Valtellina

VALTELLINA – Mountain Nebbiolo

We spent a few days in this narrow valley bordering Switzerland just a couple hundred kilometers away from Langhe. The vineyards are so steep that could remind you of the Mosel Sand the traditional grape, even though called Chiavennasca, is nothing but our beloved Nebbiolo. Temperatures are typically lower and the soil types very diverse.

The Valtellina is a valley of glacial origin, furrowed by the river Adda, which runs for a full 120 kilometres from east to west, from the Stelvio Pass to Lake Como.

Embraced in between the Alpi Retiche and Orobie, it runs parallel to chain of the Alps and enjoys a unique microclimate. From dawn to sunset, the sun warms the terraced vineyard, which is set like a precious stone on the Rhaetian slope, fully exposed to the south and soothed by the cool breeze from the north.

Dry-stone walls hold back poor soils composed of flaked granite, where, since time immemorial, the root of the Nebbiolo from the Alps vine has found all the nutrients it needs to create a genetic variability that is unsurpassed.

Ermanno Olmi, with great sensitivity and poetic inspiration, described in a documentary film what it is like to live and work on the Rupi del Vino.

The spectacle of the terraced vineyards of the Valtellina is the heritage of mountain folk who have tended them for centuries, and it is a priceless treasure that deserves to be protected as a cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In general, Valtellina’s Nebbiolo do not reach the weight and the complexity of Barolo and Barbaresco but have great freshness and drinkability. Also, I see great potential in this area considering climate change and the fact that vineyards worldwide could potentially get a little warmer.

A special thanks to @arpepe1860 for showing us around.