Liguria Flashcards
What is the main source of income for Liguria?
Tourism
What is the scale of wine production in Liguria?
Small; wine produced here is largely consumed by thirsty summer visitors.
In the past, producers focused more on quantity, rather than quality, in order to accommodate demand from resorts and restaurants.
How has wine production in Liguria changed since the beginning of the 21st century?
Quality has improved and the wines show distinct regional individuality. Many wine producers embraced the region’s viticultural heritage and its longstanging winegrowing traditions.
Whites from Pigato and Vermentino are refreshing and vibrant, while red from Rossese are distinctive. Acidity is often combined with a saline note, making them the perfect match for local seafood and regional specialties.
When were vines fist planted on the steep slopes of Liguria and by who?
The Liguri tribe settled here well before 1000BC and is credited with planting vines on the steep slopes long before formal viticulture was introduced by the Greeks and Etruscans.
Which wines were of great renown by the advent of the Roman Era?
The wines made along the coastal area of Cinque Terre.
Which wines were held in such high esteem that Pliny the Elder mentioned them in his Naturalis Historia?
Those produced in the Roman town of Luni.
During the middle ages, which area was a powerful city-state?
Genoa, the principal port of modern-day Liguria.
As a Maritime Republic of Genoa, it expanded beyond the city limits to encompass the territory around it and became one of the major military and commercial forces in the Mediterranean.
When did wine trade in Liguria become a significant source of income for the Republic?
The 14th century; at this time, grapevines accounted for two-thirds of the total cultivated farmland within the Ligurian territory.
How significant was wine commerce in Liguria?
Genoa created a specific governing body in order to protect and support the consumption of wine within the Republic as a way to protect the population from diseases, epidemics and unsafe drinking water.
When did viticulture in Liguria reach its zenith and then falter?
17th century; Genoa’s commercial influence began to decline due to internal political instability and increasing British and Dutch competition on the high seas. Growers abandoned vines and planted olives instead.
Increasing instability in Liguria continued well into which century when the Republic briefly became part of the French Empire under Napoleon?
19th century
At the close of the Napoleonic Wars, how did the Congress of Vienna attempt to restore peace and negotiate balance of power and territory within Europe?
The Congress gifted the territory of the Republic of Genoa to the Kingdom of Sardinia, which later united most of the peninsula as the Kingdom of Italy in 1861)
What occurred at the end of the 19th century resulting in the virtual collapse of an industry in Liguria?
The arrival of phylloxera.
The steep and terraced vineyards were high-maintenance and offered relatively little by way of financial return. Many were abandoned.
When did winegrowing begin to rebound in Liguria?
1960s-1970s; since, winegrowing has been able to keep in step with a bourgeoning tourist industry.
How big is Liguria compared to other regions in Italy?
It is the 3rd smallest region in Italy.
Where is Liguria located?
In northwest Italy. It is a narrow, crescent-shaped strip of land facing the Ligurian Sea, which is its southern border. To the west, lies France; to the east, Toscana. Piemonte forms most of its northern border, with Emilia-Romagna hemming a small portion of the region to the northeast.
What is the capital of Liguria?
Genoa; it is Liguria’s most important port and also the major commercial port in Italy.
What are the 4 major cities of Liguria?
1) Imperia
2) Savona
3) Genoa
4) La Spezia
The four major cities along the coast administratively divide the region into four main provinces.
What are the 2 main winegrowing sub-regions in Liguria?
1) Riviera di Ponente (West Coast)
2) Riviera di Levante (East Coast)
What area does the Riviera di Ponente sub-region cover?
The west coast stretching from the French border to the city of Genoa and covers the provinces of Savona and Imperia.
It is the largest, driest and most diverse sub-region and has a wide range of meso-climates.
What area does the Riviera di Levante sub-region cover?
The east coast extending from the eastern part of Genoa to the Tuscan border. Besides Genoa, it includes the province of La Spezia and the famous villages of Cinque Terre and Portofino.
This area is characterized by steep capes and cliffs interrupted by small sandy beaches.
The vineyards are composed of very steep and narrow terraces held in place by dry-stone walls. The overlook the sea.
Where in Liguria is most winegrowing concentrated?
In the western Riviera di Ponente sub-region which produces mainly DOC wine.
How much of Liguria is mountainous, hilly, or plains?
-65% mountainous
-35% hilly
-0% plains
The 220mi/350km of coastline is rocky and jagged.
The region of Liguria is shaped by which mountain ranges?
Two main mountain regions merge with the coast.
To the northwest lie the Maritime Alps.
To the northeast, the Ligurian Apennines.
Where are vines planted in Liguria?
Due to the rugged landscape, viticulture is mainly confined to steep, terraced coastal slopes or on slightly less steep, inland slopes. No flat land is available to grow vines.
For these reasons, viticulture in Liguria is deemed ‘heroic’ due to the extremely challenging and labor-intensive conditions that growers have to face to tend their vineyards.
