What is made here
Wine colours
Colours the rules allow. Pick a colour to filter the rules and grapes below.
Where it is
Colline Novaresi in Italy
- Latitude
- 45.5°–45.7° N
- Vineyard altitude
- 227 m to 429 m
- Production zone
- 37,740 ha
Lies within
Piemonte
Contains 4 appellations (outlined on the zone map)
Boca, Fara, Ghemme, Sizzano
Worked out from the boundaries (smallest container first). They follow whole communes, so a neighbour sharing a commune can show up here too.
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 Colline Novaresi must meet.
Blend rules
Colline Novaresi Rosso
- ≥ 50% Nebbiolo (Spanna) · Main grape
- ≤ 50% other non-aromatic red grapes suitable for Piemonte · Others allowed
Blend rules
Colline Novaresi Novello
- ≥ 50% Nebbiolo (Spanna) · Main grape
- ≤ 50% other non-aromatic red grapes suitable for Piemonte · Others allowed
Blend rules
Colline Novaresi Rosato
- ≥ 50% Nebbiolo (Spanna) · Main grape
- ≤ 50% other non-aromatic red grapes suitable for Piemonte · Others allowed
Blend rules
Colline Novaresi Nebbiolo (Spanna)
- ≥ 85% Nebbiolo · Main grape
- ≤ 15% other non-aromatic grapes suitable for Piemonte · Others allowed
Blend rules
Colline Novaresi Uva Rara (Bonarda Novarese)
- ≥ 85% Uva rara (Bonarda novarese) · Main grape
- ≤ 15% other non-aromatic grapes suitable for Piemonte · Others allowed
Blend rules
Colline Novaresi Barbera
- ≥ 85% Barbera · Main grape
- ≤ 15% other non-aromatic grapes suitable for Piemonte · Others allowed
Blend rules
Colline Novaresi Vespolina
- ≥ 85% Vespolina · Main grape
- ≤ 15% other non-aromatic grapes suitable for Piemonte · Others allowed
Blend rules
Colline Novaresi Croatina
- ≥ 85% Croatina · Main grape
- ≤ 15% other non-aromatic grapes suitable for Piemonte · Others allowed
Other varieties allowed
Besides the main grapes, the rules allow these varieties in some wines. Grape names link where a profile exists.
47 varieties · 4 wines
Albarossa, Ancellotta, Avana', Avarengo, Barbera, Becuet, Bonarda, Brachetto, Bragat Rosa, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chatus, Ciliegiolo, Cornarea, Croatina, Dolcetto, Doux d'Henry, Durasa, Freisa, Gamay, Gamba Rossa, Grignolino, Lambrusca di Alessandria, Malvasia Nera Lunga, Malvasia di Casorzo, Malvasia di Schierano, Merlot, Montanera, Moscato Nero di Acqui, Ner d'Ala, Neretta Cuneese, Neretto di Bairo, Passau, Pelaverga, Pelaverga Piccolo, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir, Plassa, Quagliano, Ruche', Sangiovese, Slarina, Syrah, Teroldego, Uva Rara, Uvalino, Vespolina
47 varieties · Colline Novaresi Uva Rara (Bonarda Novarese)
Albarossa, Ancellotta, Avana', Avarengo, Barbera, Becuet, Bonarda, Brachetto, Bragat Rosa, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chatus, Ciliegiolo, Cornarea, Croatina, Dolcetto, Doux d'Henry, Durasa, Freisa, Gamay, Gamba Rossa, Grignolino, Lambrusca di Alessandria, Malvasia Nera Lunga, Malvasia di Casorzo, Malvasia di Schierano, Merlot, Montanera, Moscato Nero di Acqui, Nebbiolo, Ner d'Ala, Neretta Cuneese, Neretto di Bairo, Passau, Pelaverga, Pelaverga Piccolo, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir, Plassa, Quagliano, Ruche', Sangiovese, Slarina, Syrah, Teroldego, Uvalino, Vespolina
47 varieties · Colline Novaresi Barbera
Albarossa, Ancellotta, Avana', Avarengo, Becuet, Bonarda, Brachetto, Bragat Rosa, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chatus, Ciliegiolo, Cornarea, Croatina, Dolcetto, Doux d'Henry, Durasa, Freisa, Gamay, Gamba Rossa, Grignolino, Lambrusca di Alessandria, Malvasia Nera Lunga, Malvasia di Casorzo, Malvasia di Schierano, Merlot, Montanera, Moscato Nero di Acqui, Nebbiolo, Ner d'Ala, Neretta Cuneese, Neretto di Bairo, Passau, Pelaverga, Pelaverga Piccolo, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir, Plassa, Quagliano, Ruche', Sangiovese, Slarina, Syrah, Teroldego, Uva Rara, Uvalino, Vespolina
