There is a moment in the history of every family business when one feels the need to look in the mirror. For Lungarotti, this moment arrived in 2024. After a long process of internal and external analysis, a still partially unexpressed potential has emerged. This is where Progetto 1962 was born, marking the beginning of the company’s fourth life cycle and its objective: going back to their roots to tell a new contemporary story.
Lungarotti, a historic winery in Umbria, has always embodied profound values: family, territory, continuity. With this project, these values are renewed in form, but remain firm in substance. Umbria – a land of ancient crafts, unspoiled landscapes and slow pace – is at the center of the narrative: not only as a physical place, but as a lifestyle to convey to the world.
The year 2024 represented a turning point. Starting with careful listening and reflection, Lungarotti decided to redefine its image and its offering in a manner consistent with its history yet conversing with the present. It was not a simple restyling, but a change of pace: an evolution in thought, people, production and communication.
This is where the idea of Progetto 1962 comes from, named after the first vintage of Rubesco and Torre di Giano, Lungarotti’s two iconic labels revisited in form and substance. The new Rubesco 62 and Torre di Giano 62 are distinguished by a more streamlined, fresh, immediate and transversal taste-style, designed to tell the story of Umbria and its character through wines that have marked the history of the winery yet are perfectly contemporary.
The project is based on three stylistic dimensions: gustatory, visual and communicative. Wines with a clear varietal expression, obtained from vines that are resilient to climate change, such as Sangiovese and Trebbiano, which experience a slightly early harvest and a vinification process whose attention focuses on expressing the land of origin at its best. Among the process characteristics that reveal this care are lower fermentation temperatures – to limit extraction – in the red, and a longer passage on fine lees for the white, to help characterize the structure. Accompanying the change is a new, timeless design, inspired by the first labels of the 1960s. The contemporary tale combines memory and vision, roots and ambition, for two products destined for the Horeca channel.
Progetto 1962 is just the beginning of a three-year strategic plan that aims to bring Umbria and its slow lifestyle to the world,’ explains Chiara Lungarotti, the company’s managing director. ‘A path made of concreteness, elegance, authenticity and a bond with the territory. As a company, as a family, as interpreters of a unique region, today we feel the duty and pride of representing our land in the world. And we do so with what represents us the best: a timeless wine, capable of speaking to the present’.
From Torgiano to the world: a story of family and territory
Lungarotti has been synonymous with Umbrian wine since 1962, but its history goes back much further. The family, established in the Mid Tiber Valley at the end of the 18th century, has always had a deep bond with the land, producing wine, olive oil and other excellent agricultural products. In 1962, with the birth of Rubesco and Torre di Giano, the second cycle of its history began, thanks to the vision of Giorgio Lungarotti, who started developing the company in national and international markets.
After his death in 1999, the ‘new’ generation started the third cycle: replanting of the vineyards, modernization of the cellars, adoption of sustainable practices. In 2024, the decision was made to initiate the fourth cycle, looking to the future with a view to making the brand and its values contemporary.
The new corporate vision is clear and ambitious: ‘Slowing down people’s lives, bringing Umbria and its lifestyle to the world.’ This vision translates into a concrete mission: to propose timeless, territorial, classic and environmentally respectful wines that convey a healthy lifestyle, deep and rooted in the regional culture.
Changing to stay the same
The renewal of Lungarotti touches every aspect of company life: new professionals have joined the team, flanking the family in the various operational areas. The oenological style evolves towards greater immediacy of the sip, freshness and drinkability, while maintaining elegance and authenticity. A more contemporary, emotional and narrative approach is adopted in marketing and communication. New digital tools are introduced and the corporate culture as an active community is strengthened. Hospitality takes on a new dimension at Enoteca della Cantina, the completely renovated wine shop where it is possible to taste and dine, and complements Lungarotti’s other hospitality facilities, from Poggio alle Vigne farmhouse to Osteria del Museo restaurant, located next to the Wine Museum. This transformation is also guided by the desire to transmit Umbrian values: concreteness, generosity, resilience.
Progetto 1962 represents Lungarotti’s DNA in a contemporary spirit, a bridge between past and future.