Winery of the Month – NOV 2016
Piedmont Region
Piedmont lies in the Po River Valley in the north west of Italy. It is home to more DOCG and DOC regions than anywhere else in Italy. One third of the population of Italy live with in Piedmont’s borders. The Piedmont region has produced wine since Roman times, but was not mentioned in writing until the 14th century by Pietro De Crescentius, who was a leading agricultural writer of the time.
Giuseppe Garibaldi was Piedmontes wine maker who commanded military campaigns during the Risorgimento which lead to a unified Italy. It touches the Alps in the North and the Apennines in the South. Being in between the two mountain ranges produces a lot of fog which led to the naming of the most famous grape, Nebbiolo, which derives its name from Nebbia, meaning fog.
The Piedmont region is probably the most diverse wine region in the world. Barolo and Barbaresco get all the attention but Ghemme and Gattinara also make well respected wine from Nebbiolo. The most widely planted grape of Piedmont is Barbera and makes wine of note around Alba and Asti. Dolcetto is another red that is relatively easy to find. There are some other harder to find red grapes like Grignolino, Pelaverga and Ruche which make wonderful dry red wines. There are also some rare sweet red wines made from Malvasia and Brachetto. The main white grape is Cortese and is responsible for Gavi di Gavi wines. Arneis is gaining some momentum around the Roero hills. And of course we have the most successful wine of this century so far, Moscato. Then we have hard to find wines like Erbaluce and Favorita (which seems to be Vermentino with a different name). Along with all of these indigenous grapes there are also some more Familiar names like Cabernet and Chardonnay as well.
Fontanafredda Gavi di Gavi
Fresh peach and melon along with some slight white pepper to go along with fresh peach and melon flavors. Regularly $24.99 Sale $18.99
Antoniolo Erbaluce di Caluso
Erbaluce makes fresh and light bodied wines with lemon, apple and white flower flavors. Regularly $20.99 Sale $15.99
Breza Dolcetto d’Alba
Medium bodied wine with dark fruit and a light almond finish, this is a great wine for pasta and vegetables. Regularly $16.99 Sale $13.99
Travaglini Gattinara
Here is a great example of Gattinara. The wine has dark cherry and some plum flavors with tar and leather aromas. Regularly $29.99 Sale $22.99
Fontanafredda Barolo
This is a traditional Barolo with roses and leather on the nose with Morello cherry and light vanilla flavors. Regularly $49.99 Sale $37.99
Luca Ferraris Malvasia di Casorzo
This is one of those rare sweet red wines with a light bubble. Tons of bright red fruit best describe this fun light refreshing red. Regularly $15.99 Sale $13.99