Valle d'Aosta

History

According to old legends, the prehistoric Salassi, a Ligurian-Gallic tribe conquered by the Romans in 23 BC, already practiced the cultivation of vines in Valle d’Aosta. Today wine is still being produced in Italy’s smallest and very French region—you will hear a lot of French sounding names here, for both people and places—and it is of exceptionally high-quality. Indeed, Valle d’Aosta is Italy’s best kept wine secret. There are three main valleys in Valle d’Aosta, and each is identified with specific wine products. The main wine-production area in the region today is the Central valley crossed by the Dora Baltea river, especially the warmer and sunnier slopes of the left bank. However, there are extremely important winemaking areas in the Lower valley, such as Donnas, where they make a Barolo-like wine from Nebbiolo grapes, which in the region is called Picotener, and the Northern valley, where the delicious Blanc de Morgex et La Salle wine is made from the native Prié Blanc variety.

Territory

The climate is continental and cold but varies greatly with altitude, while rain is generally scarce. Vineyards are often planted thanks to terraces that help cope with the very steep gradients, similar to those of Valtellina or of certain plots in South Tyrol. Most vines are trained with the pergola or canopy system.

Valle d’Aosta’s viticulture has been defined as “heroic” because of the effort that the farmer has to put forth on such difficult mountainous land, and where vineyards often reach and even exceed 1,000 meters above sea level. On a positive note, the altitude of the vineyards does not allow the Phylloxera louse to live there, and so many Valle d’Aosta vines at higher altitudes are ungrafted.