Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo are the grapes that bestow their nobility on Gran Coronas, a wine of a deep red hue, with ochre and brick-red touches from its ageing.

After assessing the appearance of the wine it is necessary to evaluate the aroma or bouquet of the wine. By swirling the wine in the glass and breathing the aroma in deeply through your nose (which contains an olfactory bulb) you can get some initial impressions. Some wines have a very explicit, rich and complex bouquet whilst others are more subtle and difficult to detect and describe.

With Christmas just around the corner, there is a last minute rush and myriad of things to organise – the dreaded shopping expeditions, transforming and beautifying the home with Christmas decorations , planning and organizing the Christmas menu, baking shortbread, mince pies and panforte, making sure the children have plenty of activities to stop them “wreaking havoc in the house”, and sending Christmas cards (or fancy e-cards because “snail mail” simply takes too long), or perhaps greetings on FB to which we are all so addicted!

La Strada del Sagrantino (The Sagrantino Road) is the advised route for discovering the Sagrantino wine of Umbria.

Dubbed by some as the “green heart of Italy”, this area of Umbria is known for its lush vegetation and heritage-rich Medieval hamlets. Sagrantino is the best known DOC denomination wine from here, and the wine trail includes an assortment of publicly-managed consortiums and private wineries guaranteed to offer the wine tourist a unique experience.

It is possible to tour the zone of Montefalco and Bevagna tasting the Sagrantino and Rosso di Montefalco wines on the way, as well as purchasing fine olive oil directly from the producers.