Canelli

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The production area lies between the Tanaro river and the Bormida river, across the Belbo valley, at altitudes ranging from 165 to 500 metres above sea level.
• The soils are of marine sedimentary origin, stone-free, with sandy-marly, marly, and clayey calcareous deposits that are low in organic matter, attributable to the Tertiary of Piedmont.
• In the communes of Neive, Coazzolo, Castiglione Tinella, Calosso, Costigliole d'Asti, Moasca, San Marzano Oliveto, and Calamandrana, at altitudes between 150 and 400 metres, the soils are of marly-clay type with moderate gradients.
• In the communes of Neviglie, Mango, Cossano, Camo, Santo Stefano Belbo, Loazzolo, Cassinasco, and Canelli, at altitudes between 180 and 600 metres, the soils are of sandy-marly type, stratified, with notably steep slopes.
• The climate is temperate continental, with very hot and humid summers, cold and foggy winters, and a sum of active temperatures above 10 °C equal to 2,200 degree-days, with annual rainfall of 900 mm distributed over 120 rain days.

• The earliest records of Moscato cultivation in the area date to 1344, in the Statutes of the Commune of Canelli, and the wine subsequently appears in the Annals of Alessandria. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)
• Towards the end of the nineteenth century Carlo Gancia improved cellar techniques by introducing controlled fermentation in bottle.
• The Moscato Bianco variety is typically pruned to Guyot, with a fruiting cane of 8–10 buds and one spur, and is trained exclusively on a vertical trellis (controspalliera) with upward-growing vegetation.
• The method of arrested fermentation, achieved through the use of cold temperatures and complementary physical measures, makes it possible to keep the actual alcoholic strength low while preserving the residual sugar and the characteristic aromas of the Moscato Bianco grape.

• The colour of Canelli wine ranges from a pale straw yellow, with possible greenish highlights, to an intense and brilliant golden yellow as maturation and ageing progress.
• The nose is characteristically aromatic of the Moscato grape, fragrant, with notes that can evolve from floral hints of wildflowers and acacia through fruity tones of apricot, peach, and russet apple, to accents of citrus and honey.
• The palate is sweet with an aromatic Moscato grape finish, savoury, with the acidity present but in balance with the sweet component, and sometimes lively.
• The minimum total alcoholic strength is 12.00% by volume, of which the actual alcoholic strength lies between 4.50% and 6.50%, with a minimum total acidity of 4.5 g/l and a minimum non-reducing extract of 16.0 g/l.

• The Tertiary origin of the marly and calcareous soils, which are of low fertility, imparts the appropriate vigour to the vine and enhances the synthesis of the terpenic aromatic compounds of Moscato Bianco in the pre-harvest period.
• The pronounced diurnal temperature variation within the hill microclimate of the Canelli area promotes the characteristic aromatic synthesis of the Moscato Bianco variety.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• Specification (EUR-Lex, single document)
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-IT-02810
• Official trade body site — Consorzio per la tutela dell'Asti