Wines from Orvieto - The bond between Orvieto and its wine can be defined as age old. It would appear that in ancient times the town was known as “Oinarea”-“the city where wine flows” quoted from the pseudo-Aristotle in a passage where Etruscan customs regarding merrymaking and drinking was described or rather criticized.

The Etruscans used to place their wine in the caves, as is still the habit today, bringing it nearer to the street level as it matured. In the Middle Ages the first written documents on vinification appear.
Luca Signorelli, the artist who created the frescos on the walls of the New Chapel, added a clause to his contract stating that he “be given as much of the local wine as he desired”

The fame of the local wine has lasted throughout the centuries. In 1690 Pasquino (famous Roman character who attacked the Pope’s power with his satire and wit) celebrated the construction of the “Fountain of Gianicolo” ordered by Pope Alexander VII in this way:

“The miracle is done, oh holy Father
with the water you love so much
but the marvel would be that much more pleasant
if that water you changed into Orvieto wine”

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