A land where if you ask for water,
they give you
wine…. that’s Romagna.
And, thanks to its favourable position between
the Apennines and the plain, the make-up and variety of the land
and the vines
which have born fruit for centuries, the stretch of hills and
foothills of the Province of Forlì-Cesena boasts a glorious
wine producing tradition, a tradition which is today enjoying
a great come back and increase in quality.
Of the five Romagnol wines, two grapes (Sangiovese and Trebbiano)
are the most widespread in Italy and are the main components
of many wines, even well-known quality wines. The other three
(Albana, Pagadebit and Cagnina) are particularly unique to
the Province of Forlì-Cesena
First mention is made of this wine as far back as the 17th century;
legend has it that during a banquet held at the Monastry of the
Capuchin Monks at Santarcangelo di Romagna, in the presence of
Pope Leon XII and other illustrious guests, this wine, which
was produced by the monks themselves, was served.
The wine was well received and they asked what it was called.
A quick-witted monk said that it was called “Sunguis di
Jovis” = Sangue di Giove (The Blood of Jupiter), hence
Sanjovese. Over the years, it was adopted as the symbol of Romagna,
thanks in part to attentive and intelligent producers.
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Albana is a 'white berry' grape (with a large, pentagonal leaf,
and a deep yellow skin) and was the first white wine in Italy
to obtain the Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita
(D.O.C.G.), in 1987 (conforming to DOC laws but also tested by
government-appointed inspectors).
The origin of the “blond nectar of Romagna” seems
to go back to Roman times. Mention is made of it in manuscripts
of that time which cite Galla Placidia, the daughter of Teodosio.
Other people think the name comes from the Colli Albani (Albani
Hills), where the Legionaries who colonized Romagna came from.
But the most probable origin is 'Albus' (white par excellence),
referring to the quality of light grape which is considered the
best of all white grapes, and hence Albana.
Legend has it that the beautiful blond Galla Placidia arrived
in a small town perched on a rock on the plain between Forlì and
Cesena in 435 AD: the friendly townspeople were struck by her
beauty and offered her their sweet, full-bodied local white wine
in a unrefined terracotta jug; she was so enraptured by the quality
of the nectar that flowed sweetly into her veins, making her
happy, that she exclaimed: “You shouldn’t be drunk
so humbly, but DRUNK IN GOLD (BERTI IN ORO)”; according
to the legend, ever since then, the town where the queen quenched
her thirst has been called Bertinoro.
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The grape variety is a ‘white berry’ grape called
'Bombino Bianco' (little white bomb). The first thing to strike
you about this wine is its name: farmers managed to pay all the
debts they accumulated during the year with this wine, thanks
to its very resistant and fertile vine which can stand up to
any weather conditions. In fact, when deals were made by spoken
promise, they were called 'Pagadett'.
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It is a ‘white berry’ grape which yields a light
wine which is normally drunk within a year of it being bottled.
It can be traced back to Etruscan and Roman times, when colonizers
planted vines in Romagna after reclaiming the land and dividing
it up into estates. In 1305 Pier dè Crescenzi wrote: “there
is another kind of grape, called Tribiana, which is white, small,
round and plentiful which, when young, does not bear fruit but,
as it grows older, becomes fertile”. As the years passed,
a family of vines was born from the old Trebbiano vinestock,
some of which are closely related to each other and others which
are only vaguely similar. It is cultivated far and wide in Italy
and also abroad (in some areas of France and California).
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It is a ‘red berry’ grape of the 'Refosco dal Peduncolo
Rosso' variety dating back to ancient times. It is a medium sweet
red wine which can be drunk as soon as it has been bottled. It
was mentioned in Byzantine times when it was imported from Dalmatia
and Istria along with limestone to build historical monuments
in Ravenna. The first real mention of this characteristic wine
dates back to the 13th century and refers to the vine and the
wine from Friuli (Barbatelle from Terrano d’Istria or from
Carso, synonyms of Refosco d’Istria or Carso), which was
then cultivated in the wine producing areas of Forlì and
Cesena under the name of Cagnina. (continue)
COLLI
ROMAGNA CENTRALE
And finally, a new denomination D.O.C. (Denominazione di Origine
Controllata) has recently been introduced: " COLLI
ROMAGNA CENTRALE".
This type of wine refers strictly to production only in the hills
of the Province of Forlì and Cesena, where, as well as
finding the classic Sangiovese and Trebbiano grapes, there are
two new varieties: 'Chardonnay' (a white berry grape) and 'Cabernet
Sauvignon' (a red berry grape).
