Timorasso Stands the Test of Time

Five years ago I wrote about the resurgence of Timorasso (“The Return of a Piedmont Original, columns, Nov. 30, 2020), a traditional Piedmont white grape variety from the hills of the Colli Tortonesi. Thanks to the efforts of local vintner Walter Massa, along with Elisa Semino of La Colombera and others, Timorasso is not only thriving; it has attracted a number of investors from nearby Langhe.

- BRUCE SANDERSON

This was clearly evident in a workshop I conducted at Vinitaly 2025, where I invited a number of producers to explore the grape, where it is grown and the styles of wines made from it. Only two of the 10 were from the Colli Tortonesi (one other declined my invitation because they were not attending Vinitaly); the rest were from Barolo and Barbaresco.

In 2000, there were 8.6 acres of Timorasso planted. Currently there are 1,087 acres—75% within the newly formed subzone of the Colli Tortonesi DOC, in 2022—and 114 producers split between the Colli Tortonesi and Langhe. The DOC is Timorasso Colli Tortonesi Derthona (the Roman name for the city of Tortona).

Colli Tortonesi is in the southeastern part of Piedmont, close to Lombardy and Liguria. Its hills mark the southern end of the region, decreasing in elevation in a northwestern direction from the Ligurian Apennines toward Tortona and the Po River plain. Planting of Timorasso is contained in the hills, from 660 feet to 1,320 feet, surrounding the villages of Berzano, Monleale, Montemarzino and Vho.