Mare d’Italia

Romagna’s hills are very generous with wine grapes, and many wineries and producers supply restaurants and markets worldwide. Several producers have obtained the “DOCG” label from the European Union which guarantees the quality and origin of the wine, but people can find fantastic wine made by small local farms.
Most small bistros and eateries, especially in hill villages, can offer a great ‘house wine’, often produced in small, exclusive quantities.

Sangiovese

Sangiovese is clearly a native variety but there are many hypotheses as to the exact origin of its name, which, in the local dialect, is Sanzvès. The most widely accepted explanation was advanced by glottologist F. Schurr, Tribune of the Wines of the Romagna, who died several years ago. According to Schurr, the denomination of the variety was derived from Monte Giove, a hill located in the vicinity of Sant’Angelo di Romagna. That argument is bolstered by a local legend, according to which the Cappuchin friars, who among their other activities cultivated vineyards, were entertaining an illustrious guest one day at their convent, which stood then, as it still does today, on a hill known as Collis Jovis near Sant’Angelo di Romagna. The guest greatly appreciated the friars’ wine and asked them its name, which greatly embarrassed the clerics, since they had never thought to give it one. One friar who was faster on the uptake than the others promptly replied that it was called Sanguis di Jovis. Sanguis di Jovis was soon converted into Sangue di Giove, which was inevitably contracted to Sangiovese. The first historical accounts of the Sangiovese variety go back to the 17th century. Toward the end of the 18th century, the “red wine of the Romagna,” as it was then known, became popular as Sangiovese, in part because of some short poems written on the occasions of various wedding feasts by Pier Maria De’ Minimi and Jacopo Landoni.
Professional association: Ente Tutela Vini Romagnoli, 2, corso Garibaldi, 48018 Faenza RA – Tel. (0546) 28455 Date founded: 1962.
Production zone: the easternmost hills of the province of Bologna and part of the territory in the Apennines of the provinces of Forlì and Ravenna.
Varieties: Sangiovese.
Sensory analysis: in color, ruby red, sometimes with purplish streaks; vinous odor with a delicate scent of almonds; dry, harmonious, at times slightly tannic flavor with a pleasantly bitterish aftertaste.
Qualifications: with two years of aging, the wine can be labeled a Riserva. If the grapes come from a limited area within the production zone and the wine has a minimum alcohol level of 12ø, the qualification Superiore can be used.
Types: none.

Albana

The origins of Albana di Romagna are so ancient that it is no longer easy to distinguish between history and legend. It is reported that in 435 Galla Placida, the beautiful daughter of the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II, arrived early one morning in a small village in the Romagna riding a white donkey. The princess’s beauty astonished the inhabitants of the place, who, as soon as they saw her, offered her a large terracotta jug of the area’s sweet and excellent wine, the Albana. Galla Placida was so taken by the wine that she remarked, “You should not drink this wine in such an humble container. Rather it should be drunk in gold (berti in oro) to render homage to its smoothness.” Since then, the village has been called Bertinoro. And, at the court of Ravenna, Albana was thereafter drunk exclusively in precious goblets. Bertinoro is today an important center for the production of Albana. There is also a report that the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who was a guest of Countess Frangipane at Bertinoro, was another great admirer of the wine. Setting aside legend, the first historical account concerning Albana di Romagna is contained in the celebrated treatise on agriculture written by Pier de’ Crescenzi of Bologna in the 13th century. The treatise contains in fact the first description of the wine and of its production area: “a potent wine with a noble flavor that is quite drinkable and moderately subtle…the best of this type of grape can be had at Forlì and throughout the Romagna.”
Production entities: 1,765 producers.
Number of hectares inscribed: 2,175.
Maximum possible output: 197,932 hl.
Amount produced: 40,750 hl.
Professional association: Ente Tutela Vini Romagnoli, 2, corso Garibaldi, 48018 Faenza RA – Tel. (0546) 28455 Date founded: 1962.
Production zone: the strip of the Apennines that extends eastward from Bologna as far as the Adriatic and is located in the provinces of Bologna, Forlì and Ravenna.
Varieties: Albana.

