Ovadese: the Dolcetto between castles, vineyards and Appennines

Ovada is located at the confluence of Stura in Orba. The location puts the city in relation to the valleys and with the roads towards the Ligurian hinterland. In the historic center, a walk allows you to pass from the size of your trip to that of city life: streets, buildings and meeting places prepare the exploration of the surrounding hills.

From the bottom of the valley, the climb to the villages changes the point of view. The country first shows itself from afar and then through its streets. This alternation between valley and height is a key to the Ovadese: the territory changes scale during the route and invites you to connect the landscape to the location of crops and settlements.

Ovada is located at the confluence of Stura in Orba. The city gives a point of reference to the journey between the valleys and hills of Alto Monferrato, while southwards the landscape approaches the Apennines. This position helps to understand the Ovadese as a crossing territory, in which streets, towns and countryside meet.

The story of wine finds in Sweetheart an important continuity. The name Ovada DOCG and the Dolcetto di Ovada DOC identify distinct wines of the same wine area. Knowing them through the countries and companies allows to listen to how they change the processes and times, keeping the relationship with grapes and vineyards of the territory.

From Ovada, colleague Rocca Grimalda, Tagliolo Monferrato and Trisobbio. The centers and architectures introduce local stories to be deepened before returning to the countryside. On the way, the path boards help to choose a concrete track: the journey can alternate a village, a stretch walking and a visit in the cellar. The Cortese Finally, it expands the reading of Ovadese, bringing in white a part of the same geography of hills and valleys.

In Rocca Grimalda, the visit of the village allows you to approach the history and location of the town above the valley. Trisobbio and Tagliolo Monferrato introduce other architectures and other points from which to look at the countryside. The castles give a reference to the landscape; the agricultural roads tell instead the work that passes through it today.

You can continue towards Castelletto d'Orba, Silvano d'Orba and Montaldo Bormida. The municipal pages collect insights and paths to continue the visit. Connecting some of these centers offers a journey in which wine enters into dialogue with the history of countries and with the forms of the countryside.

Ovada DOCG is produced from Dolcetto grapes. The link between vine and denomination provides a precise thread for the journey: in visits to companies, questions can start from vineyards and their relationship with the area. The name Ovada thus widens from the city to a productive territory that includes several municipalities and slopes.

In the soils described by the Consortium are clay components towards the plain and limestone components towards the Apennines, also combined in the same soils. The proximity to the Ligurian Sea also enters the reading of the climate. These elements make the landscape more precise: the position of a vineyard also affects the terrain and exposure, as well as the panorama. The story of the plots brings a visit inside the work of those who cultivate Dolcetto.

To give space to the road or bicycle, depart from the paths collected in the pages of Ovada and the villages. The choice of a route adds a physical continuity between the places: the centers you observed in the landscape become stages reached along the roads and paths. A stop in the village can complete the exploration of the hills.

Towards theAcquese, the journey continues among other traditions of Dolcetto and aromatic grapes. In lands of Gavi, the Cortese introduces another wine identity. Follow these steps allows you to know the Piemonte Southern as a succession of territories, each with its own countries and their voices.