Colli Piacentini

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The hilly zone displays diversified climatic conditions even over short distances, owing to the presence of parallel valley formations that influence sun exposure and air circulation.
• The climate of the production area is temperate sub-continental, with a mean annual temperature of between 10 and 14.5°C and one to three summer months with a mean above 20°C.
• Annual rainfall ranges from a minimum of 700–800 mm in the lower foothill belt to around 1,000–1,100 mm at the 500–600 metre altitude limit, following an Apennine sub-littoral rainfall pattern.
• The Winkler bioclimatic index in this belt oscillates between 1,500 and 1,800°C, with the highest values on south-facing slopes and at lower altitudes, while the Huglin index falls between approximately 1,800° and 2,000°C.
• The soils of the Val Tidone have a high clay content with fine texture and a greater richness in potassium compared with the soils of the Val d'Arda and the other central valleys of the province.
• In the Val Nure and Val Trebbia, the majority of soils have a particle-size distribution dominated by silt, with a silt-loam texture; 45% of soils are sub-acid, 45% neutral, and the remaining 5% sub-alkaline.

• Vine cultivation in Piacenza has roots stretching back to remote antiquity, with plantings attributed to the Paleo-Ligurians, the Etruscans and the Romans, while Gauls and Celts also produced wine there.
• Piacentine winegrowers traditionally trained the vine in a low form using stakes (carasse), corresponding to the vinae characatae described by Columella.
• After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it was the monks of San Colombano who ensured the preservation of Piacentine viticulture, reviving the Celtic winemaking method of storing wine in wooden barrels. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)

• The red wines display a higher non-reducing extract and a higher total alcoholic strength than the white wines, which show slightly lower values.
• The high fertility of the soils of the Piacenza hills produces grapes with elevated malic acid content, making them particularly suited to the production of frizzante wines.

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-A0312
• Official trade body site — Consorzio Tutela Vini DOC Colli Piacentini