Frascati

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The activity of the Vulcano Laziale, which began approximately 600,000 years ago, generated the geological formations of the area, with eruptions continuing until 25,000–29,000 years ago in the Upper Palaeolithic.
• The soils include sandy and permeable pozzolana, poorly permeable lithoid tuffs known locally as cappellacci or occhio di pesce, hard lava rock, and recent alluvial deposits that are clayey and moisture-retentive.
• The vineyards are situated at elevations ranging from 70 to 500 metres above sea level, with variable slopes and a general aspect toward the west and north-west.

• Marcus Porcius Cato, known as the Censor, who came from a family of Tusculan vine-growers, codified the rules of viticulture and winemaking in his treatise De Agricultura.
• The Statutes granted to the city of Frascati by Marcantonio Colonna in 1515 established the zones to be devoted to vineyards, the criteria for determining the harvest date, and regulated the wine trade.

• Frascati presents itself as a fresh and balanced wine with a more or less intense straw-yellow colour, an intense nose with a characteristic and delicate fragrance showing floral notes, and a palate that is dry, medium-sweet, or off-dry, savoury and soft.
• The sparkling (spumante) style of Frascati is a fresh and balanced wine with a pale straw-yellow colour, a fine and persistent mousse, a refined and characteristic nose, and a harmonious palate ranging from brut to extra-dry.

• A climate of abundant rainfall and summer aridity, combined with favourable mean temperatures and excellent sunshine in September and October, allows the grapes to ripen slowly and fully, contributing to the wine's organoleptic character.

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-A0750
• Official trade body site — Consorzio Tutela Denominazioni Vini Frascati