What is made here
Wine colours
Colours the rules allow. Pick a colour to filter the rules and grapes below.
Where it is
Circeo in Italy
- Latitude
- 41.2°–41.6° N
- Vineyard altitude
- 12 m to 109 m
- Production zone
- 59,078 ha
Boundary drawn from whole communes, so it is a little larger than the legal zone. Boundary: Eurac Research PDO inventory (CC0). Country outlines: Natural Earth. Dots on the zone map are the vineyard points used for climate.
Showing every colour The colour filter changes the rules and grapes. Climate, vintages and soils describe the vineyards, so they stay the same.
01 · What the law says
The rules
Limits on grapes, yields, ripeness and ageing that every wine labelled Circeo must meet.
Blend rules
Circeo Bianco
- ≥ 55% Trebbiano Toscano · Main grape
- ≤ 30% Chardonnay · Allowed
- ≤ 30% Malvasia del Lazio · Allowed
- ≤ 15% other white grapes authorised for Lazio · Others allowed
Blend rules
Circeo Bianco Frizzante
- ≥ 55% Trebbiano Toscano · Main grape
- ≤ 30% Chardonnay · Allowed
- ≤ 30% Malvasia del Lazio · Allowed
- ≤ 15% other white grapes authorised for Lazio · Others allowed
Blend rules
Circeo Bianco Spumante
- ≥ 55% Trebbiano Toscano · Main grape
- ≤ 30% Chardonnay · Allowed
- ≤ 30% Malvasia del Lazio · Allowed
- ≤ 15% other white grapes authorised for Lazio · Others allowed
Blend rules
Circeo Rosso
- ≥ 55% Merlot · Main grape
- ≤ 30% Sangiovese · Allowed
- ≤ 30% Cabernet Sauvignon · Allowed
- ≤ 15% other red grapes authorised for Lazio · Others allowed
Blend rules
Circeo Rosso Novello
- ≥ 55% Merlot · Main grape
- ≤ 30% Sangiovese · Allowed
- ≤ 30% Cabernet Sauvignon · Allowed
- ≤ 15% other red grapes authorised for Lazio · Others allowed
Blend rules
Circeo Rosso Frizzante
- ≥ 55% Merlot · Main grape
- ≤ 30% Sangiovese · Allowed
- ≤ 30% Cabernet Sauvignon · Allowed
- ≤ 15% other red grapes authorised for Lazio · Others allowed
Blend rules
Circeo Rosso Riserva
- ≥ 55% Merlot · Main grape
- ≤ 30% Sangiovese · Allowed
- ≤ 30% Cabernet Sauvignon · Allowed
- ≤ 15% other red grapes authorised for Lazio · Others allowed
At least 24 months' ageing.
Blend rules
Circeo Rosato
- ≥ 55% Merlot · Main grape
- ≤ 30% Sangiovese · Allowed
- ≤ 30% Cabernet Sauvignon · Allowed
- ≤ 15% other red grapes authorised for Lazio · Others allowed
Blend rules
Circeo Rosato Frizzante
- ≥ 55% Merlot · Main grape
- ≤ 30% Sangiovese · Allowed
- ≤ 30% Cabernet Sauvignon · Allowed
- ≤ 15% other red grapes authorised for Lazio · Others allowed
Blend rules
Circeo Merlot
- ≥ 85% Merlot · Main grape
- – other grapes authorised for Lazio · Others allowed
Blend rules
Circeo Sangiovese
- ≥ 85% Sangiovese · Main grape
- – other grapes authorised for Lazio · Others allowed
Blend rules
Circeo Trebbiano
- ≥ 85% Trebbiano · Main grape
- – other grapes authorised for Lazio · Others allowed
Other varieties allowed
Besides the main grapes, the rules allow these varieties in some wines. Grape names link where a profile exists.
38 varieties · Circeo Bianco, Circeo Bianco Frizzante, Circeo Bianco Spumante
Bellone, Biancolella, Bombino Bianco, Canaiolo Bianco, Capolongo, Falanghina, Fiano, Forastera, Friulano, Grechetto, Greco, Greco Bianco, Guarnaccia, Malvasia Bianca Lunga, Malvasia Bianca di Candia, Manzoni Bianco, Maturano, Montonico Bianco, Moscato Giallo, Moscato di Terracina, Mostosa, Muscat Blanc A Petits Grains, Pampanaro, Passerina, Pecorino, Petit Manseng, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Trebbiano Giallo, Trebbiano di Soave, Verdello, Verdicchio Bianco, Vermentino, Vernaccia di S. Giminiano, Viognier, Welschriesling
28 varieties · 6 wines
Abbuoto, Aglianico, Alicante, Ancellotta, Barbera, Bombino Nero, Cabernet Franc, Calabrese, Canaiolo Nero, Carignan, Cesanese Comune, Cesanese D Affile, Cesenese Nero, Ciliegiolo, Grechetto Rosso, Lambrusco Maestri, Lecinaro, Montepulciano, Nero Buono, Olivella Nera, Petit Verdot, Piedirosso, Pinot Noir, Primitivo, Sciascinoso, Syrah, Tannat, Tempranillo
30 varieties · Circeo Merlot
Abbuoto, Aglianico, Alicante, Ancellotta, Barbera, Bombino Nero, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Calabrese, Canaiolo Nero, Carignan, Cesanese Comune, Cesanese D Affile, Cesenese Nero, Ciliegiolo, Grechetto Rosso, Lambrusco Maestri, Lecinaro, Montepulciano, Nero Buono, Olivella Nera, Petit Verdot, Piedirosso, Pinot Noir, Primitivo, Sangiovese, Sciascinoso, Syrah, Tannat, Tempranillo
30 varieties · Circeo Sangiovese
Abbuoto, Aglianico, Alicante, Ancellotta, Barbera, Bombino Nero, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Calabrese, Canaiolo Nero, Carignan, Cesanese Comune, Cesanese D Affile, Cesenese Nero, Ciliegiolo, Grechetto Rosso, Lambrusco Maestri, Lecinaro, Merlot, Montepulciano, Nero Buono, Olivella Nera, Petit Verdot, Piedirosso, Pinot Noir, Primitivo, Sciascinoso, Syrah, Tannat, Tempranillo
39 varieties · Circeo Trebbiano
