Montello e Colli Asolani is a DOC of the Veneto wine region in north-eastern Italy. It covers a relatively small area, taking in the three parishes of Castelcucco, Cornuda and Monfumo, and parts of ten other neighboring parishes. One of these ten is the town of Asolo, which gives its name to the Colli Asolani referred to in the DOC title. This DOC once specialized in two very disparate wine styles (sparkling, white Prosecco and dry, Bordeaux-style reds), but since 2005 has been broadened out to cover a wider range of styles.
Originally created in 1977, the Montello e Colli Asolani title has been revised on a remarkably regular basis (particularly when compared to the likes of Sicily's Etna, whose DOC laws remained unaltered between 1968 and 2011). The multiple revisions have served to modernize its wine portfolio, drawing it away from the simple rosso and bianco (red and white) and Prosecco wines. The modern focus is towards a diverse, varietal-led portfolio.
In 2009, the area's Prosecco was granted its very own DOCG title, Asolo - Prosecco, and just two years later the Montello Rosso DOCG title was created for the dry reds. With these top-end wines 'syphoned' off into their own DOCG titles, the Montello e Colli Asolani title was left to focus on a broader, more every-day portfolio of wine styles.
Today, Montello e Colli Asolani varietal wines are made from such popular and highly marketable grape varieties as Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, alongside local varieties Manzoni Bianco and Bianchetta. Even the resurgent Carmenere now figures in the wines. The majority of the wines made here are non-sparkling, but foaming spumante styles are made from both Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco, quite distinct from the long-established Prosecco style.
The Montello (Italian for 'little hill') cited in the title is a lozenge-shaped hill about an hour's drive north of Venice. It rises roughly 1000ft (300m) above the low-lying land to the south, and measures eight miles (13km) from end to end. The hill, which effectively marks the transition from the Venetian Plain to the Dolomite Alps, causes the Adige River to change its south-easterly course for several miles. Although not very high, the hill offers uninterrupted views across the plains toward Venice, the Venetian Lagoon and the Adriatic Sea on the horizon.
To further complicate the DOC's already-complex name, there is the 'Venegazzu' sub-region. The Venegazzu in question is a tiny village just below the south-western corner of the Montello hill. Its name may appear as an official part of a wine's DOC statement, provided that the wine is made solely from grapes grown in Venegazzu vineyards.
