Heroic Viticulture

Mountain wine, respecting the environment and the craftsmanship of the product

The concept of mountain wine cannot be separated from that of heroic viticulture, which is generally referred to when talking about particularly extreme viticulture.

When we talk about this type of wine and approach to vine growing, we always refer to a product of craftsmanship, as Apewineboxes.com, an online shop and magazine specialising in artisanal wine, observes, represents the flagship of the Italian wine movement.

Heroic viticulture in the common imagination

Awareness of the existence of this type of vine-growing has been present in the articles of wine critics since the late 1950s, and has always been correlated to a marked harshness of the climatic and territorial conditions and thus to very specific territories such as the Valtellina.

Only recently, thanks to the work of the CERVIMThe Centre for Research, Studies and Mountain Enhancement identified a number of requirements for certain vineyards to be defined as heroic.

• Heights above 500 metres above sea level
• Slope at least of 30%
• Cultivation on terraces or steps, as well as on small islands (e.g. Ustica)

One should not think of vigorous as far as the eye can see, but rather of literally perched rows, covered by thin layers of earth.

Legislation on heroic viticulture 

Article 7 of Law No 238/2916 (Consolidated Law on vineyards and wine) was intended to safeguard heroic vineyards by means of maintenance, restoration and recovery measures as well as safeguards to avoid the risk of hydrological instability or to protect the landscape and environment in which they are located.

In 2018, the Ministry for Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies proposed to carry out a census of these vineyards in order to assess their possible recognition on the label.

How mountain wine is produced

Mountain wines come from vineyards subjected to a multitude of atmospheric agents that stress their capacity for adaptation and productivity, such as powerful temperature fluctuations, snow and great sunshine. Not to mention the effort that the producers themselves are forced to make.

In Italy there are many mountains and consequently many more heroic vineyards than you might think.

You don't necessarily have to look to the Alps, some of the most interesting producers can be found in Umbria as well as at the foot of Mount Etna or Vesuvius.

And while they were previously considered niche wines, they now meet the new taste of the market, which demands leaner, less alcoholic products that are elegant, fresh and easy to pair with food.

Artisan Wines

By craftsmanship in the world of wine, we mean productions below 50,000 bottles per year per company, with low yields and a decidedly sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to viticulture.

Normally these wines are characterised by a scarcity of product counterbalanced by a high organoleptic quality, unlike industrial wines.

All these characteristics are typical of mountain wines, as we shall see, and help to make them unique.

The approach in the vineyard

Every good winemaker knows very well that these vineyards must be protected, supported and cared for. In this conception of wine, systemic chemistry certainly has no reason to exist.

Good practice involves boosting the ecosystem in the vineyard and therefore abandoning potentially harmful behaviour such as the use of pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. 

Rather, the interaction between all living beings in the field is stimulated in order for them to manage the normal natural development of life.

Similarly, irrigation can only be of assistance, as excessive amounts of water, in addition to debasing the body and aromatic qualities of the wine, could cause damage to the plants themselves.

Harvesting is by necessity manual, and exhausting, as it is not possible to use the machinery normally used in such cases.

Wine in the cellar

As much as it is inherent in the very concept of craftsmanship, the use of indigenous yeasts that spontaneously bring about the alcoholic fermentation of the grapes during maceration at 

spring temperatures, it is not always possible. 

The underlying idea is that wine can be produced in the as natural as possible but often, in the absence of a mild climate, laboratory-selected yeasts are used to start fermentation and transform the sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The risk otherwise is that fermentation never starts.

Autochthonous yeasts and spontaneous fermentation

Autochthonous yeasts are those yeasts that occur naturally in cellars, on walls, in fermentation tanks, in pipes or on the roof and are responsible for spontaneous alcoholic fermentation.

They can be of many types, but only the ethanol-resistant Saccharomyces Cerevisiae is able to metabolise the sugars into carbon dioxide and alcohol, thus triggering the chemical process that will lead to a mass ready for racking.

Devatting and refining

When the sugars are almost exhausted, racking takes place, the process by which the liquid is separated from the solid mass. This mass is then eventually passed through the press to obtain more free-run must.

At this point, the wine is ready to be aged in amphorae or wooden barrels, and is then refined in bottles. However, it is not uncommon for mountain wines to be aged for a longer or shorter period in stainless steel tanks instead of barrels (or amphorae).

Good practice also calls for a modest use of antioxidants such as sulphites, where appropriate, to help the wine preserve itself properly.

The taste of mountain wines

Mountain wines are fundamentally very fresh wines, benefiting from the large temperature variations that the vineyards are subjected to, a factor that increases their acidity.

They also have a much lighter and quicker drinking on average, and a slender and elegant body, deriving from the mineral soil, which guarantees that the pairings are always appropriate and not brainless.

In conclusion, mountain wines are very up-to-date, surprising and increasingly rare products on the Italian wine scene. They are very versatile wines that can be paired with food and are also pleasant to sip on their own. These are products that you absolutely must try and fill your cellar with.