Grape Varieties
There are around 78,000 hectares of land under vine in the Piemonte zone yielding around 5.3 million hectolitres of wine each year, about 80 per cent of which is accounted for by DOC and DOCG wines. All but one of these is made from ancient and traditional indigenous varieties: the sole exception is one of the two DOCG whites, which comes from Moscato, an ancient variety grown all over the world.
Experiments with the various sub varieties of the pinot vine have been going on with varying enthusiasm since Cavour's time while the recent, fervent search for the way forward has prompted the rediscovery of rare native vines like Favorita and Pelaverga. Those ubiquitous standards Cabernet and Chardonnay are present but so far not in any great quantities: of the two, more interest is being shown in Chardonnay - Cabernet seems to be posing little, if any, threat to Nebbiolo.
Red Grape Varieties
Nebbiolo
Alba's viticultural history has been dominated by the story of this noble grape.
Although never the region's most widely planted variety, Nebbiolo has consistently
occupied centre stage in terms of prestige, with the other vines filling in
as best they can. The name Nebbiolo (nebbiò in Piemontese) almost
certainly derives from nebbia (fog): according to local custom, the grapes
are not harvested until 'moistened' by the autumn fog. If Nebbiolo is so special,
the fact that planting remains highly restricted must be explained. The reason
is to be found in the variety's notoriously demanding nature: tradition dictates
that Nebbiolo will only give of its best in very particular locations.
The ideal soil as subalkaline, rich in potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and calcium with a high proportion of other macro- and micro-elements including boron, manganese, copper, zinc and iron. This describes the basic formula of the limestone marl of Barolo and Barbaresco and the rather sandier soil of the Roero. Nebbiolo also requires good drainage and will flourish on slopes up to 400 metres. As it is the first vine in the area to bud (normally in early April) and the last to be harvested (from early and mid-October onwards), its long ripening season customarily requires a mezzogiorno exposure. Indeed Nebbiolo enjoys a virtually unchallenged monopoly of the 'golden triangle' between south-southeast and southwest in prime vineyard areas. It will always be planted on the most favourable part of a hillside: towards the top (bricco) where it will receive maximum exposure to the sun.
Barbera
The rise and rise of Barbera has been meteoric. Although there is scant historical
reference to the vine (Barbera is first mentioned in the seventeenth-century
archives of Nizza Monferrato), it is now one of Italy's most widely planted
varieties. Barbera's exact origins are unknown but historically it is the most
favoured variety of the Monferrato hills just east of the Alba zone, so it generally
qualifies as an honorary native. Its widespread presence was only established
following phylloxera. The reasons for this are straightforward: Barbera is a
very vigorous variety, resistant to cryptogammic diseases, bears abundant fruit
consistently and, unlike the other red grapes of the zone, is not particularly
exacting as to the soil or location in which it is planted - although this final
factor does play a vital part in determining the quality of its fruit. It buds
a week or so later than the Nebbiolo and ripens at a very convenient time: from
the end of September to the middle of October, between the Dolcetto and Nebbiolo
harvests (though it will mature earlier in prime sites).
Traditionally Barbera requires little green pruning, as there is an even, natural balance between fruit and foliage. Barbera generally performs best in Monferrato areas. The obvious rationale behind this point of view is that the best sites in Alba are given over to Nebbiolo and the more adaptable grape is used to fill in where Nebbiolo would not ripen so well. This often means that Barbera will occupy west-facing sites; it is also to be found at the foot of slopes planted to Nebbiolo. Around Asti it occupies prime positions.
Dolcetto
Although the first mention of Dolcetto is to be found in the ordinances of the
commune of Dogliani in 1593 references to the 'dozzetto' can be traced back
over the previous century. The fact that Dolcetto is still referred to as douset
in dialect tends to confirm that this is one and the same variety. Like Barbera
and Nebbiolo, it has been around for a long time and is a tried and trusted
local. The name means 'little sweet one': when fully ripe the grapes are particularly
succulent and because of its fairly low acidity, Dolcetto has some history as
a table grape. Like Nebbiolo, Dolcetto will only perform well in certain locations,
preferring a calcareous marl ground, and is nearly always planted in the Miocene
soil of the lower (right) bank of the Tanaro. In mainly clay or 'cold' (poorly
draining) soil, the grapes tend to fall from the vines before they can be harvested.
