Ossola wine has a history stretching back more than seven hundred years, but it is also looking resolutely towards the future, with new productions and markets yet to be discovered.
An ancient wine-growing land
Ossola is an ancient wine-growing land with an intense history to tell: local viticulture is more than seven hundred years old, as documented by a written record dating back to 1309. For five long centuries, Ossola’s wine heritage was considered invaluable, intended mainly for the Swiss and Milanese markets.
From the golden age to phylloxera
During the second half of the 19th century, an insect called phylloxera began to attack vineyards across Europe with great force: winegrowers had no choice but to graft European varieties onto American rootstocks resistant to the parasite. Today, with around 694 different varieties, Italy is one of the world’s leading countries for vineyard biodiversity, and it is also thanks to this ability to adapt that ancient grape varieties such as Prünent have survived to the present day.
The migration from Langhe and Monferrato to Ossola
One surprising fact concerns several winegrowers from Langhe and Monferrato who chose to leave those renowned vineyards and move to Ossola, attracted by an area rich in opportunities that remain untapped. The grape varieties in the area are now highly diverse also because, in the past, farmers exchanged or “borrowed” from their neighbours the varieties they liked best, at a time when today’s agronomic knowledge did not exist.
The desire to reclaim a glorious past
Over recent decades, a strong desire has emerged to recover historic grape varieties: several programmes and collaborations have been created to enhance Ossola viticulture, which is now a thriving activity between 200 and 700 metres above sea level. The main wine-producing municipalities are Domodossola, Trontano, Masera, Montecrestese, Crevoladossola, Villadossola and Piedimulera, with a total of around 50 hectares under vine.
Towards new markets and new productions
The area’s wineries mainly produce red wine, but not only that: Azienda Agricola Edoardo Patrone is the first in Ossola to produce rosé sparkling wine, a sign of how Ossola viticulture is becoming a genuine niche production, capable of looking beyond the local market as well.
An anecdote connected to Milan Cathedral
We will leave you with a little anecdote: according to tradition, Ossola wine was used as payment for the labour of the workers who built Milan Cathedral, constructed precisely with marble from Candoglia, also from Ossola: a double connection between this valley and one of Italy’s most celebrated monuments.
To discover our rosé sparkling wine and the other wines from our cellar, we invite you to book a tasting directly at the winery.
A look at the future of Ossola viticulture
Looking ahead, the challenge for Ossola wine remains that of reconciling its niche dimension with growing consumer demand for authenticity, as people become increasingly interested in lesser-known areas that can tell genuine stories: fertile ground for a production that, while remaining small in scale, has every chance of continuing to grow in quality and recognition.
The story of Ossola wine is still waiting for its most recent chapters to be written.
Small numbers, great ambitions
With around fifty hectares of vineyards in total, the Val d’Ossola will never be able to compete in volume with Piedmont’s great appellations, but it is precisely this limited scale that allows local producers to focus on quality and uniqueness, reaching an audience of enthusiasts seeking authentic wines of place, far from large-scale production.
A toast to the past, and another to the future to come.
A long journey, but far from over.
