The Consorzio di Tutela Nebbioli Alto Piemonte protects, enhances and promotes since 1999 the images of the Italian wines from the historical local appellation of two DOCG Ghemme, Gattinara and eight DOC Boca, Bramaterra, Colline Novaresi, Coste della Sesia, Fara, Lessona, Sizzano and Valli Ossolane). The territory is shielded from the cold northern winds by the Monte Rosa, which is the second-highest mountain in Europe, whilst it benefits during the warm season from the fresh winds coming from the glaciers bringing cool temperatures overnight. Since a few decades ago Alto Piemonte was a single big uniform vineyard, but it was drastically reduced with the industrialization started at the end of the second War World II. The area can be divided between the left bank of the Sesia River and the right bank of the river Sesia and the Valli Ossolane.
LEFT BANK
Coste della Sesia: on the west the soil origins form marine sediments layered over alluvial or porphyry sediments, towards east becomes porphyry and volcanic.
Bramaterra: most of the vineyards grow over a porphyry block, on the southern and western ends there are marine deposit, northerly is mostly marine sand, southernly carbonate and limestone rocks.
Lessona: sands from the Piocene era are present but mainly the soil is composed by marine sediments over a deep porphyry rock, it is possible to find fossilized seashells.
Gattinara: the soil is very compact of porphyry block of brown-ochre colour which brittles on the superficial layer, caused by the explosion of the super-volcano in Valsesia.
RIGHT BANK
Colline Novaresi: the soil is morainic and alluvial origins, rich in silt and clay in the northern end, while it has a loose structured in the southern end.
Boca: the soil is porphyry characterized by a bright red colour and brittle that becomes dusty and is extremely poor in humus from the Fenera mountain, the rock can be pink to purple or yellow to mustad coloured.
Fara: the vineyards grow on a plateau mostly composed by clay, whilst the hills originate from alluvial and glacial deposit from the Pleistocene era, with a gravel layer I the deep.
Sizzano: the soil on the plateau is mostly composed by clay, the hills originate form alluvial and glacial deposits from the Pleistocene era with some pebbles and gravel layers Ghemme: the hills originate from alluvial and glacial deposits with rocks, sediments of various origins, and superficially layers composed of clay, kaolina and tufa.
VALLI OSSOLANE
The soil is heterogenous and has glacial origins, hills of morainic formation of gravel structure, at lower altitude deeper soils with a range of structures from loamy to clay-loam.