47 varieties · Colline Novaresi Vespolina
Albarossa, Ancellotta, Avana', Avarengo, Barbera, Becuet, Bonarda, Brachetto, Bragat Rosa, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chatus, Ciliegiolo, Cornarea, Croatina, Dolcetto, Doux d'Henry, Durasa, Freisa, Gamay, Gamba Rossa, Grignolino, Lambrusca di Alessandria, Malvasia Nera Lunga, Malvasia di Casorzo, Malvasia di Schierano, Merlot, Montanera, Moscato Nero di Acqui, Nebbiolo, Ner d'Ala, Neretta Cuneese, Neretto di Bairo, Passau, Pelaverga, Pelaverga Piccolo, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir, Plassa, Quagliano, Ruche', Sangiovese, Slarina, Syrah, Teroldego, Uva Rara, Uvalino
47 varieties · Colline Novaresi Croatina
Albarossa, Ancellotta, Avana', Avarengo, Barbera, Becuet, Bonarda, Brachetto, Bragat Rosa, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chatus, Ciliegiolo, Cornarea, Dolcetto, Doux d'Henry, Durasa, Freisa, Gamay, Gamba Rossa, Grignolino, Lambrusca di Alessandria, Malvasia Nera Lunga, Malvasia di Casorzo, Malvasia di Schierano, Merlot, Montanera, Moscato Nero di Acqui, Nebbiolo, Ner d'Ala, Neretta Cuneese, Neretto di Bairo, Passau, Pelaverga, Pelaverga Piccolo, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir, Plassa, Quagliano, Ruche', Sangiovese, Slarina, Syrah, Teroldego, Uva Rara, Uvalino, Vespolina
In the vineyard and cellar: rules for every wine
2,500
Vines per hectare, minimum
180–550 m
Vineyard altitude allowed
No forcing
Forcing the vines is prohibited
Cellar
Where the wine must be made
Within the production zone
Allowed
Enrichment (chaptalisation)
02 · Climate fingerprint
The climate
The growing season averages 16.7 °C, intermediate on Gregory Jones's scale, with 1,437 growing degree days (Winkler II).
The average year 1991–2020, vineyards at about 322 m
Monthly mean, °CRain, mmGrowing season
- Growing-season temperature
- 16.7 °C
- Intermediate · 15–17 °C (Jones)
- Growing degree days
- 1,437
- Region II: 1,389–1,666 degree days
- Growing-season rain
- 1,111 mm
- Of 1,659 mm a year
- Harvest rain
- 375 mm
- September–October
Copernicus ERA5-Land monthly averages at 5 vineyard points (Vineyard point 1, 274 m; Vineyard point 2, 335 m; Vineyard point 3, 380 m; Vineyard point 4, 297 m; Vineyard point 5, 326 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.
Lower confidence:Monthly reanalysis in moderately complex terrain; not yet checked against a weather station.
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. RamandoloVery similarCompared with Colline Novaresi: −0.3 °C in the growing season, similar rain.
2. CaremaVery similarCompared with Colline Novaresi: same season warmth, drier (−129 mm).
3. PiemonteVery similarCompared with Colline Novaresi: −0.4 °C in the growing season, 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, 375 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: Colline Novaresi · Ministero dell'agricoltura, della sovranità alimentare e delle foreste (MASAF) · Official act
- Appellation nesting worked out from boundaries (pipeline/build_nesting.py) · Vinous, from the Eurac PDO boundaries · CC0 (source data)
- Climate profiles calculated by Vinous: method
Still to check (3)
- Generated from EU reference data: check against the current product specification.
- From the specification: Yields are written in kg/ha; the 9.500 kg/ha limit (bianco, Nebbiolo, Uva rara, Vespolina) and the 8,500 kg 'vigna' limit for Nebbiolo, Uva rara and Vespolina cannot be matched by the checker and are left null, as is wine output in litres. 'Vigna' wines need 11,50% vol natural and total alcohol. Croatina may be secco or amabile. Vinification and bottling take place in listed communes of Novara, Vercelli and Biella provinces. The text also governs a rosato novello not in the register.
- National tier (DOC/DOCG) not captured yet; rules extracted from the specification text.