# San Valentino Umbria Rosso (2020)

- **Producer:** Paolo Bea
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Sagrantino
- **Region:** Umbria, Italy
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 13.5%
- **Average price:** €70
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 16–18 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** cherry, strawberry, plum, cloves, vanilla, tobacco, forest floor, leather

## About this wine

Azienda Agricola Paolo Bea is an iconic artisanal estate in Montefalco, Umbria, with historical archives citing family farming activity as far back as 1500. Today managed by Paolo and his son Giampiero, a co-founder of the ViniVeri natural wine movement, the estate operates as a traditional, diversified farm producing wine, olives, and produce. Sourced from the 1,300-foot elevated San Valentino vineyard planted in clay-rich soils, this wine represents pure non-interventionist viticulture and long-standing local traditions.

## Interesting facts

- Bea family archives in Montefalco record farming the land as far back as the year 1500.
- In 2006, after DOC regulators rejected the wine, Bea printed their rejection note on a new IGT label featuring a giant question mark.
- The wine undergoes an extraordinary extended maceration on skins lasting up to 52 days.

## Food pairing

The high acidity, firm tannic structure, and deep savory character of this natural Umbrian red require dishes with high protein and fat content. Rich meats and earthy umami components like truffles, mushrooms, and aged sheep's milk cheese mirror the wine's depth while softening its youthful tannin structure.

## Wine making process

Farmed organically and biodynamically, the grapes are hand-harvested in late October. Fermentation is entirely spontaneous with indigenous yeast in stainless steel, without temperature control. The wine undergoes extended skin maceration lasting between 30 and 52 days. It ages for two to three years in stainless steel tanks, moves to large Slavonian oak casks, and rests for up to 12 months in bottle before release, bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal added sulfur.