Dolcetto buds around the same time as Barbera and is the first of the red grapes
to mature - from the middle to the end of September. Because its foliage is
not vigorous, Dolcetto is normally pruned relatively short with between six
and nine buds on the fruiting cane.
The plant bears broad, five-lobed leaves and pyramid-shaped bunches of round,
vividly coloured, blue-black grapes, the thick skins containing heavy colour
pigments. Dolcetto is an easy vine to recognize because of the red veins of
its leaves. Its presence is almost entirely restricted in central Piemonte where
it has no less than seven separate denominations: Dolcetto d'Alba, Dolcetto
d'Acqui, Dolcetto d'Asti, Dolcetto delle Langhe Monregalesi, Dolcetto di Diano
d'Alba, Dolcetto di Dogliani and Dolcetto di Ovada, a confusing state of affairs
justified by often rather subtle differences in style.
Freisa
Freisa is indigenous to the Piemonte region and particularly to Asti,
Alessandria and Cuneo. The grape's first historical mention, alongside Barbera
and Dolcetto, was made by Count Nuvolone in 1799. Although nearly wiped out
by phylloxera, the vines are now known for their resistance to pernospera and,
to a lesser extent, oidium. The ideal location for growing Freisa is on dry,
sunny, well-exposed sites at altitude, although there are two distinct varieties
of the Freisa grape that flourish in different conditions: Freisa Piccola -
generally grown on hillier sites and producing a wine similar in structure to
Nebbiolo - and Freisa Grossa - grown on flatter sites and producing sweeter,
less lively wines.
This schizophrenic nature continues in the wines made from the grape: their bittersweet palate provoking mixed reactions - the Freisa d'Asti denomination was reputedly a favourite of Italy's King Vittorio Emanuelle II. The wine is high in acidity and tannins with aromas of raspberries and flower petals and in the Langhe and Monferrato many of the still, red varieties are produced, with drier, frizzante wines also being produced in the Langhe.
Brachetto
It is thought that Brachetto may have originated in Provence where the
grape is called Braquet and is used in the wines of Bellet, around Nice.
Now, however, it is grown in much larger quantities in Italy and particularly
in eastern Piemonte, where records of the grape can be found as far back as
the nineteenth century. The grapes ripen early, in comparison to other grapes
grown locally, and the vines are delicate, giving low yields from which distinctive
sweet, red wines with the colour and flavour of strawberries are produced. The
Brachetto d'Acqui DOC wines are frizzante or spumante and reminiscent of Moscato.
White Grape Varieties
Moscato
Originally from the eastern European basin, Moscato is nowadays widely planted
throughout the world. It is an extremely popular variety across the length and
breadth of Italy. Almost every part of the peninsula has its own version of
a Moscato-based dessert wine; they can be found as far apart as the Alto Adige
in the country's extreme north and the Italian island of Pantelleria just off
the coast of North Africa. Piemonte is no exception: Moscato is well established
in the Langhe and Monferrato.
'Muscatellum', as the early sixteenth-century statutes of La Morra call the variety, was prized even then for its distinctive aroma and records at the end of that century show the Duke of Mantua placing orders for significant quantities of the Moscato of Santo Stefano Belbo. The sub variety planted in Piemonte is the Moscato bianco, which is another very demanding vine in terms of where it can be planted to give of its best. Moscato ideally requires a well-drained hillside site of calcium-rich marl or grey-blue loam (often with patches of sand) where it will thrive up to a height of around 400 metres. It does not perform well in a qualitative sense in clay soil or on the valley floor where it produces grapes of diminished aroma and finesse. Following the international success of Asti Spumante, there has been much replanting of Moscato to capitalize on a growing demand. This factor has had an ambivalent effect on the wine's image: much of the replanting has been on inferior sites where high production levels have enabled growers to meet the unrealistically low prices demanded by foreign buyers. On the other hand, a number of dedicated Moscato specialists have begun to rework some of the region's steeper slopes, which had previously been abandoned owing to the difficulty of cultivating them.
The vine bears good foliage of three- to five-lobed leaves and fairly compact, cylindrical bunches of round, golden grapes (they can take on amber tones with a great deal of exposure to the sun), which usually ripen by mid-September.
