Liguria is a small coastal region renowned for its stunning landscape, running along Italy's Mediterranean coast between the French border and Tuscany. It shares the north-west of the country with its northern neighbor Piedmont. Known as the Italian Riviera, this thin, beautiful strip of rugged land with its Mediterranean climate and poor, stony soils is dominated by hills with sheer drops that almost fall straight into the sea. These steep elevations make vine growing a challenge, resulting in scattered vineyards (some can only be reached by boat) with limited production. In some areas the slopes are so steep that the land has to be cultivated by hand.
Further inland, the hillsides offer only marginally less vertical altitudes, and planting of vines is dense and compact; viticulture plays an essential role in the prevention of soil erosion and landslides. Despite this difficult environment, vines have been grown in this area for more than 25 centuries since they were introduced by the Etruscans and Greeks. Later, in Roman times, the most famous area to emerge was Cinque Terre (Five Lands), now a DOC, in the far east of the region.
There are only around 14,800 acres (6000ha) of vineyards, of which just over 1235 acres (500ha) are classified as DOCs. Yet as much as 280,000 hL of wine is produced per annum, of which 75% is white and around 13,000 hL is DOC wine. However, Liguria remains the region with the second-lowest output of wine in Italy.
Most wine is the work of small, artisanal producers who have to grow their vines on terraces carved from the rocky slopes. The steep elevations are a blessing too, as they protect the grapes near the sea from the coldest winter winds blowing down from the Alps. The soil's high limestone content is particularly good for white grapes, as it gives the wines their minerality. It is unfortunate that the wines are almost as difficult to find as the land is to cultivate; very few of these wines find their way across international borders.
Although there are 100 varieties grown in this region, Liguria is generally known for its white wines made from Vermentino, which are known locally as Pigato for the spots (pighe) that appear on the mature grapes. There is some confusion over this, as it is not clear if Pigato is a synonym for Vermentino or a distinct variety. Whatever the answer, Liguria's white wines made from Pigato have a fragrant nose reminiscent of the Ligurian landscape's pine-wood and sea-salt aromas, as well as an underlying minerality. The red celebrities come in the form of Rossese, a variety which creates subtle, fruity and spicy wines, and Ormeasco, a similar variety to the Piedmontese Dolcetto.
In the past the only DOC was Rossese di Dolceacqua (a soft, full-flavored red), but recently that number has swelled to eight. Colline di Levanto's white is similar to that of its fellow DOC Cinque Terre, distinguished by its lingering bouquet and its rosso starring Sangiovese and Ciliegiolo. Golfo del Tigullio lies between Genoa and Spezia and was awarded its status in 1997; this little-known area boasts an excellent passito and various wines using only Ligurian varieties, including Bianchetta Genovese. There is also Colli di Luni (meaning hills of the moon), and Val Polcevera, whose hidden secret is the ancient Coronata variety, unique to Liguria and transformed into Rhine-style whites. The ancient red variety Ormeasco seems to be Ormeasco di Pornassio's saving grace – it is an early ripener, and premature autumnal frosts and the particularly steep mountainside vineyards (2625ft, or 800m) mean the area is not the most hospitable vine-growing environment.
Last but not least is Riviera Ligure di Ponente, largest of the Ligurian crew, which is notable for its bianco (white) wines made from Pigato and Vermentino, and its rosso (red) crafted from Ormeasco and Rossese. Within this DOC there are sub-zones specializing in wines from Pigato, Rossese and Vermentino grapes, and the Riviera dei Fiori sub-zone is free to use all these varieties. There are also some rare gems created from Buzzeto and Granaccia, and a Ligurian local, Lumassina.
