The sun sets behind the ridges of the Triangolo Lariano and the Breva begins to blow from the south,climbing the lake like a warm hand running along the stone of the terraces.

It is the wind that has dried the leaves of vines clinging to the slopes of the Lario for thousands of years,the same wind the ancients knew and that farmers have always had a name for. Few people know that behind this caress lies one of the oldest and most forgotten winemaking stories in Italy.

Three territories meet here in a tight knot: Lake Como with its terraced hills,the Brianza hills,and the Valtellina,which is a natural and geological extension of the Lario.

Three areas,three appellations,one shared history spanning more than two thousand years of vineyards,neglect,and revival.

Before the Romans arrived,this territory belonged to them: the Raeti. They were an Alpine people whom ancient historians considered descendants of Etruscans who had retreated into the mountains following the arrival of the Gauls.

The historian Livy,in Book V of his History of Rome,writes that the Raeti "without doubt" descended from the Etruscans,and Pompeius Trogus and Pliny the Elder confirm the theory with further details.

Modern historiography has questioned this descent,but the linguistic fact remains: Raetic is related to Etruscan,and the Raeti occupied a territory that stretched from the Alps down to the Lario and to Verona.

They were winemakers. The vitis raetica,the Raetic grape,is one of the oldest varieties mentioned in Latin literature. Cato the Censor,in his De agri cultura of the second century BC,is the first to name it.

Virgil,in the Georgics,devoted a line to it that has since become famous: "Rhaetica? Nec cellis ideo contende Falernis" ("And the Raetic? Do not therefore compete with the Falernians in the cellar"). A polite jab,acknowledging the quality of Raetic wine while still preferring the Campanian Falernian.

Pliny the Elder,born at Como in 23 AD and therefore a son of these lands,describes Raetic wine and the techniques of its producers with precision in the Naturalis Historia.

Strabo,in his Geography,writes that "Raetic wine,held among the most praised in Italy,is made at the foot of their mountains." He adds a remarkable technical detail: the Raeti kept their wine in barrels of larch and pine,some of enormous size.

This is one of the earliest known testimonies of wine storage in wooden barrels rather than terracotta amphorae,an innovation that would change the entire world of winemaking.

On the Lario,that knowledge took deep root. The hills that slope down to the lake are made of glacial rock and moraine debris — naturally mineral-poor soils,but well exposed,where the vine finds what it needs: steady rainfall,the right amount of sun,and a wide temperature swing between day and night.

The ideal conditions for producing wines of character,with a firm and distinctive flavor.

After the fall of the Roman Empire,viticulture on the Lario survived in the hands of monks. It was the Benedictine and Cluniac orders that kept the embers of the ars vinaria alive,copied agronomic texts,and planted vineyards around their monasteries.

The earliest documented source for viticulture in the Valtellina is precise: December 18,837,Delebio. A deed contained in the Codex Diplomaticus Longobardiae records the sale of vineyards in the lower valley.

From that document stretches an unbroken chain of charters,contracts,and tithes: wine in the Valtellina has been a stable part of the economy for nearly twelve hundred years.

At the Abbey of Piona,on the promontory that juts into the eastern branch of the lake,there is a visual record of that civilization. In the Romanesque cloister (slabs dated 1252 and 1257),a fresco cycle of the months of the year depicts the agricultural labors of the farming calendar.

In July,the threshing of grain. In September,the hooping of barrels for the new wine. It is archaeology saturated with knowledge,painted on the wall: the rhythm of the vineyard marked monastic and peasant life alike,and that rhythm is the same one the Lario's winemakers still follow today.

In the second half of the fifteenth century,Leonardo da Vinci,then employed at the court of Ludovico il Moro in Milan,described the Valtellina in the Codice Atlantico,folio 214: "Valtolina valle circumdata d'alti terribili monti,fa vini potentissimi e assai."

