The white sandstones (Arenarie bianche) define the Diano district, on the high hills dominating the river Tanaro, in an area of geological origin dating back to the Tertiary, or Cenozoic, Era.
The wine takes its name from a village south of Alba, stretched along a hill at nearly 500 metres above sea level that commands the town, the road to Liguria, and the hills toward the plain.
The Dolcetto variety, early-ripening and fond of wide diurnal temperature swings, has found its ideal environment on the highest, sunniest slopes of the village, pushing the woodland back into the valley floors.
Human factors
The expertise passed down through generations of Diano producers has allowed the best vineyard positions to be identified with precision, delimited since 1988 into 76 areas called Sörì, a Piedmontese dialect term for 'sunny place'.
The wine is produced from the Dolcetto variety, vinified as a single varietal and grown according to the traditional methods of the Alba area, in a territory already inhabited in ancient times by the Ligurians and later by the Romans.
Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.
About this boundary
Area: the official production zone published by the regional geoportal (Piemonte).
Open Wine Map