Velletri

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The activity of the Laziale Volcano, which began approximately 600,000 years ago, generated the geological formations that characterize the soils of the Colli Albani and the foothill areas of the production zone.
• The pozzolans, known locally as 'terrinelle', are uncemented volcanic ashes that give rise to sandy, deep soils that are permeable to water with no surface or subsurface waterlogging.
• The lithoid tuffs, more or less hard and derived from the cementation of ashes and lapilli, known locally as cappellacci, occhio di pesce, and occhio di pernice, cover the greater part of the territory under consideration.
• The vineyards are situated at altitudes ranging from 56 to 500 metres above sea level, with a general aspect oriented towards the west and south-west.
• Mean annual rainfall in the zone ranges from 822 to 1,110 mm, with a mean annual temperature of between 13.7 and 15.2°C and a summer dry period that is not particularly pronounced.

• The Statuta civitatis velitrarum, confirmed by a papal brief of Pope Sixtus IV dated 17 May 1477 and reformed in 1544, contained numerous chapters on vine cultivation and wine production.
• Theuli, in the Theatro historico di Velletri of 1644, describes two styles of local wine — Vini crudi and Vini cotti — distinguishing their characteristics of colour, sweetness, and body.

• Velletri rosso Riserva displays a ruby-red colour of varying intensity tending towards garnet with age, with an intense nose of fruit and flowers and a dry, velvety, and appropriately tannic palate.
• Velletri spumante has a deep straw-yellow colour with an intense, fine, and persistent perlage, a nose showing notes of yeast, beer, and ripe fruit, and a dry, full-bodied palate.

• The high diurnal temperature range during the final stage of ripening, combined with good sunshine hours and relatively high temperatures in September and October, allows the grapes to ripen slowly and fully, contributing to the organoleptic characteristics of the wine.
• The combination of soil characteristics and climatic factors leads, in the white wines, to the production of significant quantities of aromatic precursors that enhance the organoleptic profile and the typical varietal aromas of the grape varieties.

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-A0762