Piemonte
Piedmontese Wines: land of Italian oenological excellence
Piedmontese wines and their production territory represent perhaps one of the main jewels of the entire Italian oenological culture, known worldwide for the absolute excellence and quality of its products.
This oenological region is often counted for the production of great Piedmontese red wines, despite the fact that Piedmontese white wines and sparkling wines are also absolutely noteworthy and still contribute to identify Piedmont as one of the most important wine regions of the peninsula.
Piedmont is first and foremost the land of Nebbiolo, the mother of the great Barolo and Barbaresco, the cradle of important wine-growing areas such as Langhe and Roero, Astigiano and Monferrato, as well as all the areas of northern Piedmont, including the Valle d'Aosta with its so-called "heroic" viticulture due to the ruggedness of its slopes and the conditions of the terroir and climate to which the crops are subject.
Despite the fact that the whole of Italy is famous for its viticulture, Piedmontese wines enjoy a reputation of their own and a certain exception compared to the rest of the peninsula: most Piedmontese wines derive from the vinification of a single type of grape and, Piedmontese wines produced from blends represent a productive minority.
Among the most famous Piedmontese fine wines we find various types of Barolo, a particularly structured Nebbiolo based red Piedmontese wine particularly suited to ageing and long conservation in the cellar.
Barolo is one of the most famous Piedmontese wines in Italy, characterized by an intense ruby red color depending on the years of aging and a strong tannicity that requires at least 5 years before it can be softened and rounded.
Hence two production philosophies: the most committed winegrowers in a production in respect of the ancient tradition that sees the Piedmontese Barolo wine aggressive, robust, very structured and full, and a strand that interprets Barolo through a more modern vision characterizing it with softer, rounded and pleasant notes and flavors, through a fermentation in barriques rather than in large barrels with a reduction of maceration and fermentation time.
Barbaresco, on the other hand, has always been considered the younger brother of Barolo, despite the fact that it is still one of the production pearls of the great Piedmontese wines.
Also this Piedmontese red wine is Nebbiolo based, hence the "brotherhood" with Barolo, but with a greater elegance and refinement softened by a more placid terroir that characterizes the homonymous production area between the villages of Neive and Treiso.