Piemonte's Grapes: Barbera, Cortese, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo

Barbera

Barbera is a versatile Italian red grape variety that so far hasn’t been fashionable with drinkers. Generally, it’s cited that the grape originated in Piedmont in the northwest, specifically Monferrato, though ampelographer Pierre Viala puts its birthplace as Otrepo Pavese in Lombardy. Whichever is the case, there’s evidence in the archives of the cathedral chapters of Casale Monferrato of contracts leasing vineyards in the mid 13th century. This very productive, relatively late ripener is important for everyday wine in Italy, making lots of basic vino da tavola that’s not worth shouting about. However, at its best, in Piedmont, it can produce something positively exciting requiring extended cellaring that’s powerful and intense, deep purple in colour, with mouthfilling fruit as well as tinglingly high acidity. It’s this latter quality – its principal characteristic - that has made it popular in hotter climates. Asti, Alba and Monferrato are the three DOCs zones for Barbera in Piedmont. Asti gives its best vineyard sites to this grape, while in Alba this honour goes to Nebbiolo. Since the beginning of this century Nizza has been a specific subzone within the DOC of Barbera d’Asti with stricter regulations, recognised because it produced the ripest and best Barbera. The grape is also prevalent in Lombardy, in particular in Otrepo Pavese, where it makes varietal wines of varying quality and spritziness and is also blended with the softer local Croatina or Bonarda. It is also often blended with Bonarda in the Colli Piacentini of Emilia-Romagna, particularly in the Val Tidone for the red Gutturnio DOC. The Bologna and Parma hills also have plantings of Barbera, producing mostly varietal fizzy wine. Most of central Italy’s Barbera plays a bit part in blends featuring locally indigenous grapes. A Barbera Sarda is grown in Sardinia. Outside Italy, there’s Barbera across the border in Slovenia, primarily in the Primorski coastal zone, but little elsewhere in Europe. However, Italian immigrants took it to parts of North and South America, particularly Argentina, and California is quite fond of it. Other new world countries grow some too, namely Australia and South Africa.

Cortese

Cortese is an Italian white grape variety most recognised for making DOCG wine in Gavi in Piedmont. According to the Gavi Consortium, the first reference to the Cortese vine growing there was in letters written by the estate manager of Montaldeo castle to the Marchese Doria in 1659 and 1688, in which he speaks of vines that are all Cortese, some fermenting vats, and sweet nebbiolos [the black grape variety]. Today the grape, which is susceptible to rot, is concentrated in the southeastern corner of Piedmont, where temperatures are high enough for the grapes to achieve their quite early ripeness. Only in Gavi, as Gavi di Gavi, does the wine really achieve weight and crispness. Here it is aromatic with white flowers and citrus fruit notes when young, while it develops complexity with mineral notes and pronounced acidity as it ages. The nearby Cortese di Colli Tortonesi is a thinner wine and Cortese dell'Alto Monferrato is slightly coarser. It�s also grown in Oltrepo Pavese, where it's an ingredient in Bianco di Custoza. Cortese's good acidity means it's suitable for making sparkling wines.

Dolcetto

Dolcetto is a red grape variety grown almost exclusively in Piedmont in northwest Italy. Dolcetto translates locally as ‘little sweet one’, coming from the fact that, to the Piedmontese, wine from this grape seems ‘dolce’ – sweet – compared to, say, another local one, Barbera, due to its relatively low acidity. However, this grape has significant tannins, though producers are able to tame these with short fermentations. The resultant soft and fruity wines still tend to be deep-coloured and have the flavour characteristics of liquorice and almond. An early ripener, Dolcetto is generally easy to grow, aside from its susceptibility to fungal diseases and tendency to drop its bunches when faced with cold autumnal mornings. As such, it tends to be planted on higher and less favourably exposed sites in the vineyard – in reality, elevations and aspects where the superior (and more lucrative) Nebbiolo would struggle to ripen. There are seven Dolcetto DOCs in Piedmont: Alba (source of much of the finest Dolcetto), Ovada and Dogliani (producers of the most quantitively), Diano d’Alba, Asti (only very little is planted here), Acqui and the hardly-worth-mentioning (it has so little) Langhe Monregalesi. Wines are generally designed to be drunk within a couple of years, although well-made examples from Dolcetto d’Alba and Dolcetto d’Ovada are capable of lasting to at least five. Just outside of Piedmont, on the other side of the mountains in Liguria, there is a version of Dolcetto called Ormeasco. Elsewhere, Argentina grows a very small amount of a grape that goes by the name Dolcetto but isn’t.

Nebbiolo

Nebbiolo is a black grape variety, which brings us some of the finest and long-lived of Italy�s wines. Native to Piedmont in the northwest, it is the grape that makes the top-category DOCG wines of Barolo and Barbaresco in Piedmont, and Valtellina Superiore and Sforsato di Valtellina in Lombardy. There�s debate about the origins of its name, with theories varying from it being derived from the word noble or from nebbia, which is Italian for fog. The latter seems most likely since fog shrouds Piedmont�s hills around the end of October when these late-ripening grapes are harvested. Nebbiolo is a sensitive grape that buds early, demands good exposure to the sun � the reason it�s given south and southwest hillside exposures - and prefers calcareous marl soils. The produced deep-coloured, high-alcohol wine is quite stridently high in tannin, acid and dry extract. However, with careful winemaking and extensive ageing, it can have a wonderful aromatic complexity as well as a full flavour, reminiscent of violets and tar, which will balance both the tannin and acidity. This grape, which is hardly known in Italy outside Piedmont, Lombardy and Valle d�Aosta, is appearing in regions as diverse as Oregon, Washington, Australia and Argentina. At home, its synonyms include Chiavennasca (in Lombardy), Spanna and Picotener.