The Timorasso grape is one of the indigenous varieties that grow in beautiful Tenuta Montemagno, Italy. Timorasso is an ancient Piedmontese grape variety that was on the verge of extinction back in the 1980s. However, it was rediscovered by Walter Massa in the mid-‘80s who carefully helped bring it back from the brink. Today, Timorasso grapes are recognized as the grapes of huge importance among the autochthones in the province of Asti. Historically, these vines were cultivated in the vineyards located around the town of Tortona in Colli Tortonesi, near the border between Piedmont and its neighboring provinces of Liguria, Lombardy, and Emilia-Romagna.
You can find Timorasso’s wonderful medium-compact bunches of round, yellow, bloomed berries in varying sizes. Their thick skin makes them resistant to many vineyard diseases, yet they tend to rot when bunches are left hanging too long on the vine in the hopes that they will ripen more evenly.
Where Timorasso grapes are cultivated?
The Timorasso variety of grapes are cultivated in the Tenuta Montemagno vineyards, nestled in the hills of Monferrato, Italy. It is a land of excellence where both red and white wines find their natural eloquence in terms of structure and harmony. The aim of the Tenuta Montemagno vineyard and cellar is to bring out the finest expression of each wine, respecting its biological rhythms and natural aging, with a unique vinification process.
Tenuta Montemagno produces bottles of great prestige now figuring among the top 100 Italian wines. These vineyards provide the ideal habitat for Timorasso vines to grow, thanks to the climate and clay – limestone soil. The vineyard operations are carried out exclusively by hand.
The grapes are cultivated and produced with calcareous clay (with slightly silty marls) of alkaline pH (with considerable water retention), followed by the vinification process. Once the Vinification process is complete, wine is bottled and labelled with the name ‘Solis Vis’ under the Denomination of Controlled Origin Monferrato Bianco D.O.C.
Timorasso Wine Vinification Process
Modern wine-making technology is used to ensure the production of this world-class wine. The Timorasso grapes white wine is processed through a cryomaceration procedure that takes a few hours to complete. The grapes are pressed softly in a completely anaerobic environment. The wine is fermented in stainless-steel vats (i.e. the wine is kept for aging purpose on the lees for a few months). The Vinification process is followed by bottling and further aging in the bottle before release.
The purpose of the whole cryomaceration process (from the pressing, to the maceration, and bottling) is to avoid oxidation and to achieve a final product with the following characteristics:
- Intense and persistent bouquet (fragrance of flintstone, delicate flowers, and white fruits)
- Great longevity
- Minimal sulphite contents
About Solis Vis
“Tenuta Montemagno – Solis Vis. Monferrato Bianco DOC. made with monovarietal Timorasso grapes.”
White wine labelled with name Solis Vis. in Tenuta Montemagno, is popular for its pronounced minerality, peculiarity, warm aromas, and authentic expressions. It gives clear tasting notes of pears and gunflint. Long aged yeasts offer remarkable sweetness and add fullness to the wine.
- Color and highlights of Solis Vis: The wine has a brilliant straw-yellow color with greenish highlights.
- Fragrance / Aroma: The Timorasso wine has an intense and leisurely aroma with clear hints of minerals, fruits (apples and pears), and gunflint.
- Palate: Soft, assertive, warm taste with a pleasant tang. In the mouth its harmony blends with a flavor balanced by the acidity that invites the taster to enter a world so far in the past, yet so current.
- Food pairing possibilities of Solis Vis, Monferrato Bianco DOC, 100% Timorasso: You can pair Solis Vis with a wide variety of food items. The Timorasso wine’s distinct structure allows it to be the perfect match to typical Piedmontese recipes including the Agnolotti al sugo d’arrosto del Monferrato – agnolotti (stuffed pasta) with Monferrato’s roasted meat sauce, the Battuta di Fassona – Fassona row cutting meat, the Uovo con Tartufo – egg with truffle. This means that Solis Vis is perfect paired with grilled meat, white meat, risotto, cheeses, and fish or shellfish dishes.
- Temperature: The best temperature to serve Timorasso wine is 10°/12° C.
Want to know more about Tenuta Montemagno wines? Have you tried these wines? Which was your favorite and why? What did you pair it with?
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