What is the climate in Liguria?
Overall, a Mediterranean climate, with some continental influences in the mountainous inland valleys.
How is the climate in Liguria affected by the topography and proximity to the sea?
The mountain ranges running through the region offer protection from cold northerly winds.
The sea moderates temperature and reduces the diurnal temperature swings.
What is the average annual temperature in Liguria?
It is highest in the coastal area at 57F/14C, dropping to 54G/12C inland.
How does Liguria fair with rainfall and humidity?
Sea breezes bring humidity and rainfall is abundant, although it falls primarily during autumn and winter.
Due to the prevailing southern winds, the eastern Riviera di Levante area is wetter than the other sub-region. It has an annual rainfall of 67in/1,700mm.
The central area (around Genoa) is drier with 50in/1,300mm).
The western Ponente sub-region is drier still, with less than 30in/800mm of precipitation.
What are the soil types found in Liguria?
Soils are poor and stony. Generally speaking, the region can be divided into two principal soil divisions:
1) the reddish calcareous marl-based soils of the western Ponent
2) the clay, sand, and limestone mix of the eastern Levante.
What is the weather in Liguria like through the four seasons?
1) Spring: mild with little rain
2) Summer: warm and dry, moderated by sea breezes. The lowest amount of rainfall; in very hot conditions, drought can be an issue.
3) Autumn: mild temperatures; highest levels of precipitation.
4) Winter: mild on the coast with colder temperatures in the inland valleys; significant rainfall.
How many grape varieties are grown in Liguria?
More than 100 different varieties - a nod to the glory days of the Republic of Genoa and its huge viticultural machine.
Most of them are indigenous and are co-planted within the vineyards.
What are the most widely planted varietals in Liguria?
The most widely planted are:
-Vermentino (white)
-Pigato (white)
-Rossese (red)
More than 70% of planted grapes are white varieties.
How many of the planted grapes are international varieties?
A very tiny portion; they are mostly planted for IGT wines.
Name the native & traditional white varieties of Liguria.
Widely planted:
1) Vermentino
2) Pigato
3) Bosco
4) Albarola
Other than the primary native varieties, what are the other white grapes that can be found in Liguria?
1) Scimiscia
2) Trebbiano Toscano
3) Lumassina
4) Albana
5) Malvasia Bianca
6) Moscato Bianco
7) Rollo
8) Rossese Bianco
9) Ruzzese
Which is the most widely planted grape in Liguria?
Vermentino; it accounts for more than 20% of the total plantings.
What styles of wine are made using Vermentino in Liguria?
-single-varietal
-blended
What are the characteristics of a Vermentino wine of Liguria?
It hints of aromatic herbs (fennel, sage, thyme), elderflower, pear, and has a distinctive mineral-salty finish.
Which varietal is the classic white grape of the western Rivier?
Pigato; specifically within the provinces of Savona and Imperia.
What style of wine is produced from Pigato in Liguria?
Varietal wines under the Riviera Ligure di Ponente DOC.
What are the characteristics of wines made from Pigato?
The wines are lightly herbal with stone fruits, sage and honey. It often shows a musky character and has a saline finish.
How are Vermentino and Pigato similar yet different?
Recent studies have shown that they are genetically identical. However, they have adapted differently to the Ligurian terroir and produce wines with a distinct character.
The two grapes are still listed as separate in the National Registry of Grapes and in the DOC disciplinare.
Bosco is native to which area of Liguria?
It is a hardy, white grape, native to La Spezia.
It is mainly grown on the eastern Riviera di Levante - often in vineyards right next to the sea.
What style of wine is produced from the Bosco grape?
A blend bottled as the Cinque Terre (Bianco) DOC.
Blended with:
-Vermentino
-Albarola
Bosco adds body & structure to the blend
Where is the Albarola grape primarily grown?
The sub-region of Riviera di Levante.
What style of wine is produced using the Albarola grape?
1) varietal wine
2) blends with:
-Vermentino
-Bosco
What are characteristics of wines made from Albarola?
Fragrant and citrusy with refreshing acidity.
What is Albarola known as in the Golfo del Tigullio and Val Polcevera DOCs?
Bianchetta Genovese.
DNA studies prove them to be identical. However, they were once considered to be different varieties and are still listed as separate varieties in the Italian National Registry of grapes and the DOC disciplinare.
Name the native and traditional red varieties of Liguria.
1) Rossese
2) Ormeasco
3) Sangiovese
Other than the primary varieties, what other red grapes are found in Liguria?
1) Ciliegiolo
2) Canaiolo Nero
3) Pollena Nera
4) Granaccia (Cannonau)
5) Albarossa
6) Barbera
Which red varietal in Liguria has been proven to be genetically identical to the French grape Tibouren?
Rossese; but, no definitive assumption can be made as to whether the variety originally came from Italy or France.
Today, it is considered a traditional variety of the western Riviera di Ponente since it has been grown there sine at least the 1700s.
