Azienda Agraria Scacciadiavoli di Pambuffetti

About Winery and Wines

Founded in 1884, the Scacciadiavoli (from scacciare – to banish, and diavoli – devils) winery takes its name from an exorcist that lived in a town at the borders of the property who used the wine for his rituals. It was conceived by Prince Ugo Boncompagni Ludovisi as a wine “industry”: an imposing oenological complex, highly advanced for its age. In 1954 Amilcare Pambuffetti, at 71, bought the Scacciadiavoli holding, where at the age of 14 he had worked as a farm hand. Upon his death in 1977 his sons Alfio, Settimio and Mario continued the activities that had begun with their father. In the year 2000 the Pambuffetti brothers (Francesco, Carlo, and Amilcare), the children of Settimio, in the name of an ancient tradition, decided to take the winery into their own hands – the oldest of its kind in the area. Although the winery never stopped its production, the year 2000 saw the beginning of extensive renovations undertaken without modifying the original building- preserving all the historical architectural structures while introducing new technologies and modern machinery. The winery lies on a hill, with a vertical building on four levels of which one is below ground, and all the production takes place by gravity-flow. A few years ago the fourth generation of the family joined the activities (Amilcare, Iacopo, Liù, Romeo and Fiammetta). As it stands, the dimensions of the property are of 130 Ha of which 35 Ha are dedicated to grapevines. Current annual production is of around 250,000 bottles. The vines, at an average altitude of 400m above sea level, are situated on sandy-clay soil of medium depth, highly suited for quality viticulture specialised in late vine varieties such as Sagrantino. The vines occupy various hillsides in the municipalities of Montefalco, Gualdo Cattaneo and Giano dell’Umbria.

The wines produced are: Montefalco Sagrantino secco e passito (15 hectares), Montefalco Rosso (13 hectares), Montefalco Bianco ( 1 hectare), Umbria Grechetto (3 hectares), Chardonnay (1 ha). In 2015 another 3 hectares of white grapes were planted. In recent years the company unveiled the Spumante Brut Metodo Classico Bianco and Rosè from Sagrantino grapes. The building where the wines are produced lies on a hill, with a vertical structure on four levels, of which one is below ground. The grape intake occurs on the top floor (at the level of the vines); the grapes are then moved to the floor below (second) by gravity-flow, where fermentation occurs. Stainless steel and wood containers for vinification are located on the second floor. On the ground floor there are tonneaux and large wooden barrels for the ageing of the Montefalco Rosso, and on the underground level there are oak barrels for the ageing of the Montefalco Sagrantino Secco and Passito wines. The production is typical of the area: Montefalco Sagrantino, Montefalco Rosso, Umbria Grechetto, Montefalco Bianco, Spumante Brut and Spumante Rosato from Sagrantino grapes.