Eight simple words that carry the weight of a manifesto. Potentissimi: powerful,structured,built to last. These were wines made from Nebbiolo,known in the Valtellina by its dialect name Chiavennasca,and for five centuries this grape has defined the winemaking identity of the Lombard Alps.

When the Valtellina came under Graubünden rule (1512–1797),the wine trade intensified. The Swiss Confederates loved this mountain Nebbiolo and had up to 15,000 liters a day transported by mule toward Chur,Zurich,and Bohemia.

To meet such demand,the farmers of the Valtellina undertook a titanic effort: they terraced the valley slopes with dry-stone walls.

Valtellina: 2,500 km of dry-stone walls and UNESCO heritage

Today,these terraces form the largest mountain vineyard area in Italy: roughly 850 to 980 hectares of vines supported by 2,500 linear kilometers of dry-stone walls,built stone by stone without mortar,in pure equilibrium.

It is the most extensive masonry work in the Lombardy region,a highly visible monument that honors the generations who raised it.

In 2018,UNESCO inscribed "the art of dry-stone walling" on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It is a transnational recognition involving eight European countries (Italy,Croatia,Cyprus,France,Greece,Slovenia,Spain,and Switzerland) that protects a building technique handed down over centuries.

The Valtellina is one of the most representative Italian areas for this art,although its terraces are not formally included in the Nomination Dossier.

Above those walls,Chiavennasca finds exceptional growing conditions. The Rhaetian slope,facing south,receives well over 1,900 hours of sunshine per year.

This level of solar exposure is comparable to that received by Pantelleria,an island at the heart of the Mediterranean more than 1,000 kilometers to the south.

The Rhaetian Alps block the cold winds from the north,while the Orobie screen the warm winds from the south. The Breva,rising from the Lario,carries warm air that dries leaves and grape clusters.

It is a microclimate that can almost be called Mediterranean at 600 meters above sea level,in the midst of mountains that reach close to 4,000 meters.

The DOCG Valtellina Superiore has five sub-zones,each with its own character: Maroggia is the westernmost,Sassella the most celebrated and tannic,Grumello elegant and aromatic,Inferno the warmest and most powerful,Valgella the easternmost and most fragrant. Five shades of Nebbiolo that change from one bend of the valley to the next.

Brianza and Montevecchia: the Tuscany of Brianza

On the Brianza hills,between Lecco and Milan,viticulture has a quieter but equally ancient history. Cesare Cantù,in the opening of his Carlambrogio da Montevecchia (1836),describes Montevecchia as "a hill,from its foot to its summit smiling with terraced vines and orchards,with small fields and benches arranged in steps."

That description gave rise to the nickname "the Tuscany of Brianza."

Here too the vines grow on terraces,less spectacular and extensive than their Valtellina counterparts but equally ancient,built since the Middle Ages. The rows run along the edges of the terraces,in full sun,on clay-limestone soils rich in minerals.

The lake wind arrives gently,softened by the hills,but capable of bringing freshness through the warm summer nights.

And so,after centuries of resilience,disaster struck. In 1879 the presence of phylloxera was confirmed in Italy — the American insect that attacks the roots of the European vine.

The first certain sighting dates to 1875,with deteriorating vines near Lecco. Four years later,in 1879,the insect was identified precisely at Valmadrera (today in the province of Lecco,then in the province of Como) and at Agrate (MI).

This was the starting point on Italian soil of the epidemic that would destroy much of Europe's vineyards within a few decades.

On the Lario the effect was devastating. The Valtellina,which had over 6,000 hectares of vineyards in the nineteenth century,lost two thirds of them. The Brianza,which had produced wine in significant quantities,chose to replace the vines with mulberry trees for silkworm farming: local viticulture practically disappeared.

Only a few areas held out,and for nearly a century the winemaking Lario lived in complete obscurity.

The turning point came only recently,in 2008. That year the IGT Terre Lariane appellation was officially recognized,covering the provinces of Como and Lecco and giving a formal name to a production that had existed for centuries without one.

