Canavese & Carema

The Canavese lies north of Turin between Ivrea and the Aosta Valley, in the area of the Dora Baltea. Carema lies in the north of the Canavese on the border with the Aosta Valley; there the Nebbiolo vines stand on pergolas carried by stone pillars, on narrow terraces on the mountainside. Further south lies Caluso at the edge of the Ivrea moraine amphitheatre, the centre of Erbaluce.

The soils of the area are shaped by the Ice Age: moraine, glacial debris and sand. The climate is alpine-influenced, with cool nights and a pronounced day-night range; the south-facing terraces at Carema and the stone pillars store heat, and ripening is late.

Carema DOC is made from Nebbiolo, known locally as Picutener, and yields pale, perfumed, acid-driven wines. Erbaluce di Caluso DOCG is made dry, as Spumante and as sweet Passito. Barbera and Freisa stand alongside. The Produttori Nebbiolo di Carema, founded as a cooperative in 1960, shapes the village.