# Monastero Suore Cistercensi Coenobium Ruscum Lazio Bianco (2022)

- **Producer:** Monastero Suore Cistercensi
- **Colour:** orange
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Trebbiano, Malvasia, Verdicchio
- **Region:** Lazio, Italy
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 12.5%
- **Average price:** €20
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 12–14 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** orange, apple, pear, apricot, ginger, bread, dried apricot, hay, smoke

## About this wine

Located in Vitorchiano, approximately 70 kilometers northwest of Rome, the Monastero Suore Cistercensi is home to a community of around 80 Trappist nuns living a self-sustaining agricultural lifestyle. Tending to vineyards planted at 300 meters elevation on volcanic soils, the sisters produce wine following low-intervention traditions guided by Giampiero Bea of Umbria's Paolo Bea estate. The 'Ruscum' cuvée represents a distinct, longer skin-contact expression of their local white grape varieties, reflecting the unique volcanic terroir of Lazio.

## Interesting facts

- Hand-harvested entirely by a community of around 80 Cistercian Trappist nuns in Vitorchiano.
- Guided by natural wine icon Giampiero Bea, son of renowned Umbrian vigneron Paolo Bea.
- Extremely limited annual production of approximately 4,000 bottles made in a simple tool-shed cellar.

## Food pairing

The structural tannins, vibrant acidity, and rich savory profile derived from extended skin contact allow this natural orange wine to match robust, fatty, and mildly spiced dishes that would overpower traditional white wines while resisting red wine pairings.

## Wine making process

The grapes—Trebbiano, Malvasia, and Verdicchio—are co-harvested by hand and spontaneously fermented with native wild yeasts. Unlike lighter whites, 'Ruscum' undergoes an extended maceration on grape skins for 15 days, extracting amber color and rich structure. The wine is fermented and aged on fine lees in stainless steel tanks, fiberglass containers, and glass demijohns. It is bottled without temperature stabilization, fining, or filtration, with minimal sulfur additions.