CHASING THE VINE — Under the Umbrian Sun, Part 5: Adanti

The visitor met Alvaro Palini, his son Daniele and Donatella Adanti during a period of winery renovation. The story revisits Palini’s return from Paris in the late 1970s and his challenge to improve the Adanti brothers’ first wines despite lacking formal training. His instinctive handling of Sagrantino, lower vineyard yields and revised vinification shaped the estate for decades. Daniele was then responsible for the wines, while Donatella ran the winery. The estate released its Sagrantino later than many contemporaries because Daniele considered substantial bottle ageing essential. A mature 1999 bottle illustrated the transformation of the wine’s tannic structure over time.