Melissa

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The area is entirely occupied by Pliocene sediments resting on a Paleozoic crystalline basement, with a gradual transition to the Miocene through local conglomeratic outcrops.
• Near the small inhabited centres, the conglomeratic Miocene is covered by a stratigraphic formation informally named argille varicolori.
• Rainfall is concentrated mainly in the autumn–winter period, reaching its maximum in October and its minimum in June, with a climate ranging from sub-humid to sub-arid.
• Mean monthly temperature reaches its maximum in August and its minimum in January, in a climate characterised by a pronounced summer water deficit.
• On the hilly reliefs that make up most of the territory, sandy or conglomeratic formations dominate, with soils ranging from shallow to moderately deep and a moderate presence of soluble salts.
• On the ancient fluvial terrace surfaces, strongly weathered soils are found that differentiate a clay-accumulation horizon; they are moderately deep, with medium texture and a slightly acidic reaction.

• In 1934 a bottle bearing the label 'Melissa' was presented at the third national agricultural exhibition in Florence, where it received the first official certificate of recognition with a gold medal.
• According to legend, the Cretan prince Melisséo, in the retinue of Minos, landed on the Calabrian Ionian coast and founded the colony from which Melissa takes its name; Ovid recalls it in the Metamorphoses as a pleasant place rich in vines, not far from Crotone.

• On the palate all the wines show moderate acidity, typical of southern growing environments, along with a slight astringency from the tannins and good structure, which can tend towards lightness in the base wine type.
• After an ageing period of not less than 2 years, reckoning from 1 November of the year of harvest, the wine may carry the additional designation 'rosso superiore' on the label. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)

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-A0619
• Official trade body site — Consorzio di Tutela Vini DOC Ciro e Melissa