Colli di Faenza

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The Marnoso-arenacea formation, the oldest in the Faentine Apennines, is characterised by a rhythmic alternation of marls and cemented sandy sandstones.
• Other formations present in the area include the Plio-Pleistocene blue clays of marine origin and rich in fossils, the yellow sands, and outliers of the Spungone, an organogenic Pliocene calcarenite.
• Moving south from the Via Emilia, three distinct altitudinal bands are encountered: the first, a more fertile and warmer foothill zone; the true hill zone proper on clay soils; and finally the upper hills where sandstone soils begin, with badlands (calanchi) marking the boundary between the first and second bands.
• The Winkler index over the thirty-year period 1961–90 shows a decreasing gradient from approximately 2,000 degree-days near the Via Emilia to 1,500–1,600 degree-days in the highest-elevation vineyard zones with north-facing exposure.
• In the middle hill zone the landscape features broad alluvial strips along the main river courses, with gentle morphology, wide incisions, and a widespread presence of badlands (calanchi) on soils derived from clay and marly rocks.

• Following post-phylloxera replanting, single-variety plantings favoured Sangiovese, a hardy and productive variety, while at higher elevations the earlier-ripening Ciliegiolo was preferred.
• At the end of the nineteenth century, viticulture on the Faentine hills was aimed primarily at domestic consumption, with mixed-variety rows planted at the edges of cereal plots rather than as dedicated vineyards.

• Well-structured red wines with intense ripe fruit character can develop, after ageing, into notes of fruit preserve and gain spiced nuances when matured in wood, while the whites show a substantial structure with a delicate floral character.

• The best exposures and more clay-rich soils allow for the production of Merlot and Cabernet that are very fruity and sometimes spiced as well.
• By reserving the most calcareous soils and north-facing exposures for white varieties, aromatic intensity and finesse in the white wines are ensured.

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

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-IT-A0291
• Official trade body site — Consorzio Vini di Romagna