Vignanello is a relatively small DOC, found in the north-west of the Lazio wine region in central western Italy. It produces red, white and rose wines made in and around the Vignanello commune. Vignanello is to be found in the low Cimini hills, just east of Lago Vico, one of several volcanic lakes found in this part of Lazio. The title was created in November 1992 while Italy was comprehensively overhauling its DOC system, and was reviewed just one year later with a few minor tweaks.
As is standard for Lazio's white wines, Vignanello Bianco is based on the nation's most widely planted white grapes: Trebbiano (Giallo and Toscano in this case) and white Malvasia (di Candia and di Chianti). This produces a crisp, dry white with relatively neutral flavors but a very refreshing nature.
The DOC's rosso (red) and rosato (rosé) wines strike a good compromise between Italy's favorite red grape and a less well-known, more local variety. The first of these is the ubiquitous Sangiovese (which translates as the blood of Jove), used the length of Italy from the heights of the alpine Aosta Valley to the coastal plains below Mount Etna in Sicily. The second is Ciliegiolo, a grape undergoing a revival and no longer seen as a minor component in the wines of various older DOCs; Ciliegiolo is now used more widely as a blending partner for Sangiovese, as well as in Chianti and wines such as Vignanello. DNA profiling has revealed that Sangiovese and Ciliegiolo are very closely related, although the question of which is the parent is still to be answered. The third arrow in the Vignanello quiver is the varietal Vignanello Greco, made from a minimum 85% Greco Bianco.
Just to the east of Vignanello, over the Cimini hills, is the Colli Amerini DOC of western Umbria, while immediately to the north is the western edge of Orvieto and Lazio's own Est! Est!! Est!!! di Montefiascone. Lazio lacks the vinous reputation held by most other Italian wine regions, but up here near the borders with Umbria and Tuscany there is no lack of famous wine names.
