Roero (; pms, Roé ) is a geographical area in the north-east corner of the

province of Cuneo Cuneo ( Italian), or Coni ( Piedmontese), is a province in the southwest of the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west it borders on the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and H ...

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, north-west

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 ...

. This hilly region is known for its

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...

s and for its fruit production: particularly the

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, n ...

es of Canale and the local variety of

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosacea ...

known as Madernassa which originated in the late eighteenth century in Vezza d'Alba.Pera madernassa – storia – ricette
Strawberries are also grown. The name comes from the Roero family of bankers and traders, who were prominent in the political life of

Asti Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a '' comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deeme ...

and its environs, and who dominated this area for a number of centuries during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. The designated zone of production for the

DOCG The following four classifications of wine constitute the Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; English: “designation of origin”), * ''Indicazione geografica tip ...

wines Roero and Roero Arneis is a subset of this territory which comprises the communes of

Castellinaldo Castellinaldo d'Alba is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 881 and an area of .All de ...

, Canale, Corneliano d’Alba, Piobesi d’Alba and Vezza d’Alba, plus parts of Baldissero d'Alba, Castagnito, Guarene, Govone,

Magliano Alfieri Magliano Alfieri is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,726 and an area of .All demo ...

Montà Montà is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. Montà borders the following municipalities: Canale, Cellarengo Cellarengo is a ' ...

, Monteu Roero,

Pocapaglia Pocapaglia ( pms, Pocapaja) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. As of 1-1-2017, it had a population of 3,311 and an area of .All d ...

Priocca Priocca is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,979 and an area of .All demographics ...

, Santa Vittoria d'Alba,

Santo Stefano Roero Santo Stefano Roero is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,314 and an area of .Al ...

and Sommariva Perno.Map of production zone at regione.piemonte.it

Extent

The territory lies to the north of

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kin ...

. The river

Tanaro The Tanaro (; pms, Tane ; ; la, Tanarus), is a long river in northwestern Italy. The river begins in the Ligurian Alps, near the border with France, and is the most significant right-side tributary to the Po in terms of length, size of dra ...

marks its southern border, dividing it from the

Langhe The Langhe (; ''Langa'' is from old dialect Mons Langa et Bassa Langa) is a hilly area to the south and east of the river Tanaro in the province of Cuneo and in the province of Asti in Piedmont, northern Italy. It is famous for its wines, c ...

. To the north-east its informal boundary with

Monferrato Montferrat (, ; it, Monferrato ; pms, Monfrà , locally ; la, Mons Ferratus) is part of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Mon ...

follows approximately the line of the border between the provinces of Cuneo and

, although Cisterna d’Asti can be taken to be part of Roero. To the north-west it is confined by the

province of Turin The former Province of Turin ( it, Provincia di Torino; pms, Provinsa ëd Turin; french: Province de Turin) was a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital was the city of Turin. The province existed until 31 December 2014, when it wa ...

. To the west its border is taken to be the SS 661 state road which runs through the communes of Bra,

Sanfrè Sanfrè is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,602 and an area of .All demographics and ...

and Sommariva del Bosco. Corneliano d'alba1

The communes which fall, partly or entirely within Roero are thus: *

* Baldissero d’Alba * Bra * Canale * Castagnito *

Ceresole Alba Ceresole Alba is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Piedmont region of Italy, located about southeast of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. Ceresole Alba borders the following municipalities: Baldissero d'Alba, Car ...

* Cisterna d’Asti * Corneliano d’Alba * Govone * Guarene *

* Montaldo Roero * Monteu Roero * Monticello d’Alba * Piobesi d’Alba *

* Santa Vittoria d’Alba *

* Sommariva del Bosco * Sommariva Perno * Vezza d’Alba

Viticulture

Roero is a recognized wine-making area of the

Province of Cuneo Cuneo ( Italian), or Coni ( Piedmontese), is a province in the southwest of the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west it borders on the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and H ...

in the

region; along with its neighbours

and

it forms the “Distretto Langhe, Roero e Monferrato” wine district.Agricoltura in Piemonte – Vini
Roero wines include the red Roero, as well as the white Roero

Arneis Arneis is a white Italian wine grape variety originating from Piedmont, Italy. It is most commonly found in the hills of the Roero, northwest of Alba, where it is part of the white ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita'' (DOCG) wi ...

, and sparkling white Roero

Spumante Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne reg ...

. The name "Roero" lacking any further specification is reserved for red wines made from a minimum of 95% Nebbiolo grapes with the addition of 2%–5% of non-aromatic red varieties. Roero must be aged in cellars for twenty months, six of them in wooden barrels, while Roero riserva (reserve) must be aged at least 32 months total, with the same minimum of six months spent in wood.Vendita Vino Italiano
/ref> Nebbiolo has 194.90 hectares dedicated to it in Roero. Meanwhile, Roero

and Roero

are made from 95%

grapes with the rest from non-aromatic white varieties of the Piedmonte region. The

grape variety has 832.89 hectares of vineyards devoted to it in Roero. Roero became a DOC region in 1985 and a DOCG region in 2005. Other wines produced include Barbera d'Alba, Birbèt, Bonarda, Favorita, Moscato d'Asti and Nebbiolo d'Alba.

Notes

References

Enoteca Regionale del Roero
* http://www.comune.asti.it/cultura/stemmi/roero.shtml provides an account of the Roero family. See also :it:Roero (famiglia).
Official UNESCO photo selection

Complete UNESCO photo gallery before selection
{{coord, 44.7000, N, 7.8500, E, source:wikidata, display=title Wine regions of Italy Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato