Adjust the font-size to save space and fit your needs.
Toggle the view of the overview and additional details.
Remove specific press pieces by highlighting and deleting the desired text and/or images.
Customize & Print
Save your page as a PDF using your built-in browser’s “Print” option. Just click the “Preview & Print” button and change the “Destination” from your local printer to any of your installed PDF applications. Please note: these steps vary slightly by browser.
Plani Arche
Grechetto
Italy, Umbria, Umbria IGT
White
Winery Overview
Plani Arche are certified organic wines from a small artisan winery in Umbria by Roberto Di Filippo and his wife Elena Pompeii. Roberto and Elena run their winery business in Colli Martani and grow grapes there and in Montefalco, two of the central DOCs of Umbria, the “green heart of Italy.”
Their wines are of a strong and sometimes difficult nature, such as Sagrantino, or complex and earthy like Grechetto. From the very beginning, the vines have been cultivated organically. “...we have been cultivating the vines for two generations. We sell the wines we produce and live from those alone, devoting ourselves to this and no other work. We are true vintners.”
Roberto use workhorses to plough the fields and avoid the soil compression that results from 2+ ton tractors, but the sacrifice, for Roberto, has been more than in speed of farming…his leg has been broken not once but TWICE by a horse kick. It tells you how devoted he is to his horses and how close to the action he is.
To understand the wines, imagine attending one of Roberto’s famous pig roasts and washing down some pulled pork with the full- bodied, slightly nutty and tannic Grechetto or the supple and spicy Montefalco Rosso. To understand Roberto, you must simply see the love, affection, and pride he and his family share. His father Italo purchased the land for their vineyards in 1970, planted vines in 1971 and his first vintage was in 1974.
The name of the winery, “Plani Arche,” is the Latin name of a local shrine (“Pian d’Arca”) which is considered the spot where St Francis of Assisi gave his famous “Sermon to the Birds.” That outreach beyond humans aligns perfectly with Roberto’s holistic approach to farming and to life.
These are wines of the Umbrian land and Elena and Roberto's souls. Their purity, complexity and unique character are an inspiration.
Cantina Plani Arche is located across the valley from the ancient city of Assisi. It is comprised of 6 hectares of vineyards across 6 parcels, at average elevations of 250 meters, oriented towards the southeast. The predominant soil is calcareous clay.
Terroir
Grapes come from a 0.5ha parcel, oriented southeast, at 250 meters elevation. Soil is comprised of calcareous clay. Average age of the vines is 20 years old. Grass, legumes (to add nutrients) or grains (to add competition) are planted between rows vineyard rows. Geese are bred to control grass, fertilize soil and scare away foxes. Plani Arche subscribes to the Masanobu Fukuoka principles of holisitic farming.
Viticulture
Vines are trained using Guyot cane pruning. Grapes are hand harvested with a yield of 7,000-8,000 kg/ha (compared to the max of 10,000 kg/ha permitted by the appellation). Soil is turned through the use of a horse-drawn plough. Grapes are harvested at two separate times: an earlier time to capture suitable acidity and a second, later time to capture more ripened phenolics and flavors.
Vinification
100% Grechetto. Grapes are gently pressed whole-cluster. Fermentation occurs through a combination of ambient yeast and organic yeast, lasting approximately 20 days at controlled temperatures of approximately 18 degrees Celsius, followed by malolactic fermentation. Wine rests on the lees for 6 months. Wine is filtered and fined using vegetarian proteins. 60 mg/L of sulphur is added.
Aging
Wine is aged for 6 months in 1000 liter stainless steel tanks and another 2 months in bottle before release.
Tasting Notes
Spicy with a hint of peach and saline. Robust body, gentle tannic structure and persistent finish.