Trebbiano

The Trebbiano variety appeared in the Romagna during the Etruscan period. In fact, the Etruscans reclaimed and put into cultivation a major part of the whole region. The wine of that time was certainly much different from the modern product, since in the ancient world the wines were aromatized through the addition of pitch or resin and even scents that were the same as those used in making the perfumes worn by Roman girls and women. In 1305, the Bolognese agronomist Pier de’ Crescenzi in his treatise Liber ruralium commodorum discussed the Trebbiano variety, describing it as “a white, with a small, round grape that it bears abundantly. In its youth, the vine does not bear fruit but when it grows older it becomes fecund.” However, it should be understood that before the 14th century it was not customary to give wines proper names. It was only in 1364 that Trebbiano began to be indicated by that name in the list of wines stored in the Palazzo della Signoria in Florence, which was then the headquarters of the Priors. Trebbiano now holds an important place in the enology of the Romagna. Throughout the region, depending upon location and system of vinification, the ancient variety yields wines that are light, delicately odorous and sapid. They are wines that should be drunk in their youth. Over the centuries, the old Trebbiano has produced numerous subvarieties that are widely cultivated in Italy and in some zones in France, where the grapes and the wines they yield are used in making Cognac.
Professional association: Ente Tutela Vini Romagnoli, 2, corso Garibaldi, 48018 Faenza RA – Tel. (0546) 28455 Date founded: 1962.
Production zone: parts of the territories of the provinces of Bologna, Forlì and Ravenna in the eastern part of the region. Only terrains on hills or foothills, as well as some in restricted areas of the plains, are considered suitable. The soils should be sandy-clayey. While they can be deep, they must be rather dry. Alluvial soils that are damp and those that have recently been reclaimed are excluded.
Varieties: Trebbiano di Romagna.
Sensory analysis: more or less intense straw-yellow color; vinous and appealing odor; dry, sapid and balanced flavor.
Qualifications: none.
Types: a Dry, sweetish or sweet Sparkling (Spumante) version is also made with a minimum alcohol level of 11.5ø and total acidity of not less than 5.5 ppt.

Pagadebit

Pagadebit owes its name (debt-payer) to the characteristics of the variety from which it is principally (85%) made. It is an extremely fertile and productive variety, with tough-skinned grapes that are highly resistant to parasites and adverse climatic conditions. In particularly unfavorable growing seasons, it is often the only vine that succeeds in yielding grapes, which means that the grower counts on its for a minimum output that will at least permit him to pay the debts he has contracted during the year. The grapes of the variety, which is widely diffused under different names throughout central and southern Italy, were seldom vinified alone since the wine they produced was generally considered heavy and not particularly welcome on the market. In the strip of hills extending from Forlì to Cesena, Pagadebit was always used in a mixture of grapes to boost the wine’s structure and alcohol level. At the beginning of the seventies, it appeared that the wine was destined to extinction but it was revived through the stubborn efforts of a few viticulturists who applied modern techniques in vinifying the grapes. The wine they obtained caught the attention of the market and the demand, as well as the DOC recognition, extended in 1989, has amply rewarded their determination and commitment.
Professional association: Ente Tutela Vini Romagnoli, 2, corso Garibaldi, 48018 Faenza RA – Tel. (0546) 28455 Date founded: 1962.
Production zone: the communes of Brisighella, Casola Valsenio, Castelbolognese, Faenza and Riolo Terme in the province of Ravenna and numerous communes in the province of Forlì. Vineyards situated at altitudes superior to 400 meters above sea level or planted in damp or badly exposed terrains are excluded from the DOC.
Varieties: Bombino bianco, 85%; other white-grape varieties authorized or recommended for the provinces of Forlì and Ravenna, up to a maximum of 15%.
Required aging: none.
Sensory analysis: more or less intense straw yellow in color; characteristic odor with a scent of hawthorn; dry or sweetish, grassy, balanced, appealing and delicate flavor.
Qualifications: the wine produced from grapes grown in the commune of Bertinoro, with a minimum alcohol level of 11.5ø, minimum total acidity of 5 ppt. and minimum net dry extract of 18 ppt., is entitled to the Bertinoro subdenomination, whether in dry or sweetish versions.
Types: a Sparkling (Frizzante) version is also produced.

Cagnina

It is virtually certain that the Cagnina variety originated in Friuli and it has been argued that it was introduced into the Romagna around the 13th century when vast quantities of limestone were being imported from the Carso and Dalmatia for the construction of the city’s most important Byzantine monuments. In addition, Cagnina is quite similar to the Terrano (known as Refosco) of Istria and the Carso, both in terms of ampelography and the results achieved in vinification. In the local dialect, the descriptive term de grasp ros (or dal raspo rosso in Italian, “with a red stalk” in English) is usually added to the name, exactly as in Friuli Terrano is known as dal peduncolo rosso. The Cagnina produced today in the Romagna is a red wine that is often sweetish and ready to drink only a few months after the harvest and following quick fining in cask. In some particularly favorable vintages, the wine can be aged a couple of years with outstanding results.
Production zone: the communes of Brisighella, Casola Valsenio, Castelbolognese, Faenza and Riolo Terme in the province of Ravenna and the communes of Bertinoro, Castrocaro-Terra del Sole, Cesena, Forlimpopoli, Longiano, Montiano, Modigliana, Dovadola, Predappio, Mercato Seraceno, Meldola, Roncofreddo, Savignano su Rubicone, Gatteo and San Mauro Pascoli in the province of Forlì.
Varieties: Refosco (known locally as Terrano), 85%; other varieties authorized or recommended for the provinces of Ravenna and Forlì, up to a maximum of 15%.
Sensory analysis: in color, purplish red; vinous and characteristic odor; sweet, full-bodied, a bit tannic and slightly acidulous flavor.
Qualifications: none.
Types: none.