Gamba di Pernice: the red leg of the hills Calosso

The Italian Vitis Database identifies the variety as Red Gamba N. and document Pernice Gamba among its synonyms. The letter N. indicates the black berry. The local name recalls the reddish color of the raspo, next to the legs of the pernice: a detail of the plant became part of the language of the territory.

Knowing both forms of the name allows you to connect the story heard in the country to the ampelographic tabs and to the disciplinary. It is one of the cases where the knowledge of the vine begins from a word and comes to an observable element of the vine.

The Municipality of Calosso tells the recovery of this grape through the work of local winemakers. The recognition of Calosso DOC in 2011 gave the production a precise territorial reference. The story shows the role that a small group of growers can have in making a variety visible again.

Start from the page Calosso, then connects the village to Costigliole d'Asti and Castagnole delle Lanze. The journey keeps distances collected and invites you to know the history through the countries, vineyards and people who pursue it.

The area of Calosso DOC includes Calosso, Costigliole d'Asti and Castagnole delle Lanze. The disciplinary attaches the main role to the Red Gamba in the ravine. The name of the wine then adds to the vine a production area and rules that define its use.

To broaden the comparison, he meets the Ruchè, other grapes linked to a circumscribed astigian geography, or back to hills of Moscato. Moving from one local variety to another helps you read the campaign through its differences and suggests new stops on your journey.

Calosso allows you to know the Gamba di Pernice from a position that opens the landscape. The village is located between the valleys of Nice and Tinella, not far from Canelli and Costigliole d'Asti. The village share offers a point from which to read the hills of Astesana and the proximity of Langhe. Looking at the slopes, the tale of grapes acquires a concrete location: cultivations, woods and inhabited become elements of the same geography. The journey can start from this wide look and then continue to the scale of the vineyard and daily work.

The castle marks the profile of Calosso and accompanies the history of the settlement. A walk in the center allows to accompany the agricultural landscape the buildings and places of the community; returning to the countryside, the village remains a visible reference among the hills. The Calosso DOC adds to this visit the knowledge of wine. The rediscovery of the Red Leg is also understood through this proximity between inhabited and cultivations: a local variety is guarded by the work of people, who recognize its value and continue to cultivate it.

Continue towards Costigliole d'Asti and Castagnole delle LanzeThe other municipalities included in the area of the name. The route opens more landscapes within a collection area; a Canelli, the historical cellars tell another dimension of wine culture. The Moscato bianco allows to know the presence of aromatic grapes in the nearby hills, while Gamba di Pernice maintains its own varietal thread. In the cellar, ask where the rows are located and how their conservation has been accompanied combines a visit to the story of rediscovery. The country, the plant and the name of the wine thus become three passages of the same knowledge.