Mountain wines and heroic viticulture in Italy

Some vineyards are reached by tractor. Others are reached on foot, with a basket on your back. Mountain wines come from the second kind: narrow terraces, steep slopes, slow harvests. In Italy it is called heroic viticulture, and the name is no exaggeration.

What heroic viticulture means

The reference criteria, used by CERVIM (the research centre for mountain viticulture) and taken up by Italian law, are four:

• vineyards above 500 metres of altitude;
• slopes steeper than 30%;
• vines grown on terraces;
• vineyards on small islands.

Machines can barely reach these places. Almost everything is done by hand, and yields are low. The price of the bottle tells that story too.

Why the mountains change the wine

• Day–night temperature swings. Warm days and cool nights: grapes ripen slowly and keep their acidity and aromas.
• Light. South-facing slopes at altitude concentrate the sun on the skins.
• Poor soils. Rock, sand and scree: the vine struggles, and the wine gains precision.

The result, in general: taut, bright whites and reds that are more elegant than powerful.

Where to find them in Italy

Valle d'Aosta

Italy's smallest region, on the French border, with some of the highest vineyards in Europe. Here Nebbiolo is called Picotendro, and Prié Blanc makes Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle, at the foot of Mont Blanc.

Valtellina, Lombardy

An Alpine valley running east to west, with terraces on the south-facing side. Nebbiolo is called Chiavennasca here: it makes fine, fragrant reds and, from dried grapes, Sforzato.

Trentino-Alto Adige

Two souls, one Italian and one German-speaking. Local grapes such as Teroldego, Marzemino, Lagrein and Schiava; mountain whites such as Pinot Bianco and Gewürztraminer; and Trentodoc, a traditional-method sparkling wine from Chardonnay and Pinot Nero.

Liguria

The Cinque Terre are the most famous example of heroic viticulture by the sea: terraces dropping straight into the water, with Bosco, Albarola and Vermentino.

Etna, Sicily

An active volcano, with vineyards climbing above a thousand metres. Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio for the reds, Carricante for the whites.

For every grape mentioned here, see Italian wines and grapes from A to Z.