Umbria has a superb range of elegant restaurants in its main towns, and a wide variety of excellent trattorie dotted throughout its small towns and villages. Also look out for agriturismi – country guest houses that often offer freshly prepared set menus to rival the best restaurants in the region.

The cooking is based on family traditions with fresh and natural flavors.

The repertoire of pasta dishes is similar to that of neighboring regions. There are three local specialties, however: strascinati and umbrici, both long, thick spaghetti, and ciriole ternana. These are fairly thick tagliatelle made with a dough that contains water as well as eggs, and dressed with oil, garlic and a soupcon of chili pepper

In Umbria food, pasta is often flavored with a grating of the local black truffles, found around Norcia. But most local restaurants now serve the black truffles sliced on a plain risotto richly dressed with butter and Parmesan, a dish borrowed from the cuisine of Lombardy for this purpose.

Chocolate has made Perugia, the capital of the region, famous all over the world.

The prized black Norcia truffle is gathered from bases of oak, holm oak and walnut trees in the hills and mountains around Norcia and Spoleto.  Covered by a black skin with small wart-like bumps, the truffle has a purple-black flesh with distinctive white veins and a delicate scent.  Unlike white truffles, which can only be eaten raw, black truffles can be heated (but never boiled) and added to sauces, pasta and pies without losing their delectable flavor.
Cultivated since time immemorial in this part of Italy, legumes deserve almost an entire page to themselves in Umbria food. A good example is the wonderful lenticchie di Castelluccio, lentils of Castelluccio, which are the most sought-after in Italy and in recent years have become famous well beyond the borders of the country.  Small and green, they contain a large amount of protein and mineral salts, and are so tender that they require no soaking. A visitor to Umbria might encounter them among the ingredients of flavorful meat stews that feature anything from rabbit to game to sausage.
Bread is an indispensable component of the Umbrian culinary tradition, and is available in all sorts of sizes and descriptions. We urge visitors to try the pan nociato, a specialty made with pecorino cheese, walnuts and pine nuts, and the local torta al testo con i ciccioli, a typical focaccia bread baked on a stone disk and stuffed with the little pieces of pork obtained when melting the fat to make lard.  It’s one of the tastiest, most intriguing delicacies found in this simple, wholesome corner of the world (see more on www.aaanetserv.com)

Regional / local food.. a small glossary..

Siena Pan forte: fruit and nut nougat
Perugia Serpente: round almond and sugar snake-shaped cake
Pan d'Assisi: raisin loaf
Tiramisu: an alcoholic and coffee flavoured trifle- its name is "Pick me up"
Mascarpone: creamy cheese and egg layered with savoyarde biscuits
Macedonia: fine and boozy fruit salad
Ice Cream, produzione propria = homemade
Panna Cotta: cooked cream with various toppings
Fagotto: warm puff pastry roll with ham and cheese. Available in bars.
Porchetta: whole roast pig, cooked over a wood fire, stuffed with herbs, eaten cold and often served in a crisp bread roll.

Crostini: small slices of dry bread, garnished with minestrone, and topped with egg, mushrooms, anchovies, mayonaise, olives etc.

Pasta: often two types, thick or thin, flat, round or tubular, or fashioned into small envelopes, or croissant style folds. Sauces come in a variety of meats, fishes and vegetables.

Meat: often of several varieties, beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, pidgeon, duck, goose, and guineafowl being a reasonable selection. Traditionally cooked in a very hot bread oven these meats seem to us to be overcooked. They are always hacked into reasonably small pieces prior to cooking because when roast in a very hot oven if the meat was left entire it would be burnt on the outside prior to cooking on the inside. Usually heavily salted and garnished with rosemary etc. Delicious!

Contorni: usually cool rather than hot, pre salted and oiled, all the vegetables one would eat in England plus artichokes, and many different varieties of "greens".

Dolci: Madeira style cake and vin santo, a sherry type wine made from 10% of the vendemia, grape harvest. The bunches of grapes were traditionally hung up in the smokey kitchen for two or three months. They gradually dried, became fortified and at the same time absorbed a smokey taint from the fire. When crushed, the raisins, for this is what the grapes had almost become, yield a drop of strong natural wine, vin santo. Some 10% of the crop when treated in this way delivers 10% of its original juice.

Perugia, the chocolate paradise..

On these websides you can find more informations about eating and drinking in Umbria:

www.youritaly.com

www.theheartofitaly.co.uk/Eating_and_Drinking.htm

Regional vines:

The Classification of Umbrian Wines
The wines of Umbria are classified according to the quality system use throughout Italy, from lowest to highest: Vini da tavola (table wines), IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica, Typical Geographic Indication), DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata, Denomination of Controlled Origin) and DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, Denomination of Controlled and Guaranteed Origin).
In Umbria there are currently two DOCG areas: Torgiano Rosso Riserva and Sagrantino di Montelfaco (or Montefalco Sagrantino), both being red wines and widely considered the most important wines of the region. There are 11 wine production areas currently designated as DOC by the quality system: Assisi, Colli Altotiberini, Colli Amerini, Colli del Trasimeno, Colli Martani, Colli Perugini, Lago di Corbara, Montefalco, Orvieto, Rosso Orvietano and Torgiano. There are many wines produced as IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica, Typical Geographic Indication) and the quality of these often compared to more illustrious wines from higher categories.

