Canelli e le colline del Moscato: from the vineyards to the underground city

Canelli invites you to move vertically. The center in the valley bottom and the core of the upper part offer two views on the same place. As you climb up, the city changes proportions and the hills are visible beyond roofs. The pages dedicated to Church of St. Thomas and the church of San Leonardo add a historical thread to the urban path.

The passage from the city to the vineyards makes evident the relationship between agricultural production and wine transformation. The roads link the plots to the places where the grapes are processed; the productive buildings tell a different dimension than that of the farmhouse. The journey acquires depth when you look at both aspects, leaving time to the streets of the center and the countryside.

A Canelli, the relationship between the town and the production of wine also has an underground dimension. The historical cellars, known as underground cathedrals, bind the name of the city to the history of sparkling wine. The visit introduces the time of processing and conservation; returning to the streets, the look finds a city grown next to its winery activity.

The UNESCO component of Canelli and theAsti sparkling wine links this heritage to the productive landscape. It is a reference that helps to keep together the architectures and slopes of Moscato bianco. The vine accompanies both the story ofAsti and that of Canelli DOCG, autonomous denomination: the names of wine add distinctions to a territory in which the grape offers a recognizable continuity.

Continuing towards Calosso and Loazzolo, the journey changes scale. The Calosso DOC brings a story tied to Gamba di Pernice; Loazzolo follows the Moscato in the time of drying and aging. These stops extend the day beyond the city alone. A path between the countries allows to meet wine through different forms: a historical cellar, a cultivated slope, a local grape recovered, a bottle that bears the name of a small town.

The underground cathedrals are the historical cellars excavated under Canelli, linked to the development of sparkling wine production. The environments of Bosca, Contratto, Coppo and Gancia belong to this story. The visit allows you to know an architecture born for work and conservation, in which the dimensions of spaces make tangible the transformation of the city through wine.

Canelli and the Asti Spumante is one of the components of the UNESCO site of Wine Landscapes Piemonte. Recognition relates the productive city with hills. To visit the historical cellars, choose one of the proposals organized by companies: routes and accesses are linked to the reality that hosts the visit. The story of those who work there gives meaning to the environments that go through.

The Moscato bianco is the reference vine to approach these hills. Asti and MuscatAsti are two central names in the enological history of the area; the name Canelli DOCG offers a further link between wine and origin. In the territorial journey, the first step is to recognize places of cultivation, before entering into differences between wines and production techniques.

The disciplinary of Canelli places the area between Tanaro and the Bormida, through the valley of Belbo, on the border between Langhe and Monferrato. It describes soils of marine sedimentary origin, with marl, sandstone and clay: a history of the land that precedes the vineyards. Santo Stefano Belbo and Calosso widen the discovery of the countries of Moscato; Loazzolo, a denomination of passive wine shows another expression of the Moscato bianco.

After a visit to Canelli, he dedicates part of the day to the countryside. The pages of Calosso, Santo Stefano Belbo and Loazzolo collect the paths associated with municipalities and allow to choose another perspective. The Wine and flavours route it also offers a thread to enlarge the journey through wine lands.

A short distance, the lands of Nice lead to the landscape of Barbera; Acqui Terme and its hills other tales of aromatic grapes and red wines are opened. Connecting these territories helps to grasp the variety of Monferrato. The passage from one hill to another also becomes a passage between wine cultures.