PIEMONTE

Piemonte (Piedmont), literally the “foot of the mountains” is tucked into the northwest corner of Italy, surrounded by Alpine ranges on three sides, and is the source of the Po river which flows through the rich farmlands of Northern Italy into the Adriatic sea.

The capital is Turin, seat of the old Savoy family, former Kings of Italy, with a rich culture and history,
baroque architecture and museums.Turin is also home to much of the Italian automotive industry, with the headquarters of
Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo as well as the world famous Juventus football club.

The proximity to the mountains gives the region a cooler continental climate different from central and southern Italy, and the maritime influence of the Mediterranean produces a wide day-night temperature variation, known as a diurnal range. The cool nights, foggy mornings and sunlit days are so beneficial for Piedmont’s unique palate of wines.

WINE REGIONS OF PIEDMONT

Piedmont has an incredible range of wines from its 50 or more autochthonous (indigenous) grape varieties grown in many zones each with unique altitude, soil and climatic conditions.

The most important are classified by variety and sub-region into 42 Denominazione di origine controllata’s (DOC) and 17 Denominazione di Origine Controllata’s e Garantita (DOCG) in which strict rules apply about the zone, variety, planting density and yields as well as the aging process.

The best known wines come from the central area of Piedmont, the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato hills centred on Asti and Alba although there are some other areas gaining recognition such as the sub-alpine Gattinara and Ghemme areas near the lakes and the historic Colli Tortonesi in the east.

LANGHE, MONFERRATO and ROERO

Piedmont is better known for its red wines, the most famous are from the Nebbiolo grape with the world renowned Barolo DOCG and Barbaresco DOCG, as well as several other DOC regions. Barbera is the most widely grown grape and is produced in several DOCG and DOC areas, including Barbera d’Asti and Barbera d’Alba. There are many other wines not well known outside of Piedmont which are worthy of attention to wine lovers such as Ruche, Dolcetto, Grignolino, Fresia, Bonarda to name a few.

Although Piedmont is a big red wine country there are several delicious whites to consider. The best known to consumers is the sweet sparkling Asti Spumante, (now called Asti) and it’s delightful cousin Moscato d’Asti, fruitier, more gently sparkling and of higher quality. For dry white wines the best known was Gavi, however the two whites gaining recognition are Arneis from the Roero and Timorasso from Colli Tortonesi. The Moscato grape also excels when made into a late harvest “passito” wine in the right locations, the equal of Sauternes or late harvest Rieslings. Erbaluce di Caluso, north of Turin is normally a light dry white wine, however some producers a sublime passito version.

Piedmont is also home to some very fine sparkling wines, the old Asti Spumante houses also make a method traditional dry style similar to Champagne; in 1990 the Alta Langa consortium was established with plantings of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in appropriate locations and now consists of 80 members, many of them make exquisite dry sparkling wines at most reasonable prices.