Ticino (wine region)
| Wine region | |
 |
|
| Official name | Ticino |
|---|---|
| Type | DOC (AOC) |
| Year established | in the Roman era |
| Years of wine industry | VITI: since 1948; DOC: since 1997; |
| Part of | Swiss wines |
| Precipitation (annual average) | 1500–2200 mm |
| Size of planted vineyards | 1,040 ha |
| No. of vineyards | 3,869 |
| Grapes produced | 6'816'620 Kg |
| Varietals produced | Merlot (and Bondola) |
| No. of wineries | 264 |
| Official designation(s) | DOC, VITI |
| Comments | All data as of 2005 |
The wine region of Ticino started producing wine in the Roman era, but only after 1906, with the introduction of Merlot, did it begin to produce quality wine.
Geographically the wine region is located in the south of Switzerland, and includes the canton Ticino and the neighbouring district of Moesa (Misox and Calanca valleys) in the canton of the Grisons, both areas being Italian-speaking.
The terroir varies from acid soil in the northern part to limestone in the southern part.
The top quality wines of the region have the appellation del Ticino DOC or ticinese DOC, sometimes linked with a VITI label, and the wines in the medium category use della Svizzera Italiana or nostrano.
The first traces of grapes in Ticino are some pollens in sediments, starting from the neolithic. Notable diffusion of grapes by humans probably dates from the late Bronze Age to the entire Iron Age, and the grapes were probably located near the lakes. At the beginning of the Roman era there was already substantial cultivation of grapes, and production of wine probably started in this period, as shown in a sculpture on a Roman tomb found in Stabio.
Until the 18th century, grapes were grown as a secondary product in extensive vineyards, from which light wines were produced, using a form of sharecropping. The wine was produced in some local varieties, of which only Bondola survived. They were mainly red wines, but some were mixtures of red varieties with some white varieties.
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Wikipedia