To clarify: the acronym DOC indicates that the product, in this case wine, has obtained the “Controlled Designation of Origin” certification. We are therefore talking about a wine produced in a specific area, traditionally linked to the cultivation of the grape variety and/or to the production of the wine in question.
The Valli Ossolane controlled designation refers to specific types of wines produced in 18 municipalities in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. Valli Ossolane is one of the 45 DOCs of Piedmont, the region at the top of the Italian ranking for the number of wines with a Controlled Designation of Origin.
Valli Ossolane DOC regulations and territory
As regards Valli Ossolane DOC, the regulations include within the production area the entire administrative territory of the municipalities in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, listed in alphabetical order: Beura, Bognanco, Cardezza, Crevoladossola, Crodo, Domodossola, Masera, Montecrestese, Montescheno, Ornavasso, Pallanzeno, Piedimulera, Pieve Vergonte, Premosello, Trontano, Viganella, Villadossola, Vogogna. All land geographically distributed in the northernmost part of Piedmont, in the Upper Vercelli and Upper Novara areas.
The land in this area, formed by ancient fluvial deposits, varies in its characteristics: terraced, undulating, sloping. It sometimes has a rocky subsoil.
Vinification, ageing and maturation operations must take place within the same territory.
The regulations establish that vineyards must be in a sunny, non-humid position, therefore not on the valley floor but in hilly and mountainous areas, between 600 and 1,000 metres above sea level. The planting density must also comply with tradition, as must, more generally, the training system: pergola, upward-growing vegetation, trellising, using the low spurred cordon method, according to the specific characteristics required by the grape variety.
Depending on the year of planting and on how favourable the vintage may be, the regulations also govern the maximum yield of grapes per hectare of vineyard. They also regulate the yield of wine produced according to the quantity of grapes used.
The harvest year must always be stated on the label.
Valli Ossolane DOC grape varieties and wines
The grape varieties that give rise to Valli Ossolane DOC wines are: Nebbiolo, Croatina, Merlot and Chardonnay. As regards Nebbiolo, the designation Prünent is permitted, referring to a black grape variety derived from Nebbiolo. Nebbiolo Prünent is in fact a native grape variety of the Ossola Valley, for which a recovery project has been underway since 1990, promoted by the Associazione Produttori Agricoli Ossolani in collaboration with local farms.
The regulations provide for four types of wine that may bear the Valli Ossolane DOC designation, provided they comply with the stipulated alcoholic strength and specific organoleptic characteristics.
- Valli Ossolane Rosso DOC: alcohol content of 11.00% Vol. Produced from a blend containing at least 60% Nebbiolo, Croatina and Merlot.
Intense ruby red colour tending towards garnet. Intense, fruity aroma. Dry and harmonious flavour, warm, slightly tannic. - Valli Ossolane Nebbiolo DOC: made from at least 85% Nebbiolo grapes, with an alcohol content of 11.00% Vol.
Red colour. Fruity, delicate, fragrant aroma. Dry yet harmonious flavour. - Valli Ossolane Nebbiolo Superiore DOC: made from at least 85% Nebbiolo grapes, alcohol content of 11.50% Vol, aged for a minimum of 13 months, including 6 months in wooden barrels, from 1 November of the year in which the grapes are harvested.
Intense ruby red colour. Fragrant, delicate aroma. Dry flavour. - Valli Ossolane Bianco DOC: 10.50% Vol. Produced from a minimum of 60% Chardonnay.
Straw-yellow colour. Fruity, delicate, fragrant aroma. Full, dry and harmonious flavour, with balanced acidity and good persistence.
Blending during production, in any case always with wines also entitled to the Valli Ossolane DOC designation, even if from other vintages, is permitted up to a maximum of 15%.
The future of Valli Ossolane DOC
Checks during the production phase, chemical and organoleptic analyses of the finished product guarantee consumers that wine bearing the DOC designation meets the requirements to best represent the name assigned to it, its history and tradition. To this end, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry (MASAF) appoints committees of technicians and tasters.
After at least ten years in the DOC category, the producer may apply to add the letter “G”, meaning “guaranteed”, to the designation of their wine. A wine bearing the DOCG designation is recognised as being of particular merit, with a reputation and commercial value acknowledged in Italy and abroad. This is the aim of Edoardo Patrone winery with its Valli Ossolane Rosso VM. For now, it is a small production, aged in oak barrels for more than 12 months, offering the flavours and aromas of Ossola. A first wine, a first step, intended to mark the beginning of a journey.
Further information
To learn more about the wines of the designation: the Prünent grape variety, the history of Ossola wine, local production figures.
