Piedmont wine
Piemonte wine is the range of Italian wines made in the province of Piedmont in the northwestern corner of Italy. The most well known wines from the region include the Barolo, Barbaresco made from the Nebbiolo grape and Asti Spumante-the sparkling wine made from the Moscato grape.
Climate and geography
The winemaking regions of the Piedmont and Bordeaux are very close in latitude and share many climate characteristics, especially in regards to summertime temperatures and rainfall. The area of the Piedmont is affected by its subalpine location with the some of the best winemaking sites being found among the Langhe foothills in Cuneo.[1]
Regions
The majority of the regions winemaking takes place around the towns of Alba, Asti and Alessandria.[1]
DOCs
The Piedmont region is home to 43 Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) and 7 Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG).[2]
The DOCG in Piedmont include:
- Brachetto d'Acqui
- Asti
- Barbaresco
- Barolo
- Gattinara
- Cortese di Gavi
- Ghemme
Grapes and wines
Nebbiolo is the most prominent grape in the region but Barbera and Dolcetto account a significant portion of the area's red wine production as well. With white wines, Moscato is the most prominent with its sparkling and frizzante style wines. Other notable white wines include styles made from the Cortese grape in Gavi as well as blends of Cortese with Arneis and Favorita from Colli Tortonesi and Alto Monferrato. Since the 1980s there has been growing number of experimental plantings with the international varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Sauvignon blanc and Syrah.[1]
References
- ^ a b c J. Robinson (ed) "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition pg 525-526 Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN 0198609906
- ^ Italian Made Piedmont Wines accessed Nov 9th. 2007