Gavi

The oldest record cited in the production rules is a document of 3 June 972 in the State Archive of Genoa, in which the bishop of Genoa leased vineyards to two men of Gavi. The first mention of vines "all of Cortese" comes from letters between the castle of Montaldeo and the Marquis Doria in 1659. In 1798 Count Nuvolone, vice-director of the Agrarian Society of Turin, wrote the first ampelography of Piedmont's grapes and described the Cortese (Corteis in dialect) as abundant, good to eat and good for wine, with longish bunches of large berries that turn yellow when ripe.

The rules say the wine was "born for the courts" and that it is now the main source of income of the eleven communes of the denomination. Gavi became a DOC by presidential decree of 26 June 1974 and a DOCG on 29 July 1998.

The zone lies in the south-eastern corner of Piedmont, a physical and geological frontier where the plain meets the Apennines and alluvial ground meets much older outcrops. It covers Bosio, Carrosio, Capriata d'Orba, Francavilla Bisio, Gavi, Novi Ligure, Parodi Ligure, Pasturana, San Cristoforo, Serravalle Scrivia and Tassarolo. The rules divide it into three bands: red earths, alternating marls and sandstones, and white clay marls in the south. The red earths are brown, leached soils prone to waterlogging, with a hard fragipan layer.

Slopes vary and steepen towards the Apennines; the general exposure is north-west and south-east. Only hillside vineyards qualify, and valley floors are excluded. The climate is transitional and moderately continental, with long, cold winters and frequent snow nearer the mountains, and summers cooler and windier than on the nearby plain.

The rules credit the alternation of white clay marls and red earths with the range of nuance in Cortese. These soils suit other crops poorly, partly because of their slope, but for that reason they suit quality viticulture with low yields, which the rules say gives the wines particular vigour and complexity. Cortese is described as a native grape with centuries of adaptation to the soil and climate of the zone, and the rules present the wine as having kept its aim of quality and elegance since it was made for noble tables.

Gavi, also called Cortese di Gavi, must be made only from Cortese, mostly trained on wires and Guyot-pruned. The rules allow still, frizzante and spumante wines, a Riserva and a Riserva Spumante metodo classico. The spumante stays on its lees at least 6 months when made in tank and 9 months when fermented in bottle. The Riserva ages one year from 15 October after the harvest, six months of it in bottle, and may be sold from 1 November. The Riserva Spumante metodo classico ages two years, 18 months of them on the yeasts in bottle. Riserva vineyards may yield at most 6.5 t/ha.