What is made here
Wine colours
Colours the rules allow. Pick a colour to filter the rules and grapes below.
Where it is
Monferrato in Italy
- Latitude
- 44.5°–46.0° N
- Vineyard altitude
- 165 m to 363 m
- Production zone
- 337,656 ha
Lies within
Piemonte
Covers the same area as
Barbera del Monferrato, Barbera del Monferrato Superiore
Contains 20 appellations (outlined on the zone map)
Albugnano, Barbera d'Asti, Brachetto d'Acqui, Calosso, Cortese dell'Alto Monferrato, Dolcetto d'Acqui, Dolcetto d'Asti, Dolcetto di Ovada, Dolcetto di Ovada Superiore, Gabiano, Gavi, Grignolino d'Asti, Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese, Loazzolo, Malvasia di Casorzo d'Asti, Malvasia di Castelnuovo Don Bosco, Nizza, Rubino di Cantavenna, Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato, Strevi
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 Monferrato must meet.
Blend rules
Monferrato Chiaretto/Ciaret
- ≥ 85% Barbera / Bonarda / Cabernet Franc / Cabernet Sauvignon / Dolcetto / Freisa / Grignolino / Pinot nero / Nebbiolo · Main grape
- ≤ 15% other non-aromatic varieties authorised in Piedmont · Others allowed
Blend rules
Monferrato Dolcetto
- ≥ 85% Dolcetto · Main grape
- ≤ 15% other non-aromatic red varieties authorised in Piedmont · Others allowed
Blend rules
Monferrato Dolcetto Novello
- ≥ 85% Dolcetto · Main grape
- ≤ 15% other non-aromatic red varieties authorised in Piedmont · Others allowed
Blend rules
Monferrato Freisa
- ≥ 85% Freisa · Main grape
- ≤ 15% other non-aromatic red varieties authorised in Piedmont · Others allowed
Blend rules
Monferrato Freisa Novelllo
- ≥ 85% Freisa · Main grape
- ≤ 15% other non-aromatic red varieties authorised in Piedmont · Others allowed
Blend rules
Monferrato Nebbiolo
- ≥ 90% Nebbiolo · Main grape
- ≤ 10% other non-aromatic red varieties authorised in Piedmont · Others allowed
At least 12 months' ageing.
Blend rules
Monferrato Nebbiolo Superiore
- ≥ 90% Nebbiolo · Main grape
- ≤ 10% other non-aromatic red varieties authorised in Piedmont · Others allowed
At least 18 months' ageing.
Blend rules
Monferrato Casalese Cortese
- ≥ 85% Cortese · Main grape
- ≤ 15% other non-aromatic white varieties authorised in Piedmont · Others allowed
Other varieties allowed
Besides the main grapes, the rules allow these varieties in some wines. Grape names link where a profile exists.
39 varieties · Monferrato Chiaretto/Ciaret
Albarossa, Ancellotta, Avana', Avarengo, Becuet, Brachetto, Bragat Rosa, Chatus, Ciliegiolo, Cornarea, Croatina, Doux d'Henry, Durasa, Gamay, Gamba Rossa, 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, Plassa, Quagliano, Ruche', Sangiovese, Slarina, Syrah, Teroldego, Uva Rara, Uvalino, Vespolina
47 varieties · Monferrato Dolcetto, Monferrato Dolcetto Novello
Albarossa, Ancellotta, Avana', Avarengo, Barbera, Becuet, Bonarda, Brachetto, Bragat Rosa, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chatus, Ciliegiolo, Cornarea, Croatina, 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 · Monferrato Freisa, Monferrato Freisa Novelllo
Albarossa, Ancellotta, Avana', Avarengo, Barbera, Becuet, Bonarda, Brachetto, Bragat Rosa, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chatus, Ciliegiolo, Cornarea, Croatina, Dolcetto, Doux d'Henry, Durasa, 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 · Monferrato Nebbiolo, Monferrato Nebbiolo Superiore
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
19 varieties · Monferrato Casalese Cortese
Arneis, Baratuciat, Barbera Bianca, Bussanello, Erbaluce, Favorita, Malvasia Moscata, Manzoni Bianco, Muller Thurgau, Muscat Blanc A Petits Grains, Nascetta, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Rossese Bianco, Sauvignon Blanc, Sylvaner, Timorasso, Viognier, Welschriesling
In the vineyard and cellar: rules for every wine
3,300
Vines per hectare, minimum
Training
Systems allowed
controspalliera (Guyot, cordone speronato basso)
No forcing
Forcing the vines is prohibited
Emergency only
Irrigation
Cellar
Where the wine must be made
Within the production zone
02 · Climate fingerprint
The climate
The growing season averages 17.8 °C, warm on Gregory Jones's scale, with 1,678 growing degree days (Winkler III).
The average year 1991–2020, vineyards at about 296 m
Monthly mean, °CRain, mmGrowing season
- Growing-season temperature
- 17.8 °C
- Warm · 17–19 °C (Jones)
- Growing degree days
- 1,678
- Region III: 1,667–1,943 degree days
- Growing-season rain
- 625 mm
- Of 1,040 mm a year
- Harvest rain
- 220 mm
- September–October
Copernicus ERA5-Land monthly averages at 5 vineyard points (Vineyard point 1, 212 m; Vineyard point 2, 254 m; Vineyard point 3, 426 m; Vineyard point 4, 144 m; Vineyard point 5, 443 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. Côtes du VivaraisVery similarCompared with Monferrato: same season warmth, similar rain.
2. Cesanese di AffileVery similarCompared with Monferrato: same season warmth, similar rain.
3. BarbarescoVery similarCompared with Monferrato: 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, 220 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: Monferrato · 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: Freisa may be dry or amabile, so sweetness is left null; Novello wines state no sweetness word. Vinification is also allowed throughout the provinces of Asti, Alessandria, Cuneo and Torino. Maximum wine output ranges from 5,600 l/ha (Nebbiolo Superiore) to 7,700 l/ha (rosso, bianco, Chiaretto).
- National tier (DOC/DOCG) not captured yet; rules extracted from the specification text.