|
|
|
|
|
CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE WINES OF THIS REGION
Geography: Semi-mountainous foothills in Piemonte (as the name, 'at the foot of the mountains' would suggest). This region, along with Tuscany, is the cradle of Italy's longest winemaking traditions and finest (and most expensive!) wines, principally Barolo, Barbaresco and Barbera d'Asti and d'Alba. Valle d'Aosta, high on the Alpine border with France, is a veritable vinous tower of Babel, with French, Italian and Swiss grapes being grown to make wines rarely seen outside the region that are as likely to be labeled in French as in Italian. Lombardy, home of (most of) the Italian lakes, is less picturesque due to the development generated by the economic dynamo of Milan and the fact that its heartland is dominated by a great plain that runs from the River Ticino on the Swiss border to the River Po that runs south of Milan.Liguria, a thin coastal strip between the French frontier and the town of La Spezia and centring on the major port of Genoa, has dramatically beautiful hills dropping to plunging cliffs. |
|
Key Wine Styles: Powerful, ageable reds from Piemonte and other regions, as well as lighter and fruiter styles. Wonderful light sparkling sweet whites with very low alcohol (5.5%) made from the Moscato grape in Alba and Asti in Piemonte in particular. Some dry whites from Liguria as well as the famous Gavi DOCG from Piemonte. Some dry sparkling white made from Pinot Bianco from Lombardy and a dryish sparkling red (!) made from Brachetto in Acqui Terme in Piemonte.
Key Grape Varieties and their wines: Nebbiolo is the powerhouse behind the justly famous, very powerful red Barolo and Barbaresco as well as the less well known Ghemme and Gattinara. The Barbera grape goes to make some powerful and ageable reds (like the well known, and often pricey!, Barbera d'Asti and Barbera d'Alba), but as often as not is made into lively reds in the Beaujolais style. Similarly light and lively are the reds made from the delicious Dolcetto grape - most famlously the DOC's of Dolcetto d'Alba and Dolcetto d'Asti. And sticking with these two towns (both lovely hilltop medieval towns, well worth a wine visit), we find the wonderful, slightly sparkling, light-as-feather, sweet Moscato d'Asti and Moscato d'Alba, from, obviously enough, the Moscato grape. Cortese is the white grape that goes to make up the fashionable and delicious steely dry Gavi.
Matt's 'Must-Trys' from this region: Wines made from Dolcetto and lovely sweet sparkling Moscato.
Try our DOLCETTO FROM GAGLIARDO and our MOSCATO FROM BERA. For something a little more unusual have a look at the TORRETE and the CHARDONNAY from the Les Crêtes winery in the Valle d'Aosta - lovely light mountain wines, rare as hen's teeth outside that region.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
