Conegliano is noted for its wine, chiefly the dry white Prosecco which comes in three varieties: tranquillo, frizzante and spumante. It is also home to Italy's oldest and most prestigious wine school called Scuola Enologica. It is also home to the Istituto Sperimentale per la Viticoltura where several Italian grape varieties have been bred, including Albarossa, Vega and Valentino nero. Additionally, viticulturalists at the institute have helped save many native Italian grape varieties from extinction, such as the Valpolicella grape Bigolona. There is also a great industrial tradition, especially specialized in home appliances.
Colli di Conegliano DOC
The hills around Conegliano are home to the Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita zone of Colli di Conegliano. There both red and white Italian wines are produced at a variety of sweetness levels from dry to sweet passito dessert wines. Grapes destined for DOC wine production must be harvested to a yield no greater than 12 tonnes/hectare. The finished wine must attain a minimum alcohol level of 12% for the red winesand 10.5% for the whites in order to be labelled with the Colli di Conegliano DOC designation. The red DOC wines are made Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Marzemino and up 10% of Incrocio Manzoni 2.15. The wine is required to be aged at least two years in barrel prior to being released. A sweet red passito labeled as Refrontolo is made from at least 95% Marzemino with up 5% of other local non-aromatic varieties permitted to round out the blend. The dry white of the DOC is made from at least 30% Manzoni bianco with between 30-70% collectively of Pinot blanc and Chardonnay and up to 10% total of Sauvignon blanc and Riesling Renano. The passito style Torchiato di Fregona can be made in both a dry and sweet style from at least 30% each of Glera and Verdiso, a minimum 25% of Boschera and up to 15% of non-aromatic varieties like Marzemina bianca and Bianchetta Trevigiana. This wine is required to age at least 13 months prior to being release.
Culture
Every June, a special chess or 'dama' game where the pieces are represented by actual real people—known as the Dama Castellana—is performed in the historical center. This event is not the continuation of a secular tradition, but has been introduced only a few years ago, still managed to become a traditional event calendar coneglianese. Conegliano was the birthplace of the painters Cima da Conegliano, a fine altar-piece by whom is in the cathedral, and Francesco Beccaruzzi, as well as the composer and conductor at the Cincinnati Conservatory, Pier Adolfo Tirindelli. The town has one association football team called Conegliano who currently play in the Promozione, the sixth tier of Italian football.
