Every family-owned business reaches a pivotal moment of introspection. For Lungarotti, that moment arrives in 2024. Following extensive internal and external analysis, they’ve identified untapped potential, leading to Project 1962. This marks the beginning of the company’s fourth life cycle, a conscious return to their roots to articulate a contemporary vision.
Lungarotti, a historic Umbrian winery, has long embodied core values: family, territory, and continuity. This project revitalizes these values, maintaining their essence while evolving their form. Umbria—a land of ancient crafts, unspoiled landscapes, and a deliberate pace—becomes the focal point, not just as a location, but as a lifestyle to share globally.
The year 2024 signifies a turning point. Through careful listening and reflection, Lungarotti has chosen to redefine its image and offerings, aligning with its heritage while engaging with the present. This isn’t a mere restyling; it’s a fundamental shift in thought, personnel, production, and communication.
This strategic direction has culminated in Project 1962, named after the inaugural vintage of Rubesco and Torre di Giano, Lungarotti’s iconic labels. These wines have been reimagined in both form and substance. The new Rubesco 62 and Torre di Giano 62 feature a more streamlined, fresh, immediate, and versatile profile, designed to express Umbria’s character through wines that honor the company’s history yet resonate with modern palates.
The project is structured around three stylistic dimensions: taste, visual, and communication. These wines, exhibiting clear varietal expression from climate-resilient grapes like Sangiovese and Trebbiano, are harvested slightly earlier and vinified with meticulous attention to terroir. Key process refinements include lower fermentation temperatures for the red, minimizing extraction, and extended lees contact for the white, enhancing structural complexity. A timeless new design, inspired by the original 1960s labels, complements this evolution. The contemporary narrative blends memory and vision, roots and ambition, for two wines tailored for the Horeca channel.
“Project 1962 is just the beginning of a three-year strategic plan to bring Umbria’s slow living ethos to the world,” explains Chiara Lungarotti, the company’s CEO. “This journey is defined by concreteness, elegance, authenticity, and a deep connection to the territory. As a company, a family, and interpreters of a unique region, we feel a duty and pride to represent our land globally. We do so through our most eloquent medium: timeless wine that speaks to the present.”
From Torgiano to the World: A Legacy of Family and Land
Lungarotti has been synonymous with Umbrian wine since 1962, but its history extends much further. The family, settling in the Middle Tiber Valley in the late 18th century, has always maintained a profound connection to the land, producing wine, olive oil, and other agricultural products. In 1962, with the introduction of Rubesco and Torre di Giano, the second phase of the company’s history began, driven by Giorgio Lungarotti’s vision to expand nationally and internationally.
Following his passing in 1999, the “new” generation initiated the third phase: vineyard replanting, cellar modernization, and a commitment to sustainable practices. In 2024, the decision was made to embark on the fourth phase, looking to the future while honoring the past, to contemporize the brand and its values.
The company’s new vision is clear and ambitious: “To slow down people’s lives by bringing Umbria and its lifestyle to the world.” This vision translates into a concrete mission: to offer timeless, territorial, classic, and respectful wines that convey a healthy, profound, and culturally rooted lifestyle.
Lungarotti: Evolving While Staying True to Its Essence
Lungarotti’s renewal permeates every aspect of the company: new professionals have joined the team, supporting the family across various operational areas. The winemaking style is evolving toward greater immediacy, freshness, and drinkability, while preserving elegance and authenticity. Marketing and communication are adopting a more contemporary, emotional, and narrative approach. New digital tools are being implemented, and the corporate culture is being reinforced as an active community.
Hospitality is being redefined with the Cantina’s Enoteca, a completely renovated wine shop and tasting venue, complementing Lungarotti’s other offerings, from the Poggio alle Vigne agritourism to the Osteria del Museo restaurant, adjacent to the Wine Museum. This transformation is driven by the desire to convey Umbrian values: concreteness, generosity, and resilience.
Project 1962 embodies Lungarotti’s DNA in a contemporary light, bridging the past and the future.