Frequently Asked Question #16:
Q: I've decided to buy in Piedmont - why should I choose the wine-producing region?
A: The characteristics of the region that make it suitable for great wines also make it a very attractive place to live - even for those uninterested in making wine.
The reason that so few parts of the world can produce great wine is not, as many assume, the presence (or absence) of some magic ingredient in the soil. If fact, vines tolerate a wide range of different soil types. No, the key to what the French call terroir is a simple combination of climate and topography. To explain:
Vines have roots which go down almost vertically for up to 10 meters. While this makes young vines very vulnerable to drought, matures vines - ones more that about 3 years old - can survive long periods without rain, because they can draw water from a low water table. More specifically, they don't need rain in the critical growing season - roughly, from April through to October in the northern hemisphere. However, in this growing season they do need plenty of sunshine - the more the better. A great wine region must meet two apparently contradictory conditions: it must have plenty of water, yet it must also have an abundance of sunshine and warmth in the growing season. Most people are similarly contradictory: they want both sunshine and a ready supply of water on tap. By general consent, the ideal balance between the two can be found in the world's wine regions.
Vines have another important characteristic: they cannot tolerate standing surface water. In practice, this means that a successful vineyard must be planted on a hillside, where the slope of the hill ensures that surface water drains away quickly. In property terms, hillsides mean great views - and great locations.
The region of Piedmont that we cover is roughly a parallelogram bounded by Asti in the northwest, Barolo in the southwest, Acqui Terme in the southeast, and Alessandria in the northeast. This is roughly the wine region of Piedmont. To the north and west is the valley of the river Po - a damper, more low-lying region that has fog in winter and mosquitoes in summer. To the south is the higher part of the Langhe, the Langhe Alto: this has a harsher winter climate - too harsh for vines - and is generally considered remote and inaccessible. The region to the east has a similar climate to the wine region, but it is flat - and therefore lacks both vines and the great landscapes that go with them.
Text & design © 1997-2008 Piedmont Properties
