Rossese di Dolceacqua comes from a small area between Sanremo and Monte Carlo, covering just fourteen villages in the province of Imperia, in Liguria. It sits surprisingly close to some of the world’s best-known wine regions: Barolo lies about 140 km away, Siena — home to Brunello di Montalcino and Chianti Classico — is roughly 500 km distant, and Bordeaux is around 750 km away.

To trace its history, we travel back to the 1700s, gathering memories passed down through older generations. At that time, production reached around one and a half million litres. Imperia was also among the first Italian provinces to suffer from phylloxera — a tiny, aphid-like insect (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae) that attacks grapevines.

Rossese is extremely sensitive to its surroundings and becomes a true “reader of the land”: the wines show clear differences in character depending on whether the grapes grow in the Nervia, Verbone or Roja valleys. Within just twenty kilometres, you can walk across three distinct soil types and experience five different microclimates. To truly understand this wine, you must be willing to change perspective. It has thin skins and the spirited character of an Arabian horse. It is a treasure worth protecting — culturally and agriculturally — one that invites endless stories and interpretations.

Rossese is a challenging grape to work with, demanding patience learned from the past. A wrong decision in the cellar can lead to faults that cannot be undone.

Its future depends on four key elements: quality, local identity, denomination, and tourism. This is a place where the wine itself becomes the destination — a niche production of only 300,000 bottles a year, with remarkably high quality. The first to champion it in modern times was Luigi Veronelli, praising the Dolceacqua made by Giobatta Mandino Cane — a pioneer who, alongside a handful of historic winemakers, never abandoned the project, even when the market favoured flower production over maintaining ancient vineyards.

Eraldo Crespi, one of the founders of the DOC, recalls accompanying his father during the Second World War — delivering wine by horse-drawn carts, even under bombardment. Later, he opened his first wine and spirits shop in Ospedaletti with his brothers, before convincing them to move everything back to Dolceacqua to fully commit to Rossese. He remembers buying fifty new barrels for local farmers and choosing to purchase grapes rather than finished wine, to ensure a consistent identity. He also remembers the mountain of paperwork — hundreds of forms — required to obtain DOC accreditation.

Rossese is not technically native — its origins lie in Provence, where it is known as Tibouren. But after arriving long ago, it adapted so perfectly to this land that it became a unique expression of it — a true work of nature and chance, now profoundly different from its French ancestor. Its traditional training system is the small bush vine, a hallmark of this corner of Liguria. Writer Mario Soldati visited in the late 1960s and tasted Mandino Cane’s 1969 vintage, calling it a magnificent wine — flawless — and was captivated by the local vineyard names. Finally, on 28 May 1972, Dolceacqua received DOC status and the “Rossese Road” was inaugurated.

Studies of the vineyards show multiple soil types influencing the vines in different ways. All the rocks here are sedimentary — once layers of seabed laid down over millions of years. The main types are sandstone, marl and limestone:

• Flysch of Ventimiglia — the most widespread. These ancient deep-sea rocks form the famous dry-stone walls. They erode quickly, creating steep hillsides and shallow, sandy soils with small rock fragments. They hold little water and produce wines that are fine and elegant.
• Montevilla Conglomerates — much rarer, clay-rich stones made of rounded pebbles cemented together. They form the striking grey cliff seen from the motorway at Ventimiglia. The resulting red, stony soils retain water moderately well and give wines with deeper colour, iron-tinged character and greater ageing potential.
• Ortovero Clays — younger pale grey marly soils, rich in limestone and silt. More compact and water-retentive, they create concentrated, refined wines with strong structure and longevity.

Some vineyards have only one soil type; others — like Migliarina — include several, though blue marl dominates there.

On the table, Rossese di Dolceacqua shows remarkable versatility. Wine exists to accompany food, after all — and only the best wines know how to elevate even the simplest dish. Its salty freshness and silky tannins have earned it the nickname the great red wine of the sea. It pairs brilliantly with Ligurian cuisine but also with Asian, South American and vegetarian dishes. Experiment for yourself — you may fall hopelessly in love with this wine.

For those yet to discover it: Dolceacqua is soft-bodied, lively and endlessly drinkable — a coastal red with a personality all its own.