RuvidaMente
The Colli Novaresi and Vercellesi (the Novara and Vercelli Hills) and in particular the hills on the right bank of the river Sesia at one end of the valley of
the same name, constitute the Fara production area. The communes of Fara, from which the wine takes its name, and of Briona are the principal winemaking districts of the area. There are
seven Denominazioni di Origine Controllata in the district, shared between the provinces of Novara and Vercelli, and all of them involve wines made from Nebbiolo grapes. In
fact, the DOC wines of this vinicultural area are also known as the Nebbiolos of the north.
As in the other cases, Fara is made from Nebbiolo, completed by Bonarda Novarese and Vespolina. That mixture provides the base of
this excellent red wine.
A testimonial to the antiquity of the Fara vineyards is provided by frescoes in the Romanesque Church of San Pietro in the commune of Fara. The value of those
modest but appealing paintings is not so much artistic as documentary, for they indicate that the local wine was greatly appreciated in the medieval period. Without doubt, the church played a
predominant role in the expansion of production, as was the case with many other wines.
Abbots, as well as bishops and lay lords, considered viticulture a necessity, not only for liturgical but also for economic reasons. For the sale of wine represented a
sure source of income. And, precisely for that reason, the possession of the right to collect tolls and stamp duty for retail sales was extremely important.
Despite its ancient and illustrious history, Fara is known to relatively few wine lovers outside Piedmont because of the wine’s limited output and because the
production zone is somewhat removed geographically from the region’s principal winemaking areas.
Map of the production area
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