Our Terroir
Geology and soil
The theory of plate tectonics has identified the origin of the mountain ranges in the processes that occur when two large crustal plates converge and then collide. In the case of the Northern Apennines, the collision occurred between the European plate and the Adriatic plate. About 160 million years ago, these two plates were separated by a vast ocean basin, known as the Ocean of Liguria and Piedmont. Starting from 100 million years ago, the two crustal plates began to converge against each other, until complete collision occurred about 40-50 million years ago. Thus the Northern Apennines were formed, so that this mountain range can be imagined as a scar that marks the site of the collision.
That the ocean would cover these places is also proved by fossils of shells and other sea creatures, to be found almost everywhere: in the rocks, in the building blocks of ancient churches and castles, in the alluvial soil of the valley.
Right in front of Casè there stand two ophiolitic rock formations, the Parcellara Rock and the Perduca Rock. Ophiolites are magmatic dark green rocks, originated from oceanic basins. On the Perduca Rock stands the medieval church of St. Anne, which seems an outgrowth of the rock itself. In prehistoric times, two square pools were excavated on top of the rock, which the popular tradition dubbed the “beds of the Saints”. In these mysterious basins, where rainwater rests all year, a thriving community of newts found its perfect habitat.
The soil of our vineyards, at nearly 600 meters above the sea level, is a mixture of limestone and clay, and the percentage of limestone increases the closer you get to the ridge of the hill. For this reason, the vines that grow near the crest produce fewer grapes, but much more concentrated, with characteristic mineral aromas.
