Umbria, in central Italy, is a region of lush rolling hills, hilltop villages and iconic, historic towns (exemplified by Orvieto and Assisi). Its annual wine production of around one million hL (26 million gallons) is less than one third that of neighboring Tuscany, and makes it the country's fourth-smallest wine-producing region by volume.
This progression can be attributed in part to the employment of consulting oenologists, a practice common in the quality wine areas of Tuscany, Piedmont and Friuli during the 1980s and 1990s. This investment has markedly improved wine based on Sangiovese (the region's principal red variety), but many of the high-quality new wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir for the reds, or Chardonnay for the whites.
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