Bellone, Biancolella, Bombino Bianco, Canaiolo Bianco, Capolongo, Falanghina, Fiano, Forastera, Friulano, Grechetto, Greco, Greco Bianco, Guarnaccia, Malvasia Bianca Lunga, Malvasia Bianca di Candia, Malvasia del Lazio, Manzoni Bianco, Maturano, Montonico Bianco, Moscato Giallo, Moscato di Terracina, Mostosa, Muscat Blanc A Petits Grains, Pampanaro, Passerina, Pecorino, Petit Manseng, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Trebbiano Giallo, Trebbiano di Soave, Verdello, Verdicchio Bianco, Vermentino, Vernaccia di S. Giminiano, Viognier, Welschriesling
28 varieties · Cerveteri Rosso Amabile
Abbuoto, Aglianico, Alicante, Ancellotta, Barbera, Bombino Nero, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Calabrese, Canaiolo Nero, Carignan, Cesanese Comune, Cesanese D Affile, Cesenese Nero, Ciliegiolo, Grechetto Rosso, Lambrusco Maestri, Lecinaro, Nero Buono, Olivella Nera, Petit Verdot, Piedirosso, Pinot Noir, Primitivo, Sciascinoso, Syrah, Tannat, Tempranillo
In the vineyard and cellar: rules for every wine
3,000
Vines per hectare, minimum
No forcing
Forcing the vines is prohibited
Emergency only
Irrigation
Cellar
Where the wine must be made
Within the production zone
Allowed
Enrichment (chaptalisation)
02 · Climate fingerprint
The climate
The growing season averages 20.3 °C, hot on Gregory Jones's scale, with 2,199 growing degree days (Winkler IV).
The average year 1991–2020, vineyards at about 37 m
Monthly mean, °CRain, mmGrowing season
- Growing-season temperature
- 20.3 °C
- Hot · 19–21 °C (Jones)
- Growing degree days
- 2,199
- Region IV: 1,944–2,221 degree days
- Growing-season rain
- 439 mm
- Of 1,000 mm a year
- Harvest rain
- 229 mm
- September–October
Copernicus ERA5-Land monthly averages at 5 vineyard points (Vineyard point 1, 12 m; Vineyard point 2, 109 m; Vineyard point 3, 12 m; Vineyard point 4, 25 m; Vineyard point 5, 25 m), moved to each point's height from the model's terrain. Indices that need daily data are not captured yet. How the climate figures are made.
Closest climates in the database
Picked by the data, not by hand: the profiles nearest on season warmth (counted twice), degree days, rain, ripening-month nights and day–night range. Neighbours within 30 km are left out, as they share the same weather.
1. Campi FlegreiVery similarCompared with Circeo: same season warmth, similar rain.
2. AversaVery similarCompared with Circeo: same season warmth, similar rain.
3. IschiaVery similarCompared with Circeo: same season warmth, similar rain.
Growing-season temperature
Growing degree days
Growing-season rain
03 · Year by year
35 vintages
Each column is one growing season: heat above or below the 1991–2020 average, and rain at harvest. Pick a year for the details.
Warmer than averageCooler than averageHarvest rain (Sep–Oct)Average harvest rain, 229 mm
2025
- Growing-season temp.
- Growing degree days
- Harvest rain
- Growing-season rain
- September nights
- Hot days and frosts
Seasons are labelled by harvest year (April–October). Year-to-year changes from ERA5-Land; tested against station records in Alto Adige (r = 0.94 for season temperature at Bolzano). Rain varies more locally, so treat single-season rain with some caution. Vintage ratings, harvest dates and frost or hail events have places in the data model but are not loaded yet.
04 · Where the numbers come from
Sources
- A geospatial inventory of regulatory information for wine protected designations of origin in Europe · Candiago et al., Scientific Data 9, 394 (2022); Eurac Research · CC0
- Quality wines in Italy and France: a dataset of PDO specifications · figshare 25393261 · CC BY 4.0
- ERA5-Land monthly averaged data (reanalysis-era5-land-monthly-means) · Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), Climate Data Store · CC BY 4.0 (Copernicus licence)
- OpenStreetMap vineyard areas (landuse=vineyard), from Geofabrik country extracts · OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0
- Copernicus DEM GLO-90 (AWS open data tiles) · European Space Agency / Copernicus · Copernicus DEM licence
- Disciplinare di produzione: Circeo · Ministero dell'agricoltura, della sovranità alimentare e delle foreste (MASAF) · Official act
- Climate profiles calculated by Vinous: method
Still to check (3)
- Generated from EU reference data: check against the current product specification.
- From the specification: “Cerveteri Rosso Amabile” is listed in the register for this PDO but belongs to another denomination and is not governed by this text, so its values are null. Tendone and pergola training are not allowed for new plantings; the rosato may be dry or amabile (sweetness null); wineries that vinified Circeo grapes in the province of Latina may vinify outside the zone; the sparkling method is not specified.
- National tier (DOC/DOCG) not captured yet; rules extracted from the specification text.