The Pardi family comes from Montefalco. Montefalco was one of the few towns where the vineyards were planted and protected within the town walls and the growing of the grapevine in the area dates back to the Pre-Roman age.Our story begins in 1919, when the three Pardi brothers: Alfredo, Francesco and Alberto decided to produce and market local wines. The grapes used for the production partly belonged to the family and partly were bought from the local landowners. The wines were sold all over Umbria, and sometimes also out of the region, to important customers, such as the Vatican City. The Sagrantino was exclusively Passito and the grape clusters were dried on straw mats for 2-3 months during winter before being pressed. In those times about 30 quintals of Sagrantino Passito were produced and the ageing went on for two years. The Sagrantino Passito was marketed in five and ten litre bottles. The delivery of the wines was made by demijohns that were carried by the “ cacciatora”, a long and narrow cart drawn by horses along the dusty roads. Large quantities were delivered by 54 up to 140 litre barrels, carried by lorries. The winery was successful and in 1925, at the exhibition of Oils and Wines from Umbria and Sabina, in the Town Hall in Montefalco , the Pardi Brothers were awarded the silver medal for the red wines by the Minister of National Economy. In 1943 Alberto passed away and his brothers are elderly . In the following years the founders’ sons decide to enter upon a new business; they close down the winery and in 1949 establish the weaving mill Tessitura Pardi . The tradition and the competence of wine-growing were handed down by Alberto’s son, Rio Pardi who kept up producing small quantities of Sagrantino Passito. In 2002 their great grand-sons Francesco, Gianluca Rio and Alberto Mario ( with the help of their parents Alberto and Linda) , driven by the will of the Pardi family to keep on the tradition, restore the building in Via Giovanni Pascoli in Montefalco and revive their great grandfathers’ winery, with its indelible memory
