Gavi wine : History of Gavi and Gavina
/by: Alexa
What is Gavi wine, history of Gavi, Gavina and where is it located? Gavi is a white Italian wine produced in the Gavi region of Piemonte, in northwestern Italy. It is made primarily from the Cortese grape variety, known for its crisp, lively acidity and citrusy flavors. Gavi wines are usually light-bodied and refreshing, making them a popular choice for seafood dishes and as an aperitivo. Gavi is a little town placed between Piedmont and Liguria. Surrounded by hills and mountains, you can actually feel in the air the breeze coming from the Ligurian Sea.
It is a noble land forged by gallant people and, of course, it is the main village of Gavi di Gavi DOCG white wine area of production.
This small town was found by Romans as a strategic site along the Via Postumia, the road that connected directly the two main ports of the times: Genoa, in Liguria region, western north Italy, and Aquileia, in Friuli region, eastern north Italy.
In particular, the first part of this route linked Genoa to Derthona, the nowadays Tortona in the province of Alessandria, Piedmont. The road passed through this small settlement in which the rulers were the members of a family called Gens Gavia.
The town name comes most likely from the family, but there is an interesting legend that people from here had passed down. It’s a tale of love, nobility and powerful women: the legend of Gavina.
Gavina was the only daughter of Chlodomer, the King of the Franks at Orléans in the second half of the V century.
At the time the main power in Europe was represented by Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, who was at first formally ruling in the name of the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. He was married to Audofleda, Chlodomer’s aunt.
The legend says that Chlodomer sent his daughter, Gavina, to the Ostrogoth court, hoping for a political marriage.
But the plan didn’t go as planned. Gavina was in love with an impoverished nobleman of Orléans, Philipe. The two of them decided to flee before Chlodomer was able to send her away. After putting together a treasure, stealing money and jewels from the castle, Gavina took Philipe over the Alps, probably because she wanted to go on the Mediterranean coastline. But they still were on the run when they came across a bucolic little village, surrounded by beautiful hills, like they never saw. On the top of one of these, there was the remains of a Roman fortress: it was the perfect place for them to live. The only one who knew about them was Amalasuntha, Theodoric’s daughter. She was like a sister for the Frank princess.
Gavina was able to establish a nice relationship with the villagers and they loved her back. But it is known that dreams aren’t forever. Philipe was spoiled and unfaithful. He was a regular visitor of the worst dives of the area and he showed Gavina's gold off too many times. People started to talk and the story arrived at Chlodomir. He immediately sent his soldiers to bring Gavina back, of course the fearful Philipe fled, since he didn’t want to be punished by his king, but not without stealing all the money from his wife.
Gavina, who was a brave and strong woman, stayed there and, thanks to the villagers, was able to resist for some time. But the soldiers were too strong for her and a small group of farmers. Luckily, Amalasuntha acted: she urged her father Theodor to intervene. A slightly confused Chlodomir had to forgive her and leave her alone at that point, after all he couldn’t say no to the king of the Ostrogoth.
But why Theodoric, this powerful man, who was able to stand up to the eastern roman emperor, decided to help a woman that was probably an illegitimate daughter of a minor king? For sure it wasn’t only because Amalasuntha kindly asked him. Well, the answer is in the position of Gavina’s village. As said before, the Romans put this settlement to control the Via Postumia. The village still was a strategic place both for trades and military purposes. A well supplied castle controlled by a trusty friend would have been of huge benefit to the security of the Ostrogoths kingdom.
In the end Gavina continued to rule on her own over the village and, with the help of Theodoric, built an impotent castle and strong city walls. The villagers were so grateful to her that they decided to name the village after her. Since then, it is known as Gavi.
According to the legend, the name of the main grape of the area, Cortese, which is used to produce the Gavi wine (Gavi DOCG), also comes from Gavina. She was so loved by the people of the village for her courtesy, that they decided to name this sweet grape Cortese.
It is said that Gavina is buried inside the ara, a little altar, placed inside the town, which is engraved with the symbols of the three most important powers who ruled over Gavi in the centuries: the crest of Guasco family from Alessandria, the snake of Milan Visconti and the Saint George Cross, of the Republic of Genoa.
Coming back to the historical fact, it is worth mentioning the Renaissance period. Noble people and merchants invested in the architectural and artistic heritage building churches and palaces and decorating them with beautiful frescos. Some of them are still intact today.
But also because of the strategic position, Gavi was constantly in fight. The three powers represented on the ara fought battles to gain the control of the town. The only period of peace was under the reign of Frederick Barbarossa, who was linked to the Marquis of Gavi by friendship and family. He also had a personal tower in their castle! But after his death, the control of the town passed continuously between the Republic of Genoa and the Visconti family of Milan.
In the XVIII century, Gavi was conquered by the Austrians for a short time. Later, it was a battleground of the Napoleonic wars. From the first half of the XIX century, it’s put under the control of the Savoia family of Turin.
Today, Gavi is most known for the wine production of Gavi DOCG and the food culture. Follow me for a new blog post about the wine and food tradition of this village!