The Consorzio dei vini IGT di Como e Lecco was established in December 2009,with seven founding producers. Today it counts around 20 member wineries and over 80 labels,spread across two main areas: the upper Lake Como (centered on Domaso) and the Brianza hills around Montevecchia.

The appellation includes a wide range of grape varieties: for whites,Chardonnay,Pinot Bianco,Riesling,Sauvignon,Trebbiano,and the rediscovered Verdese; for reds,Merlot,Cabernet Sauvignon,Barbera,Croatina,Sangiovese,Marzemino,and Schiava. It is a heterogeneous ampelographic platform that reflects the turbulent history of the territory: after phylloxera,each producer planted what they thought most suited to the land,and today that variety is a strength.

Verdese deserves a chapter of its own. It is a white grape native to the Como area,forgotten for decades and rediscovered through the research of Professor Leo Miglio (son of the political scientist and senator Gianfranco Miglio) and other enthusiasts.

Registered in the National Register of Vine Varieties in November 1996,it was included in Pierre Galet's Dictionnaire encyclopédique des cépages (École de Montpellier) in 2000 under the name "Verdese di Como."

From a nearly extinct grape it has become the symbol of the appellation: it produces sapid,mineral white wines with a distinctive herbal note.

The secret of Lario wines lies in three factors. First: the winds. The Breva rises from the south from late morning until sunset,drying leaves and grape clusters and preventing mold.

The Tivano descends from the north at dawn (the name comes from the French petit vent,meaning small wind) and brings cool air down from the Alps. This daily dance of breezes is the Lario winemaker's first ally.

Second: the soils. On the Lario and Brianza hills,the dominant terrain is moraine left by the Quaternary glaciers: mixed debris,rich in minerals but low in organic matter. In the Valtellina the soils are sandy and light,on a schistose base. These are soils that place the vine under stress,forcing it to drive its roots deep and produce concentrated grapes.

Third: altitude and aspect. The Lario vineyards sit between 200 and 500 meters above sea level; those of the Valtellina between 300 and 700. All are strictly south or south-east facing,on slopes that in the Valtellina reach 60 percent. This is heroic viticulture in the literal sense: all work is done by hand,with small cable cars to bring the grape clusters down.

Upper Lake Como

Sorsasso — Via Gaggio 1bis,22013 Domaso (CO). Tel. +39 0344 910022. sorsasso.com Founded in 1997 by Anna Travi and Roberto Beltracchini,it is one of the first estates on the upper Lario to believe in Verdese. It produces fresh,sapid wines that pair beautifully with lake fish.

Cantine Angelinetta — Via Pozzolo 16,22013 Domaso (CO). Tel. +39 0344 490095. cantineangelinetta.com Custodians of Professor Leo Miglio's experimental legacy,they offer micro-vinifications and niche bottles. Visits by appointment only.

Tenuta Montecchio — Via Montecchio Nord 29a,23823 Colico (LC). Tel. +39 338 7499603. tenutamontecchio.com Owned by the Riva-Venini family since 1946,reconstituted as a wine estate in 2012. It produces one of the most precise Verdese wines in the territory,along with a red from Merlot and Cabernet with genuine personality.

Brianza hills

La Costa — Via Galbusera Nera 2,23888 La Valletta Brianza (LC). Tel. +39 039 5312218. la-costa.it Founded in 1992 by Giordano Crippa,it is now a reference point for Brianza wines. Labels worth knowing: Solesta (white from Sauvignon),Bacca da Verdese (white),San Giobbe (red from Merlot),and Brigante (structured red).

Terrazze di Montevecchia — Via Alta Collina 12bis,frazione Ghisalba,23874 Montevecchia (LC). The Ghezzi family produces traditional-method sparkling wine alongside still wines. Spectacular panoramic position.

