By the time this article has posted, I will be a real Italian citizen! YAY! This post clearly had to be about Italy in light of this major life accomplishment! As such, this post reviews our visit to the SAIO winery just outside of Assisi in Umbria, Italy, where we spent the first day of my 40th year in December. In sum, the wine could be better, but this is a fun stop near touristy Assisi.

SAIO winery is a small winery located only 800 meters from Assisi’s famous St. Francis church. That being said, St. Francis church is located on a hilltop and SAIO is located on the ground level, so its not exactly walking distance or that close in reality , but does offer fabulous views of Assisi. SAIO brands itself as the “winery of Assisi” and prides itself on its wines and olive oil. SAIO is run by the Mencarelli family and makes a small selection of reds and whites.

We visited for a wine tasting one morning in late December before spending an afternoon in Assisi. SAIO’s website offers several options for a wine tasting – we opted for the winter Light Lunch with Guided Wine Tasting at a cost of 24 euro per person. The entire lunch last 1.5 hours and was held inside SAIO’s small gift shop and tasting room. However, when its nicer, the tasting is held outdoors in the vineyards overlooking Assisi.

Throughout our light lunch, we tasted five SAIO wines.  The first was Colderba, a light wine wine. The second was a dry white blend of Chardonnay and Viognier called Colle Asio. The third wine was a red (finally) made with local grapes, but unfortunately no Sagrantino (our favorite and also from Umbria)!  This one was named Campo delle Grazie.  The fourth wine, called Eremo, was a blend of Cabernet Franc and Sangiovese. The final wine was Saio’s most exclusive wine, a red made of merlot and cabernet named Legenda Maior. The wines were fine, but certainly not the best we have had in Umbria. The Eremo or the Campo delle Grazie were probably our favorite. Betty preferred the Colle Asio.

During our tasting, we were served our light lunch, which was very good. It began with bruschetta bread served with SAIO’s own extra virgin olive oil. This was really great! This was also served with Pecorino cheese, a phenomenal SAIO grape jam and Caciotta cheese made with black truffle.

Our second course consisted of a handmade Torta al Testo (lightly salted Umbrian flatbread) and a delicious selection of local cured meats. For dessert, we were served the local dessert biscotti. Everything was good and this was plenty of food for us, but next time I would probably do the regular lunch that came with a bit more food.

After lunch, we crossed the street from the main tasting room and walked through the vineyards, eventually finding the beautiful views of Assisi, which were truly stunning. During the warmer months, I understand that the tastings and food are done here. We even found a baby goat!

In the end, I would recommend a stop at SAIO for anyone liking wine and visiting Assisi for the day. It’s a good stop either before of after touring Assisi. I would point out, however, that its not really feasible to walk between the two, and I am not aware of any public transportation. Local taxis can be called but they cost approximately 30 euro one way from the winery to SAIO. This is what we did, and the winery called the taxi for us easily. Given the cost of taxis, this stop is easier with a rental car. Pro tip, do not miss SAIO’s grape jam in the gift shop. It is so tasty!!

STEAL OUR TRIP

SAIO Assisi: Via Campiglione, 94/A, 06081 Assisi PG, Italy.  Reservations recommended for a tasting. Walk in for purchase only.