Key grape varieties – Piemonte

While the region has become known for red wines, it was only recently that cheap semi-sweet wines made from the Muscat grape were fashionable. Called Asti Spumante they were cheap sparkling wines that did much to damage the reputation of the region. In the 1990’s, the region became a DOCG to improve the quality and dropped the term ‘spumante’ that simply means sparkling. The Asti DOCG now makes floral and aromatic sparkling wines that are becoming popular once again. These wines are not to be confused with the Moscato D’Asti wines of the same region. Moscato D’Asti are sweeter and less fizzy because of production methods. Moscato D’Asti is made in a sealed fermentation vat trapping the CO2. When only part of the sugar has been fermented, the yeast is filtered out to stop fermentation leaving a sweet wine with a gentle fizz. The pressure is so low that they can be bottled under traditional cork or with a simple string around the top to hold the cork in place. Cortesa is the grape found in white wines from the Gavi region. Sometimes called either Cortesa di Gavi or Gavi di Gavi, these aromatic wines show peach and floral characters and are made to be drunk when young.

The famous wines of Barolo DOCG and Barbaresco DOCG are made from the Nebbiolo grape variety. Often tannic with high acidity, the grape has struggled to produce wines of similar style in any other part of the world. To the local wine producers, it’s the specific climate and sandstone soils of Piemonte that adds to the wine’s mythical reputation. These are wines that need to age for many years before reaching their best. The high acidity and powerful tannins are matched with aromas of cherry, tar, tobacco and violets that pairs wonderfully with the game and fungi found in many of the local foods. The Barbera grape is easily confused with the Barbaresco DOCG region although it isn’t used in these wines. It’s most well known as Barbera D’Asti and Barbera D’Alba which indicate that it is made from the Barbera grape and grown in the regions around the towns of Asti and Alba. Barbera makes wines with high acidity but has thinner skins than Nebbiolo meaning much less tannin. These lighter red wines show characters of cherry, raspberry and blackberry and are made for early drinking. Some wines are aged in barrels for short periods adding vanilla notes and only very low yielding vines can produce wines capable of longer-term cellaring. Dolcetto translates into ‘little sweet one’. While it doesn’t make sweet wines, it does produce wines with more colour and tannins than Barbera from its thicker skins. The wines are fruity with aromas of black cherry, prune and liquorice giving lower acidity than other red wines of the region.