The Development of Winegrowing and Oenology in Southern Piedmont and Oltrepò Pavese

Abstract

The South of Piedmont is a winegrowing area famous all over the world for its red wines, such as Barolo and Barbaresco, as well as for its sparkling wines (Asti spumante). This success is the result of a long development process. This article aims to highlight the changes in winegrowing and wine production in the nineteenth–twentieth centuries, in this area and in the adjoining Oltrepò Pavese. The article analyses the factors underlying the changes and how operators addressed the various problems caused both by socio-economic development and by the environment. This study reveals how winegrowers, affected by agricultural, cultural and social events, and supported by illuminated local players, were able to adapt to the various requirements of the market. From the mid-nineteenth century, the winegrowers became the protagonists, including in contacts with neighbouring France, and they introduced more rational vine breeding and pruning systems, aimed at holding down costs and at improving the quantity and quality of their production. Notwithstanding the difficulties arising in the twentieth century, connected to problems of market and of wars, the sector revealed signs of development, thanks to competent local producers, trade associations and regional and national agricultural policies.