Valtellina, land of Nebbiolo and heroic viticulture

If Piedmont has always been considered the homeland of Nebbiolo in its greatest and most celebrated expressions, it would not be wrong to consider Valtellina as "the other half of the sky" of this grape, which here finds expressions that are completely characteristic by virtue of the strict conditions in which it is cultivated, on the steep terracing along the high course of the Adda. A territory in which viticulture becomes heroic, where the noble Nebbiolo vine, here called Chiavennasca, is bred on small terraces supported by dry stone walls, in the absence of mechanization. Grumello, Sassella, Valgella, Inferno and Maroggia are the Valtellisian wines that take their name from the sub-areas around the cities of Chiuro and Sondrio, while the Sforzato is the longest and most complex red wine of the province, the result of a process of drying the grapes on racks that can last until December. Valtellina wines are robust, tannic and asusteri can give great emotions.