January 10th, 2009

Piedmont Nov 2008

For many years we lived by the sea in Ligura on the Riviera del Ponente in northern Italy not too far west of Genova.  By taking back roads from our small fishing village of Arenzano, it was possible to cross the maritime alps and quickly enter the Piedmonte via a “back door” avoiding the Autostrada.  This was necessary at least three times a year, as our supply of basic red drinking wine, Barbera and Dolcetto, would have to be replenished.  Loading the car with two straw  covered glass demijons (each 55 liters), one tied down on the roof, the other sticking out of the trunk, off we would go over the C.d Giovo towards Alba. In the village of Barolo, the brothers Serio and Battista Borgogno made excellent wine and they supplied us. I had found them when one of our sons was born and per the local Italian tradition you must purchase a sufficient quantity of that year’s vintage to serve at his wedding. The Borgognos provided that wine and we still have four bottles of the 73 vintage Barolo left which at that time cost $3/bottle.  You could buy reserve Barbera by the bottle of course and pay $2.83. At that time, you could buy wine in bulk of good, but not reserve quality. Each demijon contained the volume necessary to fill about 73 bottles (not counting the spillage and sampling) after siphoning the wine out when home into our own bottles at a cost of $0.72 cents/bottle.  Those 146 bottles would last us about 4 months.

We would try to time our return to the Piedmont for late October each year to take advantage of the truffle festival, held in Alba and other villages to celebrate the new vintage of Barbera and the harvesting of the white truffles.  That is the way it was in the mid 70’s.   

The “Piedmonte” (foot of the mountain) is located in the northwest corner of Italy bounded by France on the west and Switzerland/Val d’Aosta on the north. The best grape growing area in Italy (arguably) are located in/on the slopes leading down from the Maritime Alps (south side) and the Swiss Alps (north side) to the Po river valley.  The area is much hillier than the NC Piedmont and doesn’t flatten out until the area just along the Tanaro River (part of the Po Basin).  The primary red grapes used are Dolcetto, Barbera and Nebbiolo.  Wines made from the Dolcetto and Barbera grapes are low in tanins, rich in flavor and a real value.  The Nebbiolo (Nebbia means fog which the Piedmonte gets in spades all winter) grape produces three of the greatest red wines of Italy-Barolo, Barbaresco and Gattinara; all are made from this same grape but grown in different but nearby areas.  There are whites too and the most famous are made from the Roero Arneis and the Cortese from Gavi.  Although less than 100 miles from the Mediterranean, the Piedmonte is surrounded by Alps on three sides, and two months of snow can be expected in winter; hot summers and cool falls provide the four seasons, with grape growing elevations ranging up to 2000 feet.

In 2007 we had the opportunity to return to the Piedmont and visit with Alessandro Vico, an old friend, whose family winery, established in 1890, is located a little further north, about 20 miles above Barolo in the town of Canale.  His family owns vineyards in the Roero DOC where they grow Barbera, Nebbiolo, Langhe Rosso (DOC) as well as DOCG White Arneis grapes.  They also make Favorita (White) and Birbet (Dessert).   

Many things of course had changed over that 30-year interval. Some of the more blatant examples: the Lire was no more, replaced by the Euro in 2000, divorce now is permitted by the state, USA style football (also basketball) now has some popularity with 8 Italian teams established and playing a schedule, and McDonalds can be found in most large towns (there were no non –Italian restaurants in the 70s-not even Chinese).  On a more positive side, Italian Cuisine (Mario Batali, Cipriani’s, etc), Alta Mode Fashion (Prada, Armani, Versace etc), Engineering (Venezia tidal project, Saving Pisa’s Tower) and the establishment and enforcement of DOCs/DOCG (min quality standards) all have served to re-establish the Italians as a world class society capable of setting standards for the rest of us.    

Alessandro himself is typical of the changes - he is about 6 feet 5 inches tall (a baby boomer physically demonstrating the nutritional benefits of milk, juice, meat and good wine etc. available post war). The family has invested huge sums in their winery whose main building, circa 1875, is being retained with upgrades and modifications made to fit the structure. Stainless steel temperature controlled fermentation tanks (from uncontrolled concrete), pneumatic bladder crushers (replacing the famous combination foot or feet and the vertical mechanical press) and extensive smaller oak barrels (replacing the typical 350 liter size of the past) have all been added in the last 10 years. The aging of the reds now is in new and old barrels, large and small, that can age from 6 to 18 months under oak to achieve the desired taste and nose.  Their reds are delicious, low in tanins, rich in flavor and fun to drink young alone or with any tomato based dish/polenta but my favorite from the Vico’s is their Roero Arneis (RA) which was originally (pre 80’s) used as a blend to stretch Nebbiolo.  It was not generally available to the public in the 70s and for Piedmonte whites one had to do with Gavi, a popular herbaceous wine from the Cortese grape.  I did not discover the RA until 2005 in the States and found it while searching for an alternative to Gavi. The Roero Arneis is straw yellow in color, greenish undertones, delicate, with a fresh fruity nose that has an invitingly crisp herbaceous flavor (think bright citrus, tart pears, hint of almonds), dry and elegant on the palate. It is available from VICOs at TW and is called “Donna Anita”. I find it a delightful alternative to Pinot Grigio and also to the Gavi, as it is more delicate.  We tasted the 2005 and 2006 vintages and both more than met my expectations. This is wine that should be consumed quickly, and in no case, any later than four years after the vintage.

I discovered two other things had changed from the 70’s; the quality of the wine had markedly improved while the retail cost at about $40/bottle retail had greatly increased.  We bid our hosts a sincere farewell and headed south for about 15 miles to the hilltop village of Novello. We found a room at the “Abbazia il Roseto” (a country inn) with a view over the valley looking west and north towards La Morra.  It was late in the afternoon and the harvest was in progress, vineyards filled with people and the leaves starting to change color.  We watched from our balcony as the sun slowly set, sharing a bottle of DONNA ANITA Roero Arneis that had been given to us by Alessandro.  What a day!

 Joe Barsin   Certified Sommelier, CSW, Society of Wine Educators

End part 1 of the Revisit to Piedmont   1211

If you missed Joe's October Wine Article, please click here.

Barsin's Bodega Wine Story Index

December 2007

January 2008

April 2008

July 2008

October 2008

January 2009

May 2009

January 2010