The Euganean Hills rise abruptly out of the Venetian plain south-west of Padua. They are not the foothills of anything: they are isolated cones of trachyte and marl, volcanic in origin, which is why the landscape changes so suddenly. The area became Veneto's first regional park in 1989, and the appellation has been a DOC since 1969.
The surprise, for anyone expecting an all-indigenous line-up, is how central the Bordeaux varieties are. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Carmenère have been grown here since the nineteenth century, brought in by landowners experimenting with agronomy and kept because they suit these soils. Colli Euganei Rosso is by law a Merlot-led blend filled out with the Cabernets: a Bordeaux-shaped wine made in the Veneto since before anyone spoke of international varieties.
Among the whites you will meet Garganega, Moscato Giallo, Pinello, Chardonnay and Tai. Serprino is the local name for Glera, the Prosecco grape, made frizzante here and drunk young on the spot — one of the rare wines a district has largely kept for itself.
The quality peak, though, is sweet. Colli Euganei Fior d'Arancio has been a DOCG since 2011, made from Moscato Giallo, and the name describes precisely what is in the glass: orange blossom. It exists as a sparkling wine, a passito and a still wine. In a region known for Prosecco and Amarone, it is the Euganean appellation that resembles none of its neighbours.
