Colli di Rimini is a DOC of the Emilia-Romagna wine region of northern Italy. Created in November 1996, the DOC laws were reviewed just six months later in 1997, and then again in 2009 (when a shift towards varietal wines was made). The title covers five key wine styles: a standard red and white (rosso and bianco), and three varietals. The rosso wines are made from a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon, echoing the makeup of the prestigious 'Super Tuscans', while their bianco counterparts are based on Trebbiano with the addition of Bianchello and/or Mostosa.
The grape varieties selected for the DOC's varietal wines say much about changes in the Italian wine trade. Italy has long been known as a country with a wide (and at times almost baffling) portfolio of native grape varieties, but it is now moving towards more popular international grape varieties such as Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. The stimulus for this change is not only the voracious appetite modern consumers have for these varieties, but also that the grapes consistently produce truly world-class wines.
While Italy is clearly wooing profitable export markets with its international styles, it is simultaneously striving to preserve and promote its native varieties. Here in the Colli di Rimini, Cabernet Sauvignon and Rebola are the champions of these causes. Where a wine is made from at least 85% of either one, the name of that variety is included as part of the DOC title on labels: Colli di Rimini Cabernet Sauvignon and Colli di Rimini Rebola. A white varietal is also made from Bianchello, known in the area as Biancame.
Two styles conspicuous by their absence among these hills are the sparkling spumante and the lighter, semi-sparkling frizzante. Emilia-Romagna is famous for its sparkling wines, particularly red Lambrusco, which is produced in vast quantities around Modena, Bologna and Parma, to the west of Rimini. Located near the Adriatic coast, Rimini is in an area which does not specialize in sparkling wines, but instead features the non-sparkling Trebbiano, Sangiovese and Pignoletto. The wine region's first DOCG (Albana di Romagna) is found here, as are Trebbiano di Romagna and Sangiovese di Romagna.
Emilia-Romagna stretches 155 miles (250km) across Italy, almost from coast to coast, making the drier eastern terroir quite different from the likes of the wetter Colli Piacentini.
