Heroic viticulture is a particular type of viticulture and it is practiced in areas that are extremely challenging to manage, but at the same time capable of producing outstanding unique wines, a.k.a. ‘heroic wines’. 🍇
There are two main criteria that a vineyard should meet in order to be called ‘heroic’:
☝🏼Slope - inclination greater than 30%
✌🏼Altitude - minimum 500 meters above sea level
Very specific, right? This is why we call these vineyards heroic. 🦸They are typically located on small islands with minimal infrastructure, or mountains 🏔, where areas are subject to hydrogeological instability.
Viticulture in Valtellina, Italy 🇮🇹 is by no doubt defined as ‘heroic’. ⭐️The sloping vineyards in Valtellina require complex work and lots of efforts and risks, which take about eight times more hours of work compared to plain areas! Added to that, locals in Valtellina don’t use any machinery for harvesting and rely on their own hands only. Just like their vineyards, they are heroes who make it possible to taste such unique wines. 💪🏼⚡️
Eleanor’s favourite from this heroic wine region is Sforzato di Valtellina 🍷- an intense red wine made from at least 90% Nebbiolo 🍇(here called Chiavennasca!). Grapes are air-dried via the appassimento method, and fermented to dryness (similarly to the Amarone della Valpolicella). The resulting wine? Dry, complex, full-bodied with complex layers of dried fruit, sweet spices, tobacco, and coffee. 🍒☕️ So Yummy! 🤤
Want to learn more about heroic wines? 📚 Our Eleanor teachers can’t wait to meet you in September and share their wine knowledge with you! 🤓
⏳Only a few places left for our September courses, register now! Link in bio. 🔗
