"Montefalco – home of famous Sagrantino wine" Bevagna Off The Beaten Path Tip by Trekki

For me, Montefalco didn’t live up the hype, which seems to have been created around the soo famous “balcony of Umbria” phrase. The balcony thingy is a clever marketing idea and certainly attracts many tourists, but I didn’t see the balcony, even if I walked around the northern part of the village. Yes, it is nice, a nice view, but the view I had from my room in Poggio dei Pettirossi above Bevagna is thousand times better than what I saw in Montefalco. When I was there, in the middle of April, on a sunny day, it was almost deserted and I found that it had a kind of artificial flair, it definitely lacked the quirky daily life I saw in Bevagna and Norcia and later in Orvieto. The city has several churches, some quite easy to find, some tucked away in side streets, and it is surrounded by the typical Medieval city wall with many entrance gates. Unfortunately, the famous Chiesa San Francesco was closed and I could not see the famous frescoe cycle of San Francesco by Benozzo Gozzoli (the church and museum were preparing exchange of exhibits with Bevagna, that’s why it was closed for visitors). So I really cannot judge properly. But I was happy to see that I am not the only one who thought that Montefalco is a bit overrated. See @Karenincalifornia’s quote “not as much to see here as in other towns”.

Montefalco is, however, famous for its red wine, Sagrantino. There is a nice website about La Strada del Sagrantino, the red grape (photo 5) being its icon. Many villages have a board near their entrance gates with the exact location of wine cellars, agriturismos, oil mills or the like. The website is linked to Google Maps and also shows these locations. It also describes the history of Montefalco wines in detail, which is (as I learned right now) not only a red one but also a white one. But as it is obvious from the website, one does not need to go to Montefalco (and maybe pay higher prices) but can also sample wine anywhere else in the region.
Coordinates on GoogleEarth:
42°53’36,42’’N; 12°39’07,85’’E