Major Viticultural Zones

To the north and west of the Langhe and Monferrato hills, the large plains of Turin and Cuneo extend at a gentle upward incline towards the encircling chain of Alpine foothills. These plains were gradually eroded through the action of rivers. As a result, a number of different territories were isolated, like the hilly table, which once stretched in a northwesterly direction from the feet of the Bassa Langa embracing the area now known as the Roero. At one time the river Stura flowed into the Tanaro as it headed northwards (through the Roero) towards Carmagnola. Between 150 and 200 thousand years ago the rivers changed course to the east to join up with the Bormida and eventually the Po. The original course of the Tanaro is now visible as an almost continuous outcrop of rock (the Roero's famous rocche) stretching from just west of Pocapaglia up as far as Montà in a northeasterly direction.

To the northwest of this great cut is the undulating plain of Turin and to the southeast lie the hills of the viticultural Roero and beyond them, the Langhe.

The Zones:
The Langhe
The Roero
The Monferrato
Gavi

The Langhe

Nowadays the Tanaro separates the Bassa Langa from the Roero forming a neat, natural division between two very different terrains. On the lower (right) bank, south and east of the river, are the Langhe hills, formed during the Miocene era of the Tertiary epoch. They are long-ridged with rounded clay, sand and limestone outcrops and much subject to erosion - the mainly sedimentary accumulations that form the soil structure mean a lack of solid chalk. The soil is basically neutral (sub-alkaline): the classic terra bianca (white earth) of the Langhe is greyish-white, calcareous marl broken up with patches of yellow sand. There is generally more compact sandstone on the lower ground white the higher ground gives way to clay formed from limestone and chalk. The soil is rich in mineral and trace elements: potassium, magnesium oxide, boron, iron, manganese, phosphorus and copper are present in significant amounts and the seemingly endless combinations result in wide soil variations between the different terrains.

For purposes of defence and drainage, habitation has tended to centre on the summits of the hills. The medieval castles and towers that dominate many of the hilltop villages are a constant reminder of the not so distant feudal past. The area is now crisscrossed with roads: these are often along the ridges, as at Castiglione Falletto and Serralunga d'Alba. Until the eighteenth century at least, they were little more than tracks.

The Roero

The Roero occupies the upper (left) bank of the river Tanaro. The terrain is Pliocene in origin (the final phase of the Tertiary period) and is more closely tied to the final uplifting of the Alps. Stabilized in the climatic conditions of a later period, the hills of the Roero are characterized by the steep gradients and conical summits of its deep valleys and rocky outcrops, interspersed with more softy rolling land. The soil is typically friable, based on yellow sand with admixtures of limestone marl and marine based sedimentary deposits (fossilized shells of small, prehistoric marine creatures are still to be found quite close to the surface). There are few of the elongated ridges that typify the Bassa Langa and roads are thus often along the valley bottoms isolating the higher and steeper slopes where viticulture is traditionally strongest. The area is still quite widely forested with beech, chestnut, pine and in particular oak; the cultivation of the vine is correspondingly more sporadic than on the other side of the river.

The Monferrato

Heading north and east from Alba, one enters the hill-rich DOC zone of Asti, south of the town of Asti itself. The name on its own is used only for the well-known sweet sparkling wine, Asti Spumante. However, the name Asti also combines with various varietal names to form what is called a 'multi DOC' (a place name preceded or followed by the name of any one of a range of grape names or wine styles), for example: Moscato d'Asti, a semi-sparkling wine of generally superior quality, some of the best of which in fact comes from the Alba side of the border to the west and from the province of Alessandria to the east. Other examples are the potentially excellent Barbera d'Asti, and the Dolcetto, Freisa and Grignolino d'Asti.

The soil of the Monferrato is also neutral (terra bianca: white earth) similar to the Langhe, a calcareous marl broken up with patches of yellow sand. There is generally more compact sandstone on the lower ground while the higher ground gives way to clay rich in limestone and chalk. The soil is normally more fertile than other hills in Piemonte.

Gavi

To the South and East of the Monferrato, in the last corner of Piemonte before Liguria, it's mountains and the Mediterranean coast, lies the DOC area of Gavi, home to arguably Italy's most interesting white grape, Cortese. Viticulture has been practised in the area for centuries, with records of vines going back as far as 1072, although cortese itself is not mentioned specifically until the 17th century.

The land is formed of a mixture of alluvial and marine sedimentary deposits that in areas have produced a grey-white silty marl, similar to that of the Langhe. In Serravalle the marl alternates with a coarse sandstone soil formed by shallow prehistoric seas. Other soils include the blue-grey clays known as 'Lugagnano Clays' and on the northern borders gravely alluvial deposits alternating with a reddish soil, rich in clay and iron and known locally as "strong soil", which constitutes the typical wine-growing base.