An unleveled playing field

There is a remarkable difference between growing vines in the “painter perfect scenario” of Napa, the smooth hills of Oregon,

versus the dedication that it takes to grow wines on the steep mountains of Valle d’Aosta, Valtellina and other places that are falling

under that definition of heroic winemaking.

The CERVIM, Centre for Research, Environmental Sustainability and Advancement of Mountain Viticulture, defines heroic

viticulture as:

I would like to focus on those producers that are growing their vines on slopes greater than 30% and on terraces.

Of all products of agriculture, wine is the only crop that pushed humanity to build terraces on steep slopes! It immediately

shows the importance of wine in our culture - through the centuries.

Making wine on steep slopes has the advantage of allowing the sun to shine in these areas where the climate is very cold

(Hermitage, Mosel, Valle d’Aosta, Valtellina and many more) and simply allow the sustainability of the crop in impervious area

like Liguria, Etna, or Valdobbiadene where us, the humans, have settled centuries and centuries ago.

We should give a certain extra level of respect to the efforts that of the producers that are making their wines in these settings,

where the access to the vineyards is only by foot, and where any kind of mechanization is inhibited by the impenetrability of

these vineyards.

And the more we think about the effort these producers made to build these terraces, stone after stone and by hand,

the more we should love the wines that they produce!

Wine appreciation grows the more we discover how wine is made - and not all wines were created equal - I enjoy thinking

about it whenever I open a bottle from Etna, from Valle d’Aosta, or from wherever there is an “unleveled playing field”

I have organized a tasting of wines from some of these regions and you can see in the event pages the link.

Stefano #TheWineTherapist