Piedmont

PIEDMONT wines

Awarded and high score wine labels

Wines from Piedmont have an excellent reputation, especially the reds. There are many Piedmont labels that receive awards and extremely high scores, have exorbitant prices and are sought after by wine lovers. Wine has been made in Piedmont at least since the times of the Ancient Romans, and the area’s environmental conditions are ideal to obtain quality products. Compared to other regions, Piedmont has been rather reluctant to introduce international varieties; Chardonnay, Cabernet, Riesling and Pinot Noir do exist there, but to a limited degree. What has played an important role, on the other hand, are the local, native grape varieties, mostly used to produce monovarietal wines. Examples of native white grape varieties are Cortese, Erbaluce and Arneis, and Muscat Blanc is cultivated extensively. With regard to black grapes, Barbera, Dolcetto and Nebbiolo take the lion's share, but Grignolino, Freisa, Ruchè and Brachetto are also very popular.

Barbera is the most widespread variety, giving wines with an intense red colour and fruity aromas, low tannins and high acidity. It is suited to making many types of wine, from young and sparkling, to structured and aged in wood. Barbera has several designations: Barbera d’Asti DOCG, Nizza DOCG, Barbera del Monferrato Superiore DOCG, Barbera del Monferrato DOC and Barbera d’Alba DOC.

It is commonly believed that Dolcetto is the grape variety that forms the base of popular wines belonging to the rural tradition: wines with a fruity taste, medium alcohol content and simple structure. Today, however, wines of every style can be produced with Dolcetto, including structured, complex wines, and it is a grape variety that has gained popularity even beyond Piedmont. It gives soft, round, fruity wines with characteristic aromas of liquorice and almond. There are several designations for wines made from Dolcetto. Here are some of the most renowned: Dogliani DOCG, Diano d’Alba DOCG, Ovada Superiore DOCG, Dolcetto di Ovada DOC, Dolcetto d’Alba DOC and Dolcetto d’Asti DOC.

Grignolino D'Asti DOC, made from the Grignolino grape variety, is a pale red, generally fresh, medium-bodied wine. Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato DOCG is a red wine with an intense aromatic fragrance

RED WINES NEBBIOLO

But it is Nebbiolo that wears the crown in Piedmont. It is difficult to cultivate, slow to ripen and extremely unpredictable, expressing itself differently in relation to the terroir and style of vinification. Characteristics of the grape variety are: low concentration of colour, mainly floral and earthy aromas (undergrowth, liquorice root) and big tannins. In the northern part of the region, Upper Piedmont, Nebbiolo is vinified with local grapes such as Vespolina and Croatina, resulting in elegant wines with restrained tannins and good freshness. The most subtle of these are the Carema DOC wines produced on the border with the Aosta Valley. Lessona DOC, Bramaterra DOC, Sizzano DOC, Fara DOC and Ghemme DOCG are medium-structured wines. Gattinara DOCG and Boca DOC, which originate from soils of volcanic origin, acquire structure and a particular appeal.

REDS AND WHITES OF LANGHE

But it is in the marly-calcareous soil of the southernmost Langhe area that Nebbiolo has discovered its habitat. In this terroir, its tannic structure is enhanced, producing a powerful, complex and particularly long-living wine. It is no coincidence that the more austere Barolo DOCG is considered 'the King of wines and the wine of Kings'. But Barbaresco DOCG is more immediately accessible, thanks to its elegance, which triumphs over power. In the Langhe area it is also possible to find simpler Nebbiolo wines. Roero DOCG, from the sandy soils north of the Tanaro river, are well-structured wines that can also be enjoyed when young. The same applies to Langhe DOC Nebbiolo, often made by the producers of Barolo and Barbaresco and placed on the market only a year after the harvest.

Among the whites, Erbaluce di Caluso DOCG, a subtle, fresh and very fragrant wine, is produced in the Canavase area, sometimes also in the spumante version. It is also exquisite in the raisin wine version: Caluso Passito DOCG, a magnificent sweet Italian wine.

The white wine of the Langhe is Roero Arneis DOCG, a wine with generous aromas. But the still white wine of Piedmont with the highest sales volumes is undoubtedly Gavi DOCG, produced in the province of Alessandria from the Cortese grape variety. It is a simple, lightly or moderately structured wine with good freshness and is often produced in a spumante version.

SPUMANTE & SWEET WINES: ASTI SPUMANTE AND MOSCATO D’ASTI DOCG

Piedmont has an important tradition as regards spumante production; the Alta Langa DOCG wines are unquestionably prestigious Traditional Method spumantes, available only in the vintage version, made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Last but not least, the list would not be complete without Asti Spumante DOCG, the sweet spumante par excellence, popular all over the world, and Brachetto DOCG, a sweet aromatic red spumante. But Piedmont’s favourite is, in any case, Moscato d'Asti DOCG, a delicate, semi-sparkling, sweet wine, the appeal of which lies in its sheer simplicity.