There is also an organic Rosso Orvietano DOC, a Chardonnay and a rosé of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Plan a visit

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Tenuta Vitalonga

About Tenuta Vitalonga

Tenuta Vitalonga on the Umbria wine atlas

Denominations Produced

Grapes Used

Denominations Produced

Grapes Used

3 bookable experiences at Tenuta Vitalonga

Taste of Vitalonga: Wine Tasting & Lunch at Tenuta Vitalonga

Wine and truffle lunch experience at Tenuta Vitalonga

Casale Vigneria: the estate farmhouse for up to 12 guests

Desco Etrusco: the Etruscan caves walk with four wines and four dishes

Benvenuti all'Elcione: three wines with local cheese and cured meats

Wines Coming Soon

Plan your visit

Common questions

Ask us to arrange your visit to Tenuta Vitalonga

Lungarotti

Arnaldo Caprai

Castello della Sala

Barberani

Azienda Agricola Decugnano dei Barbi

Roccafiore