THE ORTRUGO HISTORY

The first mention of the vine dates back to 1818, when Bramieri quoted it with the name of "altruga", a dialectal expression meaning "other grapes", that is different from those at that time more known, indicating a grape variety more than anything used as a cutting grape . It is with this meaning and with this name that the vine reappeared in the Ampelographic Bulletin of the Ministry of Agriculture (1881).
Then there are the mentions "Attrugo" in 1883 (Agrarian Investigation and the conditions of the agricultural class) with reference to the district of Bobbio (then in the province of Pavia) and "Ortrugo di Rovescala" by the ampelographer Girolamo Molon in 1908. Molon , author of an important treatise on ampelography, he recognized the grape variety as having some affinities with the Barbesino di Bobbio, which was later discovered to be a different variety. But the definitive name of "Ortrugo" came in 1927, when Professor Toni used it for the first time the current name on the pages of the magazine "Italia Agricola", counting the Ortrugo among the "most important" white wine vines of the province of Piacenza. We are still far from the affirmation of a wine that, thanks to the great diffusion in the Piacentino of Malvasia of Candia aromatica and of Gutturnio, remained relegated for many years in a few hectares cultivated and its grapes never vinified in purity. When, in 1967, na with the DOC Colli Piacentini, the Ortrugo had almost disappeared. It was only at the beginning of the seventies, thanks to the commitment of some Piacenza winemakers, in particular Mossi of Albareto (Ziano), that the Ortrugo was rediscovered and an enhancement was begun which also involved the vinification of its grapes in purity . The grape was interested in the University of Piacenza and in the eighties came the recognition of the DOC.Dal 2010 the Ortrugo wine has a discipline of its own that includes three types of wine: still, sparkling and sparkling wine. Today it is cultivated and produced especially in Val Tidone and represents one of the most important varieties of Piacenza with about 600 hectares cultivated.

THE HISTORY OF OUR GRAPES

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