Orvieto
Modern Orvieto has become a commercial success as one of italy's best-selling DOC whites with a solid following abroad. Orvieto is mainly renowned for its white wines produced with Procanico - the local name for Trebbiano Toscano - Verdello, Grechetto, Drupeggio - elsewhere known as Canaiolo Bianco - and Malvasia Toscana. White wines are also produced as Classico, Superiore and Classico Superiore. The Orvieto region also produces DOC red wines known as Rosso Orvietano (or Orvietano Rosso), both as a blend and as monovarietals, made of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Ciliegiolo, Canaiolo Nero and Aleatico.

Torgiano and Torgiano Riserva
Among the most prestigious Umbrian wines is the red Torgiano Rosso "riserva", which has been given special status as DOCG (though the regular Torgiano red and white remain DOC). A modern classic based on Sangiovese, the "riserva", also called Rubesco, has been known to age to unique splendour for a decade or two. Torgiano Rosso Riserva, the only DOCG wine of this area, is mainly produced with Sangiovese and Canaiolo Nero grapes. Bianco di Torgiano is produced with Trebbiano Toscano and Grechetto. Rosso di Torgiano is produced with Sangiovese, Canaiolo Nero and a small part of Trebbiano Toscano.

Montefalco and Sagrantino di Montefalco
Montefalco is developing a deserved reputation as the reference wine area in Umbria, and has been given DOC and DOCG designations. Only wines exclusively produced with Sagrantino are recognized as DOCG, which can be produced as dry and sweet (passito). Sagrantino is a robust and powerful grape - with a remarkable richness. Montefalco also produces DOC white and red wines. Montefalco Bianco is produced with Grechetto and Trebbiano Toscano, whereas Montefalco Rosso is mainly produced with Sangiovese and Sagrantino grapes and it is also available as reserve.

Colli del Trasimeno
One of the areas becoming more prominent is Colli del Trasimeno. This area is located west from Perugia and includes all the cities and areas near Lake Trasimeno. The area is designated as DOC and produces wine from a range of grape varieties, both white and red. Among the white grapes there is Grechetto, Trebbiano Toscano, Malvasia del Chianti, Verdello and Verdicchio. Among red varieties are Sangiovese, Gamay, Ciliegiolo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Other Production Areas
Other notable areas include Colli Amerini, which produces red wines from Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Ciliegiolo, Canaiolo Nero, Barbera and Merlot. One of the most recent DOC areas is Assisi, in particular for Grechetto. Colli Martani is interesting both for white and red wines, although the main celebrity of this area is Grechetto di Todi, a white wine produced in limited quantities. An area known solely for red wines is Lago di Corbara, near Orvieto. In the area stretching from Perugia to the northern border of Umbria there is Colli Altotiberini DOC area, producing both white and red wines. South from Perugia is found the DOC area of Colli Perugini, producing a range of red and wines.

The community of Magione, since 1996, is part of the national association  "Città del Vino": www.cittàdelvino.it

One of the great Umbrian diversions is visiting vineyards..

SELECTED VINEYARDS

Goretti

Strada del Pino, 4

06070 - Pila - Perugia

tel. +39 075 607316 fax: +39 075 6079187

www.vinigoretti.com  goretti@vinigoretti.com

Franca Chiorri

Via Todi, 100  -  Frazione Sant'Enea

06132 Perugia

tel. e fax +39 075 607141

www.chiorri.it   info@chiorri.it

Castello di Magione

Via Cavalieri di Malta, 31

06063 Magione (PG)

tel. +39 075 847547   fax +39 075 8478770

www.castellodimagione.it   info@castellodimagione.it

Duca della Corgna - Cantina del Trasimeno

Via Roma, 236

06061 Castiglione del Lago (PG)

www.ducadellacorgna.it

Terre del Carpine

Via Formanuova, 87

06063 Magione

tel. +39 075 840298  fax +39 075 843744

www.terredelcarpine.it   info@terredelcarpine.it

Cantine Lungarotti

Via Mario Angeloni, 16

06089 Torgiano (PG)

tel. +39 075 988661 - fax +39 075 9886650

www.lungarotti.it    lungarotti@lungarotti.it

Adanti

Vocabolo Arquata

06031 Bevagna (PG)

tel. +39 0742 360435  fax +39 0742 361270

www.cantineadanti.com  info@cantineadanti.com

Cantina Tudernum

Località Pian di Porto, 146

06059 Todi (PG)

tel. +39 075 8989403  fax +39 075 8989189

www.tudernum.it   info@tudernum.it

Bigi

commercial wine, inexpensive, fine tasting Grechetto dell'Umbria and fine Orvieto Classico Il Poggio

Località Ponte Giulio, 3

05018 Orvieto (TR)

tel. +39 0763 315888  fax +39 0763 316376

giv@giv.it

www.gruppoitalianovini.com/bigi_it.htm

Spoletoducale

Località Petrognano, 54

06049 Spoleto

tel. +39 0743 56224  fax  +39 0743 56065

Cantina dei Colli Amerini

Località Fornole - Zona Industriale

05020 Amelia (TR)

tel. +39 0744 989721  fax +39 0744 989695

www.colliamerini.it   info@colliamerini.it

see also the wine itineraries:

Strada del Vino - Colli del Trasimeno

www.stradadeivinidelcantico.it/en

www.stradadelsagrantino.it

english version:

http://english.stradadelsagrantino.it/

www.movimentoturismovino.it

english version:

http://www.movimentoturismovino.it/index_en.html