Le Langhe vineyards in winter - Photo © la_rochelle
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I Love Italian Wine and Food series - Piedmont Region
An article by: Levi Reiss
If you are looking for fine Italian wine and food, consider the
Piedmont region of northern Italy. You may find a bargain, and I hope
that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour.
Piedmont is located in the northwest of Italy. It borders on France
and Switzerland and is surrounded on three sides by the Alps. The name
Piedmont means the foot of the mountain. Piedmont is one of the most
industrialized regions of Italy. It is considered the best organized
region of Italy for wine tourism. Its population is about 4.4 million.
Piedmont was originally settled by the Celts. It was conquered by
Hannibal and re-conquered by the Ancient Romans. Piedmont was ruled by
the French Savoy family for almost five hundred years. It was a center
in the fight to unify Italy. Victor Emmanuel II, the king of Piedmont
and Sardinia, became the first king of modern Italy in 1861. |
Agriculturally Piedmont has it all. For example, meats include beef,
kid, lamb, rabbit, and veal. Game includes hare, partridge, pheasant,
and venison. Donkey meat stew is a local specialty. Another specialty is
grissini, breadsticks that are a yard long. The region makes nine
protected varieties of cheese. About the only food that seems to be a
bit short is fresh fish, with the exception of trout.
Piedmont’s capital and largest city is Turin, a city of nine hundred
thousand that is the capital of the Italian automobile industry and the
site of the 2006 Winter Olympics. This city was the first capital of
united Italy (from 1861 to 1865) and remains to this day the world
capital of vermouth.
Piedmont devotes over one hundred forty thousand acres to grapevines,
it ranks 6th among the 20 Italian regions. Its total annual wine
production is about ninety million gallons, also giving it a 6th place.
About 70% of the wine production is red or rose' (only a bit of rose'),
leaving 30% for white. The region produces 44 DOC wines. DOC stands for
Denominazione di Origine Controllata, which may be translated as
Denomination of Controlled Origin, presumably a high-quality wine and 7
DOCG wines. The G in DOCG stands for Garantita, but there is in fact no
guarantee that such wines are truly superior Almost 56% of Piedmont wine
carries the DOC or DOCG designation. Piedmont is home to four dozen
major and secondary grape varieties, somewhat more red than white
varieties.
Widely grown international white grape varieties include Muscat (in
particular Moscato Bianco) and Chardonnay. The best known strictly
Italian white varieties are Arneis, Cortese, and Erbaluce.
International red grape varieties are not important in Piedmont. It
is the center for Nebbiolo, felt by many to be Italy’s noblest red
variety, the base of Italy’s world famous Barolo and Barbaresco wines.
Other Italian red varieties include Barbera, Brachetto, and Dolcetto,
some of which are grown elsewhere.
Before reviewing the Piedmont wine and cheese that we were lucky
enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store,
here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when
touring this beautiful region.
Start with Cipollata Rossa Monferrina, Spicy Robiola Cheese and Scallion
Spread. For the second course try Tasca Ripiena, Veal Stuffed with
Salami and Scallions. For dessert indulge yourself with Budino Freddo
Gianduja, Decadent Hazelnut-Chocolate Pudding.
OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY While we have communicated with well over a
thousand Italian wine producers and merchants to help prepare these
articles, our policy is clear. All wines that we taste and review are
purchased at the full retail price.
Wine Reviewed Suro' Rosso Barbera d’Asti Villa Giada 2004 Andrea-Faccio
Viticoltore (Winemaker) DOC 13.5% alcohol about $10.90 plus tax
Unlike the other wines in this series, I purchased this bottle while
on vacation in Seattle, Washington. Frankly I thought that I was
drinking the cousin of a $40 bottle of wine. In fact, I wouldn’t be
surprised if it were the equal of some $40 bottles. While three other
Italian grape red varieties are authorized to a maximum of 15% in the
Barbera d’Asti DOC, this particular wine is 100% Barbera.
I found the wine very powerful, perhaps too strong for pasta. Its
tastes included tobacco, leather, cherry, and black cherry. An Italian
wine site states: "An imposing wine that is always rather severe but
richly and exquisitely perfumed and with a flavor that couples strength
with finesse.” I agree except that I didn’t find it severe. I also drank
it with a marinated, barbecued rib steak. The wine cut through the
steak’s grease. Once again the flavors came out well.
Gran Padano is a classic Parmesan-type cheese made for a millennium
in northern Italy including the Piedmont region. It is a cylindrical,
cooked, semi-fat cheese which matures slowly. It has a grainy
consistency and may be sliced or grated. Its taste is fragrant and
delicate. I tried this wine with grated Gran Padano cheese on toast with
a somewhat spicy Moroccan tomato and pimento based dip.The combination
was excellent; I felt that both the wine and cheese flavors were
accentuated. The term mouth-filling came to mind.
About the Author
Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the
Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian or other
wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an
Ontario French-language community college. His wine website is
www.theworldwidewine.com. You
can reach him at ital@mail.theworldwidewine.com.
Wine Italy |
