Ruffo Della Scaletta

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About Winery and Wines

Ruffo della Scaletta is a family and a large agricultural project, in Umbria, on land extending over 650 hectares. Attention to detail, the best possible result in everything we do, and the preservation of nature and biodiversity are the main objectives. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, in a history that is renewed.

As often happens, the history of the Ruffo family in Umbria is the result of curious choices that are difficult to explain. At the beginning of the 19th century, Francesco Ruffo della Scaletta, son of Prince Vincenzo, received his inheritance in cash on his death, while the real estate went to his eldest brother, according to the law of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. For reasons still unknown, Francesco decided to invest the inheritance in a vast estate in the Narnese district, in the southern part of Umbria.

At the end of the 19th century, Francesco's daughter-in-law, Maria Pia Gerini, together with her husband Alfonso, bought the Conestabile della Staffa palace in the centre of Narni, the village below the Albornoz Fortress, formerly the barracks of the Papal Army, as well as other estates in the hills towards Otricoli and Lazio. The estate, at this point, comprised about sixty farms, granted to sharecroppers, and numerous urban properties.

After the war, Ruffo della Scaletta was declared a “model farm”. And it was! Suffice it to say that one of the first sprinkler irrigation systems was installed and tobacco cultivation was started. 

The 1980s and 1990s were those of the great renewal of the vineyards, according to the most modern criteria of agrarian technique. This was an important step for the quality of the wines and the start of a flourishing direct sale.

After Rufo's death, his brother Carlo, while waiting for his son Rufo to gain the necessary experience, continued the company policy that had been so successful.

The most recent years are those of Rufo Ruffo (grandson of the first Rufo and son of his brother Carlo) joining the company. After graduating in Agricultural Science and Technology, he realised that only a radical increase in quality would allow the company to prosper. The stables were modernised to start a major breeding of Chianina IGP cattle, as well as continuing to invest in improving the vineyards and olive groves.

Today the company, led by the sixth generation of the family, has entered its third century of life with renewed confidence in the future. The Ruffo family continues to invest resources and energy, increasingly reinforcing the link with the territory and with the ambition to make wines that are increasingly original and distinctive. All this within a multifaceted agricultural reality that maintains its various souls and, today as yesterday, aims at the excellence of each and the harmony of the whole.

CILIEGIOLO DI NARNI IGT
A traditional variety and true emblem of Narni, Ciliegiolo perfectly embodies the most intimate character of its terroir. The careful cultivation of the vines, on the area's classic soils of marine origin, the harvesting of the grapes at the right ripeness, spontaneous fermentation and maceration on the skins that is never forced, give a wine that is as fresh and fragrant as it is joyful, juicy and fine.

CILIEGIOLO DI NARNI ROSATO
A typical Narni vine, Ciliegiolo is a decidedly versatile variety, also very suitable for rosé vinification. Soils of marine origin, careful vine training, spontaneous fermentation, and brief contact with the skins give a wine that is as delicate as it is tasty, easy to drink, crisp and harmonious.

NAR
An intimately Italian grape variety, now a classic and much cultivated in Umbria, Vermentino is the exclusive protagonist of this white wine. Nar is the Latin name for the river Nera, symbolising the indissoluble bond with the territory through one of its symbols. Vinified with cold maceration, only in steel, it matures for a long time on the fine lees, finishing a lively wine full of character, dynamic and captivating.

BOCCAPIEGA
This white wine is made from Grechetto grapes from the Boccapiega parcel, characterised by soils of marine origin containing numerous fossils and shells. A true “Cru” that enhances the character of the vine and sculpts its unmistakable traits. It has refined mineral fragrances capable of wedging themselves into a persuasive, deep and graceful sip.

PODERE MONTINI
A red wine made with the grape that is the symbol of the area: the Ciliegiolo, from the parcel called Podere Montini, surrounded by trees that form a small wood. A true “Cru” that enhances the character of the vine and sculpts its unmistakable traits. It has an elegant, complex and seductive aromatic profile, at ease in a rhythmic mouthfeel of scintillating harmony and flavour.