Arneis
Little more than a decade ago this rare and delicate native vine was an obscure
local curiosity but 1989 saw the official recognition of Arneis di Roero as
a DOC wine. The rags-to-riches story goes hand in hand with the current trend
in Alba towards a reappraisal of winemaking traditions.
There is no tradition of still, dry, white wine production in the region, but by the late 1970s, when the area awoke to a new spirit of optimism, many producers identified dry white wine as a vital part of the range which would allow them to compete effectively in a more sophisticated marketplace. The earliest official records of Arneis date back to just over a century ago: G. di Rovasenda mentions that Arneis was being grown at Corneliano d'Alba in his Saggio Di Una Ampelografia Universale (1877). However the real history of Arneis goes back much further. In all probability, the variety referred to as 'Renesium' and 'Renexij' in fifteenth and sixteenth-century documents, had by the eighteenth century become 'arnesio' and finally arrived at its present form by the time Count Traiano Domenico Roero records, in the following century, having several hundred bottles of 'Arneis bianco' from Piobesi in his cellars at Guarene. Much of the uncertainty about the origins of Arneis stems from the fact that the Albese were only used to recognizing one white variety, Moscato. They tended to lump other white grapes together and refer to them generically as bianchetto or bianchetta (little white one) - indeed Arneis is still known as bianchetta although nowadays 'Nebbiolo bianco' is a much more common synonym.
Specialized Arneis vineyards are only a feature of the last decade or so. Before that it was planted alongside other white varieties (notably favorita) as an uvaggio or even in amongst Nebbiolo.
The 'Nebbiolo bianco' synonym is borne out by the vine's performance in the vineyards. Like Nebbiolo, Arneis is a very vigorous vine producing a lot of foliage. It is therefore pruned long with ten to twelve buds on the fruiting cane and trained quite high. The leaves, which are medium-sized and round in shape, can have either three or five lobes. The round grapes come in short, compact bunches of cylindrical form; they are green-yellow, taking on smoky amber tones when fully ripe.
Arneis prefers a light, sandy soil and south-facing sites. The vine typically buds in the third week of April, flowers in the middle of June and is harvested towards the end of September. Although at one time planted exclusively in the Roero, Arneis is beginning to turn up on the right bank of the Tanaro in Barolo and Barbaresco.
Cortese
Although it is grown as far east as Lake Garda, where under the name Bianco
Fernanda it forms part of the blend of grapes for Bianco di Custoza, Cortese's
true home is the Alto Monferrato in Piemonte, where it remains widely planted,
despite a decrease in hectarage during the 1980s. The first reference to it
in wine literature is attributed, as in the case of several Piemontese red varieties,
to Count Nuvolone in 1799, although it has almost certainly been in the vineyards
of the province of Alessandria a lot longer than that.
Cortese's chief characteristic is its ability to maintain high levels of acidity even in very hot years, making it a good candidate for wines destined to be served with fish, for examp!e, in the tourist resorts of the Ligurian coast. Conversely, in cool years, or cool climates, full ripening can be a problem, the acidity can be bitingly high, and the sugar level quite low, so that enrichment with MCR (mosto concentrato rettificato, or concentrated rectified grape must) is almost always required and malolactic fermentation, preferably partial so as not to lose aroma, is becoming increasingly common. The ideal is to achieve balance in the grape itself, which requires not just favourable climatic conditions but also restricted yields, not an easy matter given its tendency to high productivity. Easily Cortese's best-known vinous manifestation is Gavi, after the eponymous town in the southeast corner of Piemonte.
Gavi is a 100% varietal wine that rejoices in the reputation, not totally justified according to some, of being one of Italy's finest whites. That it has been one of the most hyped is beyond dispute, and when it's good - full enough of body to match the acidity, with a twist of lime cordial on the nose and finish - it can, in the right context, be just the thing. Almost inevitably, some producers are resorting to barrel fermentation in an attempt to increase complexity.
There are those who claim that Gavi does not reveal its quality until it has had a good two years in bottle, perhaps longer. As most Gavi is consumed young the theory is not often put to the test. Certainly the wine has the acid structure to withstand the trials of time, but may lack the body to make such maturation worthwhile. The phrase 'Gavi di Gavi' indicates a Gavi from the commune of Gavi.