i vini di Piedmonte: il resto della storia

So I was sitting in my car outside of a locally owned wine shop where I was going to meet a few of my contemporaries and taste through wines from Northern Italy.. We were going to all bring in wines in brown paper bags and taste them and talk about their attributes while throwing the appropriate adjectives around, not including freshly quarried alabaster (that was for you Pete). Tasting them blind is a good way to assess the wine with out having a preconceived notion about what the perceived quality level is.

So it is 9:30 and then 9:45. Hhhmmm, no one is here and I have a bottle of Enzo Boglietti Barbera d'Alba that I really wanted to taste and this tasting will give me all sorts of fodder for my next blog!!! And then my phone rings; the tasting had been canceled, and will be rescheduled for a later date.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving where we crack it open, which I might add, made a perfect addition to the meal, and I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of body and balance it had. This wine has a vibrant red hue with a delightful nose, with polished oak overlaid with black cherries and other black fruits.

The driving force behind this estate is Enzo Boglietti, a new producer on the Barolo scene, only establishing a presence in the early 1990s and he is not afraid to embrace new techniques, including the use of high-toast small barrique.

I then went to find some of his other wines. There is also a wonderful
Dolcetto d'Alba “Tiglineri” with dense cherry and raspberry fruit, as well as a touch of liquorice. This wine, produced from 60-year-old vines, is a serious, classy example of Dolcetto.

Another producer I have always loved is La Spinetta. The Monferrato Rosso ‘Pin’ has a gorgeous nose; black cherry and blueberry jam, with black peppercorns. La Spinetta's most significant wine is Pin, a blend of 50% Nebbiolo with 25% each of Barbera and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is produced under the Monferrato Rosso DOC, a catch-all classification designed to bring the many blends made by the local producers under one umbrella.

Aldo Conterno makes a lovely Langhe Dolcetto “Masante” It is a lovely vibrant red, with a purple tinge, dense black cherry fruit on the nose and some meaty, gamy notes. There is also the wonderful Barbera d’Alba “Conca Tre Pile” whose main vines are grown on a hilly area in Bussia Soprana’s, that some of the Conterno famed Barolo’s are from.

There are of course other significant red wines. There is the light crisp Grignolino. I have been advised that there is one to be found at the Sam’s in Highland Park from a producer called Luca Ferraris along with a Ruché that generally makes a light ruby colored wine with an aromatic twist. Both are recommended.

Marenco’s Brachetto d’Acqui "Pineto" has red bold fruit that explodes with flavor: raspberry, grapes, sweet and sour cherries, and a hint of strawberry and has wonderful richness and layers of flavor, with an off-dry finish. It is a wonderful frizzante (semi-sparkling) or fully sparkling wine made from grapes of the same name.

Whites are also well represented in Piedmont:

Pio Cesare’s Gavi is fresh, with lime fruit and stony minerals on the nose with crisp acidity. Pio Cesare is among the top producers in Piedmont.

Broglia Gavi di Gavi “La Meirana” is a pale yellow with green highlights with some hints of anise and flowers. It is elegant with a great finish. Gavi di Gavi is wine that is made from the Cortese grape in the commune of Gavi.

Alasia Il Cascinone Arneis Roero“Sorilaria” is a wine I think is wonderful. The Arneis, the name of the grape, comes from the Sorilaria Vineyard in the commune of Monticello d'Alba. This wine shows a combination of fine mineral characters with floral notes and rich white peach and pear fruit.

The DOCG for Arneis is Arneis di Roero, but it can be grown anywhere in Piedmont under the DOC of Langhe.

Marenco’s Moscato d’Asti "Scrapona" is a slightly sparkling wine that is straw and gold in color, with an aromatic and fragrant nose. Marenco Moscato d'Asti is sweet and peachy that lends an exotic edge to the fruit.

One of the most significant things about enjoying these wines is that they can mostly be purchased for under $20.00. While you may not find them readily, ask in any specialty wine store and they can be ordered for you. There are plenty of other reds and whites in Piedmont, but since Wisconsin is on the lower part of the global allocation totem pole, there are so many we don’t see, but all of the wines I have discussed are available in this market.

This bread I break was once the oat,

This wine upon a foreign tree

Plunged in its fruit;

Man in the day or wind at night

Laid the crops low, broke the grape's joy.

Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)

A Saluté il mio Padre