Cantina Ceresè — Via del Ceresé 13,frazione Ceresè,23874 Montevecchia (LC). An integrated 21-hectare farm with niche wine production (around 5,000 bottles a year) and other agricultural activities. Their Merlot is worth trying.

L'Enoteca di Montevecchia — Largo Gaetana Agnesi 12,frazione Piazza,23874 Montevecchia (LC). For those who want to taste the Terre Lariane wines without traveling from winery to winery,this is where you'll find the most complete selection.

Valtellina

Nino Negri — Via Ghibellini 3,23030 Chiuro (SO). Tel. +39 0342 485211. Founded in 1897 on the occasion of the marriage of Nino Negri and Amelia Galli,the winery is housed in the fifteenth-century Castello Quadrio. It was the first Valtellina estate to produce Sfursat with natural grape drying,in 1956. Its Sfursat 5 Stelle 2001 was named "Best Wine in Italy" by several national guides,and Casimiro Maule,the winemaker who created it,was named "Winemaker of the Year 2007" by Gambero Rosso. An essential stop for anyone who wants to understand the Valtellina.

Ar.Pe.Pe. — Via Buon Consiglio 4,23100 Sondrio. Tel. +39 0342 214120. The Pelizzatti Perego family has been growing mountain Nebbiolo since 1860; the current estate was established in 1984 when Arturo Pelizzatti Perego took over the family vineyards. Thirteen hectares,eighty thousand bottles,wines of absolute precision. The Valtellina Superiore from Sassella and Grumello are among the most elegant mountain Nebbiolos in Italy.

Bellagio

CavaTuracciolo — Salita Genazzini 3,22021 Bellagio (CO). Not a winery but a wine shop with over 300 labels,many from the territory. The right place to take a horizontal tour of the Lario in a single evening.

What is the typical wine of Lake Como?

The typical wines of the Lario fall under the IGT Terre Lariane appellation,recognized in 2008. The most characteristic are the whites made from Verdese (a native variety),Riesling,Sauvignon,and Chardonnay,and the reds from Merlot,Cabernet,and Marzemino.

For the great mountain reds,you turn to the Valtellina,where Nebbiolo (known locally as Chiavennasca) reigns in the Valtellina Superiore DOCG and the Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG.

Can you visit a winery on Lake Como?

Yes. The main wineries — Sorsasso,Cantine Angelinetta,and Tenuta Montecchio on the upper lake; La Costa and Terrazze di Montevecchia in the Brianza — welcome visitors by appointment,often with tastings accompanied by local cured meats and cheeses.

What is the difference between Valtellina Superiore and Sforzato di Valtellina?

Both are DOCG appellations,both based on Nebbiolo (Chiavennasca). Valtellina Superiore is a dry Nebbiolo aged for at least 24 months,with five sub-zones (Maroggia,Sassella,Grumello,Inferno,Valgella).

Sforzato di Valtellina is made from grapes naturally dried in a drying loft for at least three months,a technique similar to Amarone but applied to Nebbiolo: the result is a powerful,intense dry red built for aging.

When is the harvest on Lake Como?

On the Lario and in the Brianza,harvest generally begins in late August for early-ripening whites and continues through the first half of October for the reds. In the Valtellina,due to the altitude,the harvest comes later: from mid-September through mid-November for the grapes destined for Sforzato.

What does Chiavennasca mean?

It is the Valtellina dialect name for Nebbiolo,most likely derived from chiavenasca or ciu venasca ("the most wine-like"). Genetic analysis has confirmed that it is the same variety as Piedmontese Nebbiolo,adapted over time to Alpine conditions.

Two thousand years of patience written in stone. The winemaking Lario is not a recent discovery: it is a memory that has come back to speak,after being silenced by phylloxera and industrialization.

The dry-stone walls of the Valtellina and the terraces of the Brianza are silent cathedrals built by farmers,one stone at a time. The wines they produce today are the result of that millennial labor,of that effort transformed into liquid light in the glass.

Salute.