IN BREVE
- Viandante del Cielo, located in Passignano on Lake Trasimeno, is a winery founded in 2007 by George Lucas’s Skywalker Vineyards group.
- The winery, “Central Italy Revelation” for the Winemag 2026 Guide, spans 24 hectares, of which only 4 are planted with vines.
- It adopts organic farming practices and produces about 23,000 bottles per year, aiming to reach 40,000.
- The main wines include Viandante, Pristinvm, and Lungolago, each representative of the Umbrian territory.
- The winery’s young team, led by Michele Biraga, aims for warm hospitality and greater integration with the local consortium.
In Passignano in the province of Perugia, on the hills overlooking the northern shore of Lake Trasimeno, the Viandante del Cielo winery (Central Italy Revelation Winery 2026 of the Winemag Guide) tells the story of this corner of Umbria through its wines. The estate, launched in 2007 by the Californian group Skywalker Vineyards founded by director George Lucas, was created with the goal of recovering an abandoned property.
Not only that. It aims to enhance the local winemaking tradition through a production project attentive to the territory. Michele Biraga, cellar master and Winery Manager, shared the project during a meeting on March 9 at the Il Liberty restaurant in Milan.
CLIMATE AND LANDSCAPE: THE “FORCE” OF TRASIMENO
The estate spans 24 hectares, of which four are planted with vines, distributed across terraces overlooking the lake. The vineyards are located between 330 and 370 meters above sea level, with south-southwest exposure. The landscape is marked by the presence of the 16th-century Capuchin Friars Convent that dominates the estate and offers a view of Isola Maggiore.
Lake Trasimeno contributes to creating a specific microclimate. The water surface, covering 124 square kilometers with limited depth, moderates temperature fluctuations and maintains relatively high humidity levels even during summer months.
THE ESTATE’S HISTORY
The Trasimeno territory is historically linked to viticulture. Vine cultivation dates back to Etruscan times and continued with the Romans. In the Middle Ages, the area was frequented by religious figures such as Saint Francis of Assisi, who stayed for extended periods on Isola Maggiore.
The Viandante del Cielo project began in 2007 when the Skywalker group acquired the estate and initiated a process of landscape and agricultural recovery. The company’s name derives from the Italian translation of Skywalker and evokes both the property’s origins and the connection with Umbria’s historical and spiritual context.
Maurizio Castelli and Mery Ferrara contributed to defining the winemaking project, following the winery’s evolution from the initial phases. During the project’s startup phase, Gabriele Gorelli also collaborated, who in 2021 became the first Italian to obtain the Master of Wine title. The winery, completed in 2020, was designed to integrate into the hilly landscape with reduced visual impact and to ensure optimal winemaking conditions.
VINEYARDS AMONG TERRACES AND MIXED FARMING
The estate’s viticulture develops along a series of terraces that characterize the Mediterranean agricultural landscape. These cultivations, historically widespread in the area, were among the first to be abandoned but still represent a distinctive element of the territory today.
At Viandante del Cielo, mixed farming is practiced: alongside the vine rows are centuries-old olive trees or new olive groves planted by the winery to restore the original layout of the agricultural landscape. The vineyards are planted with a density of about 10,000 vines per hectare. The soil consists of Pleistocene lacustrine clay deposits and Oligocene-Miocene sandstones and marls, with fragments of limestone rock.
The distribution of varieties follows the characteristics of the soils. Cabernet Sauvignon is cultivated on the highest and most draining terraces. Merlot finds space in the lower and more humid areas. In the sandy and calcareous soils of the northern slope grow native Umbrian varieties such as Ciliegiolo, Foglia Tonda, Pugnitello, Canaiolo, and Sanforte. In the cooler areas, Chardonnay and Grechetto find their place.
VIANDANTE DEL CIELO’S PRODUCTION PHILOSOPHY
The winery is organically certified and adopts non-invasive cultivation practices, including permaculture. The goal is to maintain a balance between vine and natural environment. Harvesting and vineyard management occur with precise work, row by row and bunch by bunch. In the cellar, wines ferment in bare cement tanks (unlined), tulip-shaped, equipped with temperature control systems.
The reds ferment using the délestage technique, a racking method that promotes gentler extraction compared to traditional pumping over. After fermentation, the wines continue aging in French oak barrels with varying times. “Our work is one of ‘maieutics’—Biraga explains—. We must help the grapes express themselves without forcing them in any direction.”
THREE SIGNATURE WINES AND A MINI VERTICAL
The estate’s production is currently about 23,000 bottles per year with plans to reach between 38,000 and 40,000 in the coming years and is structured around three labels.
- Viandante, Umbria IGT: the winery’s flagship label. A red obtained mainly from Cabernet Sauvignon (about 80%) with a smaller portion of Merlot (about 20%). The wine ages in barrel for up to fourteen months. Presented in a mini vertical during the Milan meeting (2018, 2019, 2020), it tells the story of Bordeaux finesse applied to this portion of Umbria.
- Pristinvm, Umbria IGT: a blend based on Ciliegiolo alongside other traditional red varieties of the territory. The name derives from Latin and means “ancient, original, traditional.” 2020 vintage. Fresh yet full and powerful. The label that most of all tells the story of the territory’s peculiarities.
- Lungolago, Umbria IGT: the winery’s white, based on Chardonnay (60%) and Grechetto (40%). It ferments in barrel and part of the mass is subsequently transferred to cement or steel tanks before aging. 2022 vintage. A white with a taste balanced between “international” style and local authenticity.
A YOUNG REALITY: REVELATION WINERY FOR THE WINEMAG 2026 GUIDE
Viandante del Cielo, a “young” reality not only in the structural sense or for the age of the vineyards (the first useful harvest was 2018), but also for spirit and age of the staff. The winery’s team consists of young personnel, with an average age of 28, and is led by the young Michele Biraga.
Born in 1989, with a degree in Economics, Michele Biraga is an AIS sommelier and has obtained the Alma AIS Master and WSET Level 3. After his first experiences in the hospitality world with Contadi Castaldi, he worked in California, in Sonoma, in the production department of Schug Winery. Upon returning to Italy, he collaborated with Monteraponi in Radda in Chianti. “My idea is to make Viandante del Cielo a winery increasingly open to the public and the territory. With high-level but authentically warm hospitality,” says Biraga.
SKYWALKER VINEYARDS, GEORGE LUCAS’S DREAM WITH VIANDANTE DEL CIELO
Skywalker Vineyards has also confirmed full operational freedom to both Biraga and winemaker Maurizio Castelli. “Giving space to a professional like Castelli means maximizing the territory’s value—Biraga explains—. Working in the cellar and in winemaking means ‘working in sequence shot,’ if you’ll allow me the cinematic metaphor. We have only one chance per year.”
“‘Do or do not, there is no try,’ to stay in the realm of cinema. We must be aware of our potential while still being in a learning phase of our territory and our technologies. Today Viandante del Cielo represents a rare balance between technique, vision, and poetry,” adds Biraga.
Among the goals is also greater involvement in the local wine context. The company participated for the first time in the Colli del Trasimeno DOC Consortium assembly dedicated to the denomination change to “DOC Vini Colli del Trasimeno,” currently under approval. “It was exciting to participate in a moment of unity and common vision,” comments the Director, who also invited the consortium’s twelve companies to gather at the Viandante del Cielo headquarters for the next assembly.
