Piemonte - Pure Elegance
At the foothills of the Italian Alps mountains lies the most exquisite culinary region of Italy, where some of Italy's top fine wines are produced. This is quite an achievement in a country with one of the best, certainly one of the most loved, kitchen, chefs, and culinary traditions of the world. Welcome to Piemonte!
Location, Soil & Climate
Piemonte is located in the north-west area of Italy, it borders with France and Switzerland, and stretches across an area of approximately 25,000km. The name Piemonte means “the foot of the mountain” adequately describing the hilly topography at the foot of the Alps towering over most of the area. The climate in Piemonte is one of the coldest in Italy. Average temperatures are 18 degrees Celsius, with cold continental winters and very pleasant summers. The Alps block some of the rains but the area is often foggy, especially in the mornings. The capital of Piemonte is Torino (Turin), the capital of Italian cars, but we come to Piemonte for the wine (and the food).
As soon as you enter the region, vineyards are stretching in every direction, covering the soft hills and valleys. The gentle curves of the Tanaro River create excellent aspects for wine growing and moderate the summertime heat. The soil is mainly clay and marl. Vineyards are typically planted at an altitude of 150 - 450 meters. Harvest is usually in October.
The Wine Villages
The wine industry is mainly in the southern part of Piemonte, around the towns of Asti, Alba, and Alessandria. Like many Italian towns, Alba’s old center is full of charming small boutique shops, bars, and restaurants serving fantastic food made from seasonal local produce. On Saturdays, the old city center transforms into a bustling, joyful, colorful, busy open market filled with locally made arts and crafts, fresh fruits and vegetables, irresistible truffles, wild mushrooms, cheeses, meat, pizza, pasta and, of course - locally produced wines. Once or twice a week, the air in Alba is filled with sweet and nutty aromas from the famous Nutella factory, on the neighboring hill.
Wine enthusiasts are attracted to the small villages surrounding Alba, mainly Barolo and Barbaresco, two of the most famous wine villages in the world. These small villages, together with a few small neighboring villages, surrounded by endless vineyards, produce some of the best wines in the world, certainly some of the most impressive Italian wines. These wines are quite monumental, highly tannic, and can age well over the decades. A wine cellar is not complete without Barolo and Barbaresco wines.
Piemonte Wine Evolution
But this has not always been the case. Until about 40 years ago, Piemonte wines had no international acclaim or recognition. Nebbiolo, the main grape, is highly tannic and it took the producers a long time to learn how to tame the high tannins and to understand how to make great wines of grapes growing in the area, including changing winemaking techniques. Only 40 years ago, in 1980, Barolo wine received the first DOCG of the area (the highest appellation of Italy), and since then, Piemonte wines are considered regularly among Italy's best wines. The high tannins, previously difficult to work with, allow the wines to age for a long time. Over time, the tannins slowly integrate into the wine, making it more smooth and velvety, the ruby color turns garnet and the greatness of the wine envelopes.
Barolo & Barbaresco
Barolo is produced from Nebbiolo grapes grown in the warm slopes, southwest of the town of Alba in the hills of the Langhe. Barolo Is a big, tannic expression of the Nebbiolo grape.
Barbaresco is also produced from Nebbiolo grapes, that although growing approximately 15 km apart from Barolo, resulting in distinctly different wines. Barbaresco is slightly less tannic, more elegant, and can be drunk younger than the Barolo. Like Barolo, Barbaresco also ages very well and improves over time.
Tradition vs. Modern
Although the wineries are very prosperous these days, the wine producers are often found working in their vineyards dressed in worn-out overalls and jeans, personally cultivating, trimming, and lovingly caring for the vines. The wine producers are deeply involved in winemaking, and there are continuous discussions on how to produce the best wines among those who believe in the traditional ways, and those who want to modernize. This fascinating argument is demonstrated by the story of a young passionate “modernist” man named Elio Altare who decided to rebel against local tradition and to use modern French techniques instead. He bought French oak barriques of 228 liters and in a symbolic quite dramatic action, he boldly sawed to pieces all of his father’s large traditional barrels. Then, he aged all the wine only in the small barriques that he had brought from France. Luckily for him, the smaller oak barrels softened the high tannins of the Nebbiolo, and his new wines were highly praised, received international recognition, and brought a lot of fortune and fame to the region (and to his own family). On the personal level, he was not so lucky, because the other outcome of his bold action was that his father would never speak to him again.
Piemonte Grape Varieties & Appellations
Not all Piemonte wines are made from Nebiolo. Other popular varieties are Barbera (red, fruity, highly acidic, fresh), Dolcetto (red, tannic, consumed young), Moscato (light, sparkling/“spumante” and “frizzante”), Cortese (white) and Gavi (white). These varieties are usually planted in the areas with lower temperature (leaving the warmer areas for Nebbiolo), and their freshness and acidity is reflected in the wines. There are many additional local varieties.
The wine industry maintains winemaking high standards. More than 80% of Piemonte wines are DOCG . These include: Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera d’Asti, Barbera del Monferrato Superiore, Alte Langa, Acqui, Gavi, Dogliani, Ovada, Diano d’Alba, Caluso, Gattinara, Ghemma, Nizza, Arneis and Castagnole Monferrato. Additionally, there are 42 DOC wines. There are not IGT wines made in Piemonte.
There are also excellent blends made in Piemonte, typically with localized French-origin (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc & Syrah).