Terrabianca nomeranza (cru)
As early as 1260 (according to the deeds of the notary Amandolesio, 30 April 1261, doc. 14) the area known as ‘Terra Blanca’ was already cultivated and belonged to two families from Camporosso, the Alemanno and the Macariu.
It was later that the Rondelli family (from Reondello, an old Camporosso family), which already owned land in the nearby Monte Curto area, acquired the land; in 1870, by planting the first Rossese di Dolceacqua vines, it founded today’s Terre Bianche.
Identity card
Soil type
Blue Clays or Blue Marls (Ortovero Clays).
Details
Grey-blue marls (CaCO3 content around 30%), massive to faintly laminated, with minor centimetre-thick interbeds of siltstones and fine sandstones with erosive bases and normal grading. Associated with a microfauna of benthic foraminifera (tiny shells).
Geological age
Pliocene (Lower Zanclean–Lower Piacenzian).
Average slope
30%.
Altitude
360-380 m.
Exposure
South-east.
Plantings
Varieties and planting year
Rossese di Dolceacqua, 2010 and 2018.
Vermentino, 2018.
Pigato, 2011.
Rootstocks
Paulsen 779, Paulsen 1103.
Training systems
Spurred cordon, Guyot.
Curiosities
History
Since ancient times the Terre Bianche area has supplied clay for making bricks; a stretch of road believed to date from Roman times, used to carry the raw material down to the brick kilns in the valley, can still be seen.
Geography
The badlands (calanchi) around Terre Bianche are striking erosion features. The clay pinnacles are held in place by the roots of the pine trees.
Literature
Salvatore Quasimodo (Nobel Prize in Literature, 1959) wrote about the hill of Terre Bianche in “Ed è subito sera – Erato ed Apòllion” (1932), dedicating to it the poem ‘Sul colle delle Terre Bianche’.