"Dolcetto of the terraces": vineyards and landscape of an highland area of Piedmont

Dolcetto is a wine red grape cultivar extensively grown in the Piedmont Region (north-west Italy), which provides the grapes for several VQPRD wines (three DOCG, twelve DOC and several IGT). One of the most typical and historic growing area of Dolcetto is the Langhe district (South of Piedmont). The hilly countryside of Langhe turns to highlands in the southern rim around the small town of Cortemilia. Here the hills have very steep slopes and the Dolcetto vineyards are grown over terraces supported by dry-stone walls. This landscape is a result of secular integration between the human activities and the natural resources and it represents one of the most relevant features of the territory. In order to support the maintenance of viticulture in the area and its typical landscape and, at the same time, to ensure the variability within Dolcetto selected material, a project for the selection of local biotypes was carried out. The performances of 7 virus-free biotypes of Dolcetto, find out in old local vineyards, were compared in a terraced vineyard located at the "Ecomuseum of Terraces" near Cortemilia. Field observations and juice composition analysis were performed for each clone during three years (2010 - 2012), while small-scale winemaking followed by wine chemical and sensory evaluations were carried out for two years (2010-2011). The results allowed the registration of three clones of local Dolcetto population by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies: CVT N4, CVT N5 and CVT P3. CVT N4 and CVT N5 are characterized by moderate yield, small bunches, high fertility and medium vigour; CVT P3 shows higher yield, due to bigger bunches and good fertility, and moderate vigour. The wines obtained by the new clones were very typical, with bright ruby red colour, pleasantly fruity bouquet, moderate acidity, good body and characteristic bitter almond after taste. This study is important to maintain the biodiversity, to improve the quality of wines and, in this case, to support the economy and give visibility to a wonderful but fragile landscape.