Umbria, like Marche and Lazio, is best known for its white wine production. Despite changes in style over time, the Orvieto DOC (based on the Trebbiano grape variety) remains the region's largest appellation. It accounts for over ten percent of the overall Umbrian wine production. Styles of Orvieto can vary from dry (Secco) through to semi-sweet (Amabile) and sweet wines.
The climate of Umbria is similar to that of Tuscany. It experiences cold, rainy winters and dry summers with abundant sunshine to ripen wine grapes. The exception to this is the area west of Perugia. Here temperatures are moderated by the waters of Lake Trasimeno, the largest lake on the Italian Peninsula.
The majority of the region's vineyard plantings are placed along terraces cut into the hillsides. This is reflected in a number of the area's DOC names (colli means 'hills').
