Colline di Levanto

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The vineyards are situated for the most part on low-to-medium hillsides, mainly terraced, at altitudes ranging from 0 to 600 metres above sea level, with a prevailing elevation of between 100 and 200 metres.
• The soils under vine have a coarse-loam or coarse texture, are well drained and highly permeable, with lithological substrates consisting mainly of marine sediments such as turbidites.
• Vineyard slopes reach gradients of between 35 and 50%, with a prevailing south-westerly aspect and a distance from the sea of between 0 and 4 km.
• The mean temperature of the area is approximately 15°C, with a Huglin bioclimatic index of around 2,220°C, varying between 2,060 and 2,380 depending on the vintage.
• Mean annual rainfall is approximately 1,150 mm, with the wettest month being November (around 150 mm) and the driest being July (an average of 26 mm).

• The earliest reliable records of viticulture in the area date back to the sixth and fifth centuries BC, when the Greeks brought their vine varieties to the shores of the Riviera Ligure and subsequently produced wine on site.
• A local agricultural cooperative, founded in 1978 under the production rules, provided technical and economic support for the development of viticulture and the wine trade.
• The training systems prescribed are the pergoletta ligure and the counter-trellis (controspalliera) with arched or inverted cane pruning — traditional forms that have never deviated from those used in the past.

• The wines display moderate acidity, medium-to-intense yet lively colour, delicate aromas that are predominantly floral and fruity, and a savory quality on the palate.
• The flavours are fresh, dry yet supple in the white wines, and warm and full-bodied in the red wines, with a slightly bitter and faintly tart finish.

• The looseness of the soils, which are mostly free-draining and sandy, lends the wines characteristics of freshness and savoriness; these are wines not particularly intended for ageing.

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-A0354
• Official trade body site — Vite in Riviera — Consorzio tutela DOP/IGP Levante ligure