The Colli Piacentini ("Hills of

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

") are an

Italian wine Italian wine is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the world's largest producer of wine, with an area of under vineyard cultivation, and contributing a 2013–2017 annual average of 48.3 million hl of wine. In 2018 Italy accounted fo ...

region located at the western end of

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

. In 1967, the region was given the '' denominazione di origine controllata'' (DOC) quality designation. Within its boundaries are several smaller DOCs including Colli Piacentini Gutturnio, Monterosso Val D'Arda DOC, Trebbianino Val Trebbia DOC, and Val Nur del Colli Piacentini DOC.T. Stevenson ''"The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia"'' pp. 290-291 Dorling Kindersley 2005 The region has a long history of

winemaking Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and ...

with fossilized vine roots and grape seeds excavated from the region showing

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for '' vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of '' Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, r ...

taking place as early as 2000 BC.Italian Made '
Colli Piacentini DOC
"'' Italian Trade Commission, Accessed: December 14th, 2009 In

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

times,

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

's father-in-law Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, grew grapes in the Piacenza hills.T. Stevenson ''"The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia"'' pg 290-291 Dorling Kindersley 2005 The Colli Piacentini region was once considered part of the Piedmont wine region. To the northwest is the Lombardy wine region of

Oltrepò Pavese The Oltrepò Pavese (; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Ultrepò Paves) is an area of the Province of Pavia, in the north-west Italian region of Lombardy, which lies to the south of the river Po. It is ('beyond') the Po when considered from the ...

and, like Oltrepò Pavese, the wine industry of the Colli Piacentini has had strong historical ties to the wine markets of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

. The region produces over 17 different wines ranging from '' Vin Santo''

dessert wine Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert. There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal ...

s to slightly sparkling ''frizzante'' wines. While the practice of labeling wines by

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

is more often associated with New World wines, winemakers in the Colli Piacentini are permitted by DOC regulations to label some of their wines by varietal.M. Ewing-Mulligan & E. McCarthy ''Italian Wines for Dummies'' pg 103-105 Hungry Minds 2001

History

The Piacenza hills have a long tradition of viticulture. Archeological excavation of sites in the area has uncovered fossilized vine roots and grape seeds dating from 700 to 2000 BC. During the classical period, the Roman statesman Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus (father-in-law to Julius Caesar), was publicly criticized by his political rival

Marcus Tullius Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

for "excessively enjoying" or honoring the wines from the area.Official Site
Comune di Piacenza
"'' Accessed: December 15th, 2009 Calpurnius Piso's affinity for the wines of the Colli Piacentini may have stemmed from the fact that he himself grew grapes and produced wine in the area. In Roman times, the wine from the area was traditionally drunk from a '' gutturnium''—a round jug with two parallel lines of decoration on the outside. The vessel eventually gave its name to the modern Colli Piacentini wine of Gutturnio. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, wine from the Colli Piacentini had a favorable reputation and was even being exported to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In the late 14th century, local officials instituted a series of regulations on winemaking and grape growing aimed at reducing the potential for wine fraud and maintaining standards of quality. In the 16th century, the official cellar master to

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

praised the wine for its quality in his writings on the wines of the world.

Climate and geography

The Colli Piacentini DOC covers 9,000 acres (3,600 hectares) of hilly terrain in what was historically part of the Emilia province.P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pp. 148-149 Firefly Books 2004 The DOC is flanked to the east by the Autostrada A1 connecting Milan to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

and to the west/northwest by

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

Lombardy (man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , ...

, and

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. To the southeast is the Colli di Parma DOC centered on the city of

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second m ...

. Many of the vineyards of the Colli Piacentini are planted on the rolling hills leading up to the northern slopes of the

Apennine Mountains The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

. The

vineyard soils The soil composition of vineyards is one of the most important viticultural considerations when planting grape vines. The soil supports the root structure of the vine and influences the drainage levels and amount of minerals and nutrients that the ...

are composed of a mix of

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part ...

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class ...

and

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...

from the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58

Sub-regions

Within the Colli Piacentini are a number of sub-regions that are allowed to affix their own DOCs to the

wine label Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine. The label is often the only resource a buyer has for evaluating the wine before purchasing it. Certain information is ordinarily incl ...

. The most famous of these is the Gutturnio DOC, with a wine made predominantly from

Barbera Barbera is a red Italian wine grape variety that, as of 2000, was the third most-planted red grape variety in Italy (after Sangiovese and Montepulciano). It produces good yields and is known for deep color, full body, low tannins and high level ...

