Piedmont

The Piedmont region (Italian: Piemonte) with its capital Turin is located in the far north-west of Italy. With a land area of over 25,000 square kilometres, it is the second largest after Sicily. The beginnings of viticulture go back to the Celtic people of the Taurines (who gave the capital its name) and the Ligurians. The Romans were already familiar with Piedmontese wines (including those from Gattinara), but the polymath and wine writer Pliny the Elder (23-79) did not mention a single one in his list of the best ancient wines.

It was not until the Middle Ages that the wines produced here, primarily by the monasteries, became known, when minstrels praised their excellent quality. The western part became the Margraviate of Turin in the 11th century and this came under the rule of Savoy through marriage. Piedmont, and with it the winegrowing industry, was under French influence for many centuries. In the mid-13th century, the name "Piedmont" was used for the first time, which is derived from the French pié de monte (at the foot of the mountains). Piedmont's vineyards are largely located at the foot of the Alps and Apennines on both sides of the broad upper Po Valley. It was not until 1815 that Piedmont was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia and finally became part of the United Kingdom of Italy in 1861.