Romagna wines: characteristics and peculiarities | Leonardo Da Vinci

Emilia Romagna wines: Characteristics and peculiarities

Emilia Romagna wines: Characteristics and peculiarities
Romagna is a region defined by sentimental rather than administrative borders: traditions, dialect, history, character of the inhabitants and certainly food and wine separate it from Emilia. Emilia and Romagna are not only united by the hyphen between them, but by the hardworking, welcoming, creative qualities of these regions, which boast oenological and gastronomic excellence famous all over the world. Romagna viticulture is a very ancient practice, and the territory, enclosed between the Adriatic Sea and the Tuscan-Romagna Apennines, has always lent itself to the cultivation of vines. Leonardo da Vinci also noticed this. During his journey in Romagna in the summer of 1502, he noted the “Grapes brought to Cesena” in one of his notebooks with a drawing of the special method of hanging the grapes that particularly struck him, highlighting the ingenuity of the people of Romagna.

Romagna denominations

The peculiarities of the soil and the agronomic attitude of this portion of the region have given rise to a series of typical Romagna wines with precise characteristics and a strong identity. The best wines from Romagna are those protected by the Consorzio Vini di Romagna which in 2011 approved the production specification “Romagna”, bringing all the denominations together. The DOC Romagna brings together the five production disciplines of Sangiovese, Trebbiano, Cagnina, Pagadebit and Romagna Albana Spumante. To this are added the Romagna Albana DOCG and the DOC Colli di Faenza.

Red wines from Romagna

The king of Romagna red wines is certainly Sangiovese, the most typical wine of Romagna whose grapes come exclusively from the Sangiovese grape, the most widespread nationally. In addition to popular wines such as Sangiovese, in Romagna there are small productions recovered from the fascinating oenological stories, such as Bursôn or Centesimino, both indigenous grapes that are produced in limited areas of Romagna.

White wines from Romagna

Albana is certainly the most representative of the Romagna white wines and it was also the first Italian white wine to obtain the DOCG in 1987. It is a vine of very ancient origins that has been cultivated in Romagna since Roman times. Until a few years ago, Albana was vinified sweet, but today it gives life to different versions of wine: dry, medium, sweet, passito and sparkling wine. Other very popular white wines are Trebbiano and Pagadebit, the name of which means ‘pay of debts’ in the Romagna dialect due to the fertility and productivity of the vine which allowed the farmers to clear their debts!

What grows together goes together and, consequently, the wines of Romagna pair perfectly with the local cuisine and the typical products of this land; a place full of biodiversity, contrasting territories, and overflowing with charm.