Vittoria

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The geographical area extends over approximately 124,500 hectares across the provinces of Ragusa, Caltanissetta, and Catania, bounded by the Erei Mountains to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Iblean Mountains to the east.
• The area is divided into three altitudinal macro-zones: a coastal zone between 0 and 200 m above sea level, a mid-hill zone between 200 and 350 m above sea level, and an upper-hill zone above 350 m above sea level.
• From a geological standpoint, the zone is predominantly calcareous, with Miocene calcarenites overlain by loose Pleistocene soils, together with sandy and sandy-clayey formations containing calcarenite horizons.
• The soils are distributed across the following associations: 15% brown soils over sandy and conglomerate rock, 50% leached brown soils and terra rossa over a calcarenite substratum, 25% brown soils, vertic brown soils, and vertisols, and 10% alluvial soils and vertisols along rivers and valley floors.
• During July and August a marked diurnal temperature range is recorded, from 9 °C in the coastal zone to 11 °C in the upper-hill zone and 13–14 °C in the mid-hill zone, with mean annual rainfall varying from 385 mm on the coast to 499 mm in the upper hills.

• In 1606, the noblewoman Vittoria Colonna Henriquez, Countess of Modica, founded the city of Vittoria and granted each of the first 75 settlers one hectare of land on the condition that they cultivate another hectare as vineyard.
• The grape varieties authorised for production, Nero d'Avola and Frappato, whose combination is unique and characteristic of this zone, are cited and described as early as 1808 by P. Balsamo and in 1812 by D. Sestini.
• New plantings and replantings must be trained as alberello or as counter-trellis (controspalliera) at a density of 4,000 vines per hectare; all forcing practices are prohibited, though emergency irrigation is permitted. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)

• The wines display a typical colour ranging from cherry red to violet, an aroma profile from floral to fruity, and a dry, full, soft, and harmonious palate.

• The vine roots reach the calcareous layer, where they find cooler temperatures and greater moisture, allowing deeper water and mineral uptake that is especially beneficial after véraison, preventing ripening stalls caused by water stress.

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-A0803
• Official trade body site — Consorzio di tutela Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG e Vittoria DOC