Il Montello, high quality wines
On the clay hills of Montello the climate is dry during the summer and harsh in the winter. The steep slopes, together with the favourable exposure of the vineyards, located on hilly and foothill terrain, make this environment particularly selective for cultivation.
Under these climatic and environmental conditions, vines are one of the few crops capable of adapting and thriving, giving rise to naturally limited but high-quality production.
This result is further enhanced by careful and respectful agronomic practices, such as summer thinning of bunches, grassing of rows, and targeted winter pruning.
Montello, Hill of Red Land
Montello is a hill with characteristic red earth that rises in an isolated and well-defined way just over 300 metres, south of the current course of the Piave River. The very proximity to the river has made this territory particularly favorable to human settlements since ancient times.
Relatively sparsely populated and covered with large wooded areas, Montello is surrounded by lively and densely populated towns, among which Montebelluna stands out. Geologically, the hill is made up of alluvial conglomerates that formed between 60 and 5 million years ago, giving it the typical reddish color of the soils.
The landscape is dominated by the forest, once predominantly oak, strictly protected by the laws of the Most Serene Republic of Venice. The famous “Bosco della Serenissima” in fact supplied the wood destined for the Venetian shipyards.
During Venetian rule, the territory experienced a long period of peace and prosperity, which favored the introduction of new crops. Merchants of the Serenissima immediately recognized the value of plants from the Americas, such as corn, potatoes, beans, and tomatoes, along with new grape varieties that would mark the agricultural history of the area.
Serene Republic of Venice
Since 1471, the Most Serene Republic of Venice has paid particular attention to the “Bosco del Montello”, assigning it to the Arsenale forest reserve. To ensure its protection, in 1515 the saltari were appointed, the true guardians of the forest, and in 1527 the position of Captain of the “Bosco del Montello” was established, charged with the surveillance of the forest heritage with the help of some guards.
This policy aimed to rigorously plan forest management, ensuring constant and continuous production of timber for Venetian shipbuilding. Without a regular permit, cutting branches, tops, or plants of any kind was prohibited; severe penalties were even imposed for anyone who, by mowing the grass, damaged young oak trees.
Particular attention was paid to the cultivation of oaks, which were subjected to specific prunings capable of shaping the trunk according to the different parts of the ships. Highly specialized silvicultural techniques, surprisingly advanced for the time, which can be considered an anticipation of modern forest management.
The great war of 1915
With the fall of the Republic of Venice, the protection of the Bosco del Montello also ceased. The advent of the Kingdom of Italy, through the Bertolini Law of 1892, brought profound changes to the management of the forest area: the forest was almost entirely cleared and the territory divided, half assigned to poor families and half sold to private individuals, with the aim of promoting agricultural development.
The construction of the first interpoderal roads, which crossed the hill both transversely and longitudinally, also contributed to supporting this transformation. However, the lack of surface watercourses severely limited agricultural yield and, over time, the forest slowly returned to reconquer the Montello.
During the years of the Great War, Montello once again found itself at the centre of events, becoming a strategic line of first importance. The need to carry out military works to counter the advance of the Austro-Hungarian army led to new and massive deforestation. The conflict unfortunately erased much of the historical, artistic and cultural heritage that had characterized the splendor of this territory.