Identity and soils
The identity of Romagna and its wines largely depend on the simplest and at the same time on the most complex and varied of elements: the soil.
When we talk about the land of Romagna, the expression leaves room for many interpretations: the door to tradition, stories and lives that this land inhabit and have inhabited opens wide. But in the most literal sense, the land of Romagna, its soil, is the cradle of the uniqueness of the great wines of this region.
Let's find out together what is hidden under fortresses, villages, farms and vineyards, at the roots of the most precious treasure of Romagna wine: its land.
The "lands" of Romagna wines
First of all, it is good to start by trying to answer a fundamental question: what is meant by "lands" of wines?
The term earth used in this way certainly also has to do with the "material" part of what it indicates: if, when thinking about the earth, dust, clods, stones and roots come to mind, you are moving in the right direction, but it is necessary keep moving.
At this point, as in the best cinematographic tradition, it is a good idea to complete our "Vertigo Effect", zooming back and embracing much broader concepts, which penetrate history and tradition.
Earth is in fact a term that should not be understood only in its material meaning, but must include elements of geology, climatology and morphology of the land and the use that man has made of it over the centuries.
The concept of land understood in this way is what is also called terroir, or that range of factors that define the qualitative characteristics of a specific wine-growing area and which are highlighted by that activity that goes by the name of viticultural zoning. The study of the Romagna lands has thus made it possible to discover different viticultural environments, each characterized by its own vocation, but which we can, simplifying, lead back to three macro-areas, bearing in mind the geological origin of the soils: the one dominated by the Arenacea Marly Formation, that of the ancient red lands and the Pliocene environment. Let's see them in detail.
Between the earth and man
The hand of man is certainly able to give distinctive traits to great wines, working both on different agronomic techniques and on winemaking styles. To this must be added an essential environmental component which is made up of climate, orography (altitude, exposure, etc.) and ecosystemic interactions (woods, streams, etc.) which differ from area to area. But upstream of all this there is always the earth, with its chemical, physical and microbiological components, which hosts the roots of our vines, infusing them with its "soul".
Marly Arenacea Formation
The largest geological macro-area of Romagna is the one that underlies the Arenacea Marly Formation. It is a complex of sediments, formed by sandstones, pelites and other sedimentary rocks that was formed over 10 million years. The resulting soils are calcareous compounds with an extremely variable texture (percentage distribution of the sand, silt and clay particles that compose it) and like the geological layer of stratified rocks originating at different depths. The variability linked to the depth at which the geological substrate is encountered and to the texture of the soil is very important on the ability of the soil to retain water, which we know is fundamental for the metabolic activity of all plants. A situation of this type, especially in these years of climate "capricci intervention", profoundly links the qualitative result of the harvest to the rainfall and the intervention of the winemaker.
Sangiovese finds in these lands a particular vocation for the exaltation of fruitiness, which is accompanied by the development of a phenolic fraction sufficient to guarantee a good structure.
Calcareous lands of the Pliocene
A second important macro-area of Romagna is that of the Pliocene Calcareous Lands. In fact, the formation of the rocky substratum that originated them dates back to this geological period (ranging from 5.3 to 2.5 million years ago) and which can still be encountered today at variable depths. The presence of layers of sandstone and the texture of the soil, which goes from fine to extremely fine, create conditions that require a lot of expertise to ensure good water nutrition to the vines that are grown here: danger of compaction, excess water, as well as risk of extreme drought. On this land, Sangiovese expresses all its strength
Ancient Red Lands
And finally the last macro-area: that of the Ancient Red Lands. This layer consists of the ancient raised plain as an effect of the formation of the Apennine and Alpine chains. Here, it is not uncommon to find archaeological and architectural finds, evidence of the long and important human activity that first affected our Region. They are very ancient soils, washed away by the rains to the point of losing limestone in the most superficial layers and with an important fraction of silt which, in the event of prolonged rainfall, can favor the stagnation of water. Here the old Albana pergolas have always made a fine show of themselves, and even today this vine produces wines that fully develop their structure and rich aromatic profiles.