The Piave ( la, Plavis, German: ''Ploden'') is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

in northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It begins in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

and flows southeast for into the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to th ...

near the city of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. One of its tributaries is the Boite. In 1809 it was the scene of a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

, in which Franco-Italian and Austrian forces clashed. In 1918, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, it was the scene of Battle of the Piave River, the last major

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...

attack on the Italian Front, which failed. The Battle of the Piave River was a decisive battle of World War I on the Italian Front. The river is thus called in Italy ''Fiume Sacro alla Patria'' (Sacred River of the Homeland) and is mentioned in the patriotic song " La leggenda del Piave". It was eventually followed by the Battle of Vittorio Veneto later that year.

Viticulture

North of the city of Venice along the Piave river valley is the '' Denominazione di origine controllata'' (DOC) zone that makes up the Veneto wine region known as the Piave DOC. Here both red and white wine are produced, mostly as varietal wines, with

Merlot Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...

being the dominant grape of the region. Among the other grapes grown in the region are

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon ...

Cabernet franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire's Chinon. In addition to being u ...

(which can be made separately or together as a wine labelled ''Cabernet''), Pinot blanc, Pinot grigio, Pinot nero, Raboso, Friulano, Verduzzo Trevigiano and

Verduzzo Friulano Verduzzo (or Verduzzo Friulano) is a white Italian wine grape grown predominantly in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. It is also found in significant plantings in the Piave ''Denominazione di origine controllata'' (DOC) of ...

(which can be made separately or together as a wine labelled ''Verduzzo'').P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pp. 190-191 Firefly Books 2004 For wines to qualify for DOC labelling the stated variety, they must make up at least 95% of the blend from grapes that are

harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most l ...

ed within a maximum yield restriction—11 tonnes/

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre i ...

for the Cabernets, Verduzzos and Friulano varieties, 12 tonnes/ha for the Pinots, 13 tonnes/ha for Merlot and 14 tonnes/ha for Raboso. The finished wines also must meet a minimum alcohol level—11.5% for all varieties except Merlot and Friulano which only need to reach 11% alcohol by volume. A separate '' riserva'' bottling for the red wine varieties is permitted provided the wine is aged at least two years prior to release and attain a minimum alcohol level of at least 12.5%.

References

External links

Site of italian newspaper "Il Piave"

Official website of Consorzio Tutela Vini del Piave DOC
- Consorzio Vini Venezia Rivers of Italy Rivers of the Province of Belluno Rivers of the Province of Treviso Rivers of the Metropolitan City of Venice Rivers of Veneto Braided rivers in Italy Adriatic Italian coast basins {{Italy-river-stub