, which is the only main sub-region dedicated to red wine production. The other sub-regions are white wine DOCs, including Trebbianino Val Trebbia, which despite its similar-sounding name, is not made predominantly from

Trebbiano Trebbiano is an Italian wine grape, one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. It gives good yields, but tends to yield undistinguished wine. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Also known as ugni blanc, it ...

but rather the obscure local grape Ortruga, though up to 30% of the specific clonal variety of Trebbiano Romagnolo can be blended in. The two other white wine DOCs are Val Nur and Monterosso Val d'Arda. *Gutturnio - The most famous wine of the Colli Piacentini, its name historically derived from the traditional ''gutturnium'' jug that people drank the wine from. It is a blend of 55-70% Barbera, with

Croatina Croatina is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Oltrepò Pavese region of Lombardy and in the Province of Piacenza within Emilia Romagna, but also in parts of Piedmont and the Veneto. In the Oltrepò Pavese, in the hi ...

filling out the rest of the blend. It can be produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry to slightly sweet and from still to slightly sparkling. Under the DOC's regulations,

harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most l ...

yields are restricted to a maximum of 12

tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton (United States c ...

per hectare, and the alcohol level of the wines must reach a minimum of 12%.P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pg 148-149 Firefly Books 2004 *Trebbianino Val Trebbia - This white wine DOC is based primarily on the Ortruga grape which usually composes half the blend. The remaining components may include 10-30% of Malvasia di Candia and/or

Moscato Bianco Moscato may refer to: *Muscat (grape) The Muscat family of grapes includes over 200 grape varieties belonging to the '' Vitis vinifera'' species that have been used in wine production and as raisin and table grapes around the globe for many ...

, 15-30% of Trebbiano Romagnolo and/or

Sauvignon blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...

and a maximum of 15% mix of other permitted white grape varieties grown in the Colli Piacentini. Harvest yields are restricted to 9 tonnes per hectare and alcohol levels need to be a minimum of 11%. The wines range from dry to semi-dry and can be still, slightly sparkling, or even fully sparkling or ''

spumante Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne reg ...

'' style. *Monterosso Val d'Arda - This white wine DOC has similar requirements as Trebbianino except that the Ortruga grape plays a smaller role in the blend. The blend for this wine is composed of 35-50% Malvasia di Candia, 20-35% of Ortruga and Trebbiano Romagnolo, 10-30% Moscato and up to 20% of Sauvignon blanc and Bervedino. Harvest yields are restricted to a maximum of 9 tonnes per hectare and alcohol levels must reach a minimum of 11%. The wines range from dry to semi-dry and can be still, slightly sparkling or even fully sparkling or ''spumante'' style. *Val Nur - This white wine DOC has similar requirements as Trebbianino except that use of Moscato is prohibited. The primary grape varieties are 30-50% Malvasia di Candia, 20-35% Ortrugo and 20-35% Trebbiano Romagnolo with up to a 15% mix of other permitted white grape varieties grown in the Colli Piacentini. Harvest yields are restricted to a maximum of 10 tonnes per hectare and a minimum alcohol level of 11%. The wines range from dry to semi-dry and can be still, slightly sparkling or even fully sparkling or ''spumante'' style.

Grapes and wine style

A wide range of

grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see V ...

and wine styles are produced in the Colli Piacentini. In addition to red and white wines,

rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the skin contact method ...

''rosato'' styles are produced. The sweetness level of the wines can range from bone dry ''asciutto'', very dry ''amaro'', dry ''secco'', slightly sweet ''abboccato'', sweet ''amabile'', medium-sweet ''pastoso'' to very sweet ''dolce''. The wines can also vary widely in their degree of

carbonation Carbonation is the chemical reaction of carbon dioxide to give carbonates, bicarbonates, and carbonic acid. In chemistry, the term is sometimes used in place of carboxylation, which refers to the formation of carboxylic acids. In inorganic ch ...

or "sparkling", ranging from still, very lightly sparkling ''frizzantino'', slightly sparkling ''frizzante'' to fully sparkling ''spumante''. A ''Vin Santo'' style wine can be made from dried grapes as well as young ''novello'' or " nouveau wines" released only a few months after harvest. One producer in the Colli Piacentini even produces rare sweet fully sparkling

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon ...

and

Merlot Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...

. In a manner that is fairly unusual in

Old World wine Old World wine refers primarily to wine made in Europe but can also include other regions of the Mediterranean basin with long histories of winemaking such as North Africa and the Near East. The phrase is often used in contrast to " New World win ...

regions, a few wines in the Colli Piacentini can be varietally labeled with the grape's name appearing on the front of the wine label. This privilege is restricted to only a few grape varieties namely

, Pinot nero,

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new ...

, Malvasia, Ortrugo, Pinot grigio and

. In order to qualify for this permission, a wine must be composed of at least 85% of the grape that is to appear on the label. An exception is the local grape Ortrugo which must compose at least 90% of the wine. Among the other grape varieties grown in the Colli Piacentini, which can not be varietally labeled, are Trebbiano Romagnolo, Bervedino,

Verdeca Verdeca is a white Italian wine grape variety that is primarily grown in Apulia in southern Italy where ampelographers believe that the grape may have originated. In Apulia, it is one of the main grapes in the ''Denominazione di origine control ...

and

Moscato bianco Moscato may refer to: *Muscat (grape) The Muscat family of grapes includes over 200 grape varieties belonging to the '' Vitis vinifera'' species that have been used in wine production and as raisin and table grapes around the globe for many ...

References

{{reflist Italian DOC Geography of Emilia-Romagna Province of Piacenza