Recioto di Gambellara

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The appellation area is a hilly sector with flat-topped ridges between 250 and 350 metres in elevation, from which vine-planted slopes descend into small valleys formed by watercourses.
• The hilly terrain is dominated by soils of volcanic origin, with the Parco San Marco characterised by basalt columns and a lesser presence of limestone at the highest positions.
• The soils tend to be uniformly clayey, locally with a high bentonite component, with outcroppings of fossiliferous white-to-yellow calcarenite surrounded by tuff.
• There is a highly permeable calcareous hill zone that drains water easily, and a flatland zone with soils composed of clay and silt that can sometimes cause drainage problems during heavy rainfall.
• Annual rainfall exceeds 1,200 mm, occurring more frequently in winter and spring, while June and July are generally the driest months; in the flatland zone the diurnal temperature range can reach 14°C.

• The appellation's production rules cite an epistle from the first half of the 500s attesting to a sweet white wine similar to Recioto, called by the Romans 'acinato' wine, produced by a method similar to the one used today.
• In 1970 Recioto di Gambellara obtained denominazione di origine controllata status, and in 2008 denominazione di origine controllata e garantita status, having historically also been known as 'Vecchiotto di Gambellara'.
• The appassimento of the grapes is carried out using the 'picai' method, a technique handed down through generations to prevent the bunches from being in too much contact with one another, or alternatively on drying racks called 'rèle'.

• Recioto di Gambellara is described as a wine of good structure, high aromatic elegance, and palate richness, with pronounced notes of fruit and flowers.
• Recioto di Gambellara may be produced in the classico style, also as a lightly sparkling (vivace) version in keeping with local tradition, or in the spumante style.

• The pronounced diurnal temperature range in the flatland zone, which can exceed 12–14°C, slows berry ripening, allowing the full development of the grape's other components before harvest.
• In the highly water-permeable calcareous hill zone, extended dry periods lead to an increase in the sugar content of the grapes.

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-A0470
• Official trade body site — Consorzio Tutela Vini Gambellara