Before moving on to our next hill town,
we're stopping by the Tenuta Le Vellete vineyard
to sample the most famous product of the region,
the Orvieto Classico wine.
The Bottai family is happy to show
thirsty and prospective customers around their estate.
Corrado: So this is our farm,
that belongs to our family since six generations,
and at our feets, we have a lot of history
coming from the Etruscan time.
Rick: I can imagine.
Corrado: A good area for making wine
because of the volcanic soil
just in front of the view
of the beautiful town of Orvieto.
And if you like,
I can take you to the vines to show you.
Rick: I would like that.
Corrado: Yes, very fertile.
So this is our soil,
a volcanic soil, very rich in minerals,
on which our vines grow
and produce our Orvieto Classico wine.
So this is a little bunch...
That would be ripe in September.
It starts now to grow,
and we'll pick it in six months.
Rick: And in how many years
until that is drunk and enjoyed as wine?
Corrado: We'll drink this wine in 18 months,
and we'll go on drinking this wine for two more years.
Rick: So how long have people been making wine right here?
Corrado: People have been making wine here
since the Etruscan times.
Twenty centuries.
Rick: And the family house has a history
nearly as rich as the vineyard.
Cecilia: You know, Rick, this house is very old.
The very central block
was a control tower that was built in 1000.
Then, when the tower got destroyed,
the monks Premonstratensi took the place,
they renovated it, and made it a monastery.
And my family, in fact,
bought this property in the middle of the 1800s,
and they re-renovated the whole building
according to the style of that period.
And so the frescos you have now,
they are dated 1800-something.
Rick: So this is all Romantic from the 19th century?
Cecilia: Yeah, absolutely.
And this is the piano room,
and my great-grandmother loved to play the piano.
And this is a piano that Franz Liszt used to play.
Rick: Franz Liszt played this piano?
Cecilia Franz Liszt played this piano several times.
Rick: I've got to try it. Can I try it?
Cecilia: Please. Rick: Oh, my goodness.
Cecilia: My pleasure to listen to you.
[ Playing classical music ]
Rick: Hmm.
It's not Franz Liszt, but he might enjoy that.
[ Laughs ]
Cecilia: Come on, Rick, I take you to our secret place,
the secret cellar.
The little door, and the cellar
where the Etruscans used to store their wines.
And this is 500 meters long
and was started to be carved 500 B.C.
by the Etruscans.
Rick: So this is all dug out of tufo stone?
Cecilia: Yes, and this is perfect for aging the wines,
and the Etruscan people knew that.
And tufo has the perfect conditions
to age the wines in terms of humidity and temperature.
And modern winemakers
are trying to duplicate the same conditions,
and this bottle of wine is more than 30 years old.
Rick: More than 30? Is it still good to drink?
Cecilia: This is absolutely wonderful to drink.
Rick: I've been bringing my tour groups
to the home of Cecilia and Corrado Bottai
since their parents were running the place.
When I see the new generation taking over
and Cecilia pouring the family's wine into my glass,
I feel the pride the Bottais have
in sharing the fruit of their heritage and hard work
with a visitor from so far away.
With a few bottles of Orvieto Classico in our trunk,
we're ready for more hill towns.