The Piave (; ) is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

Northeast Italy Northeast Italy ( or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica, National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a Italian NUTS level 1 regions, first level NUTS region and a European ...

. It begins in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

and flows southeast for into the

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

near the city of

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. 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 force co ...

during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

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

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, it was the scene of

Battle of the Piave River The Second Battle of the Piave River (or Battle of the Solstice), fought between 15 and 23 June 1918, was a decisive victory for the Italian Army against the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I, as Italy was part of the Allied Forces, whi ...

, the last major

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

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. In Italy the river is thus called ''Fiume Sacro alla Patria'' (Sacred River of the Homeland) and is mentioned in the patriotic song "

La leggenda del Piave "La Leggenda del Piave" (), also known as "La Canzone del Piave" (), is an Italian patriotic song written by E. A. Mario after the Second Battle of the Piave River in June 1918. In September 1943, the future king of Italy Umberto II chose it a ...

". It was eventually followed by the

Battle of Vittorio Veneto The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought from 24 October to 3 November 1918 (with an armistice taking effect 24 hours later) near Vittorio Veneto on the Italian Front during World War I. After having thoroughly defeated Austro-Hungarian troops ...

later that year.

Viticulture

North of the city of Venice along the Piave Valley is the ''

Denominazione di origine controllata The following four classification of wine, classifications of wine constitute the Italy, Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; 'designation of origin'); * ''Indicazione ...

'' (DOC) zone that makes up the

Veneto wine Venetian wine is produced in Veneto, a highly productive wine region in northeastern Italy. The broader area comprising Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol is known collectively as the '' Tre Venezie'', after the Repu ...

region known as the Piave DOC. Here both red and white wine are produced, mostly as

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

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 , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

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 Lebano ...

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 (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

(which can be made separately or together as a

wine label Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine. The label is often the only resource a buyer has for evaluating the wine before purchasing it. Certain information is ordinarily inclu ...

led ''Cabernet''),

Pinot blanc Pinot blanc () or Pinot bianco is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane wh ...

Pinot grigio Pinot gris, pinot grigio (, ), or ''Grauburgunder'' is a white wine , white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the pinot noir variety, it normally has a pinkish-gray hue, accounting for its ...

Pinot nero Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...

, Raboso, Friulano, Verduzzo Trevigiano and

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

(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 collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...

ed within a maximum yield restriction—11

tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

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

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 Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...

—11.5% for all varieties except Merlot and Friulano which only need to reach 11% alcohol by volume. A separate ''

riserva Reserve wine is wine of a higher quality than usual, a wine that has been aged before sale, or both. Traditionally, winemakers would reserve some of their best wine rather than sell it immediately, coining the term. In some countries the use of t ...

'' bottling for the red wine varieties is permitted provided the wine is

aged Ageing (or aging in American English) is the process of becoming older until death. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi; whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologi ...

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