Sovana

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The zone falls within the southern part of Tuscany, in the south-eastern corner of the province of Grosseto, in a hilly and foothill landscape.
• The soils are characterised by structural surfaces over formations consisting predominantly of effusive and volcanoclastic rocks, while west of the river Fiora aggradation forms prevail over marly, marly-pelitic and pelitic formations.
• At the centre of the appellation area, in the communes of Pitigliano and Sorano, the near-total presence of volcanic tuff has formed a more or less compact rocky crust, cut in many places by deep erosion channels created by wind and rainwater.
• The average elevation of the zone is 290 metres above sea level, with a minimum altitude of approximately 30 metres at the locality of Marsiliana and a maximum of approximately 800 metres at the locality of Elmo in the commune of Sorano, and a slope of around 5%.
• The climate is Mediterranean in character, with a Huglin Index ranging between 2,100 and 2,500 units depending on the area, and winds blowing mainly from the third to the fourth quadrants, including Scirocco and Libeccio in spring, Maestrale in summer and Tramontana in winter.

• Evidence of vine cultivation in the area dates back to the Etruscan, Greek and Roman periods, with finds of pottery and pithoi discovered at Marsiliana along the river Albegna.
• In the necropolises of Vitozza and Sovana, cellars carved directly into the tuff have been found, an example of which remains visible at the Orsini fortress in Sorano.
• The controlled designation of origin for the wines «Sovana» was granted by ministerial decree of 20 May 1999, subsequently amended by ministerial decree of 12 November of the same year.
• With the amendment to the production rules introduced in November 2011, the wine types Aleatico Passito and Ciliegiolo were added.
• The Cantina Sociale di Pitigliano, established in 1954, collected and processed the viticultural output of the surrounding area, contributing to the emergence of the local wine industry.
• From the 1980s onwards, the transitional geographical indications authorised by the Ministry of Agriculture, known as «Saturnia» and «Sorano», were used.
• The traditional training systems of the zone, including for new plantings, are the horizontal spur-trained cordon and single Guyot or double palmette.

• The red wines display a ruby red colour of good intensity with violet highlights in young wines, fading to garnet in more mature wines.
• In the wine types carrying the Superiore designation and the Riserva qualification, the colour tends toward an intense ruby red with more or less frequent violet highlights, which turns to garnet with ageing.
• The Rosato style presents a colour ranging from pale pink to cerasuolo pink, with intense, fruity aromas, while on the palate it is fresh, savoury, dry and lightly acidic.
• The Aleatico Passito wine type presents an intense ruby red colour, a rich, vinous and complex nose, with pronounced notes of jam, liquorice and chocolate.

• Ventilation that persists even through the spring and summer months, thanks to Maestrale breezes blowing during the hottest hours of the day, helps regulate temperatures and creates an environment unfavourable to parasitic disease.

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-A1490
• Official trade body site — Consorzio di Tutela del Bianco di Pitigliano e Sovana DOC