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piedmont WINE AND FOODPiedmont: Best Wine & FoodPiedmont, in northwestern Italy, is home to some truly remarkable red wines. The Langhe hills are its heart; the city of Alba is its enological epicenter. Although Piedmont is nearly as famous for its truffles as for its wines, two of its reds, Barolo and Barbaresco, rank among the world's most sought after bottles. Both wines are made from Nebbiolo, the region's star grape. Yet, as with all divas, Nebbiolo can be quite temperamental--low yielding and late ripening, often requiring long aging to tame its fierce tannins. Barolo and Barbaresco are made in different microclimates, each of which has its own distinct terrain and soil, or, as the French (and even the Italians) say, terroir. Barolo comes from five major communes southwest of Alba, where the hills are, for the most part, higher and steeper than those of Barbaresco, a smaller region northeast of the city. Barbaresco's climate is warmer and drier than Barolo's, so its grapes ripen earlier and generally result in a more accessible, less tannic wine. Barolo's grapes generally ripen later and producea wine with a bigger structure and tannins that are more difficult to tone down, requiring patience on the part of both the vintner (who must age the wine for two years in wood and one year in bottle) and the buyer. Growers in Piedmont also widely plant two other, less important grapes, Barbera and Dolcetto, in vineyards not suitable for Nebbiolo. This has resulted, until recently, in some pretty indifferent wines. But now winemakers in both the Alba and Asti areas have recognized Barbera's and Dolcetto's potential and have lowered their yields and increased their wines' concentration, all to improve quality. Piedmont is a region in the midst of much change. Many of its winemakers are exploring new techniques, while others continue on the more traditional path. But thanks to a string of great vintage years, all are turning out exceptional wines. In short, there is much to look forward to from the Langhe hills. THE NEW, REFINED BARBERAS THE TRADITIONALISTS Aldo Vajra is one such traditionalist; he makes a beautiful regular Barolo as well as single-vineyard Barolos, such as Bricco delle Viole, and the lovely Dolcetto d'Alba Coste & Fossati. His winery brochure once contained a packet of earth for each wine, and Vajra also contends that "Color is a component, not an end." Indeed, the terroir of the vineyards might explain why Vajra's wines tend to be an old-fashioned garnet hue rather than a modern ruby. Vajra defends his approach, saying, "Like a diamond, each terrain has its own facets, each producer has his own sensibility, resulting in a wide variety of wines made with the same grapes." Sometimes, Vajra notes, this is hard to detect in some of the newer-style wines. He can't resist adding, "Traditional wines are more elegant, with more delicate perfumes, leaner, somewhat difficult, but offering more pleasure at the table." Traditionalists, he adds, make wines to drink, not to serve as "wallpaper." Other notable traditionalists include Bruno Giacosa, who makes an outstanding regular Barbaresco and three single-vineyard Barbarescos: Asili, Gallina di Neive and Santo Stefano di Neive. Giacomo Conterno produces a first-rate single-vineyard Barolo, Cascina Francia, as well as great Dolcetto and Barbera d'Alba. Aldo Conterno turns out notable Barolos, such as his Barolo Cicala, as well as fine Barbera and Dolcetto d'Alba and the Langhe Nebbiolo Il Favot. Luciano Sandrone and Produttori del Barbaresco are labels also worth seeking out. THE PROGRESSIVES Piedmont's so-called progressive winemakers create wines that speak many languages--in other words, that are more international in style, softer, ready to be consumed earlier than Piedmont's traditional wines. Progressive vintners accomplish this by aging their wines in both large woodencasks and small oak barriques and blending them for a result that is generally more supple and that has more fruit and softer tannins. Piedmont's first progressive winemaker, and its first truly international star, was Angelo Gaja. Gaja began experimenting with barriques as early as 1969, planted the first nonnative Cabernet grape in 1978 and created Piedmont's first high-tech cellar the same year. Gaja emphasized single-vineyard Barbarescos, although he recently made headlines when he announced that he was dropping the DOCG classification for the single-vineyard wines: Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo, Sorì Tilden, Costa Russi, Barolo Sperss and Conteisa. They will no longer be identified as Barbaresco, but as Langhe Nebbiolo. Gaja says he is doing this because vineyard designations caused people to regard his nondesignated Barbaresco as "simple." Other progressive Piedmontese winemakers include the dynamic Ceretto brothers (marketer Bruno and winemaker Marcello), whose Barbaresco Bricco Asili, Barolo Bricco Rocche and Barbera d'Alba Piana are refined examples of internationally styled wines. There are also Vietti's Barbaresco Masseria, Barolo Lazzarito and reserve Villero, as well as the notable Barbera d'Alba Scarrone. Elio Altare's Barolo and single-vineyard Vigneto Arborina and Brunate, and Langhe Rosso Larigi are always of note, as are La Spinetta's Barbaresco and the Barolos of Clerico and Ratti. The premier wine region of Italy is the pinnacle of both innovation and tradition. By Faith Heller Willinger The Piedmontese and their pleasure in food 'Wine country is gourmet country' says Paul Bocuse, founder of nouvelle cuisine. This is certainly true of Piedmont: nowhere else in Italy can you find so many ambitious food producers and wine-makers. No wonder that the Piedmontese love their food and wine - they also know all about it. Just about everyone, it seems, has a favourite restaurant, knows an excellent butcher, baker, and cheese producer, visits food markets regularly, collects wild herbs and mushrooms, hunts for truffles, and knows "the" best wine-maker.
The local cuisine is sophisticated, French-influenced, and always freshly prepared. A typical Piedmontese meal consists of at least six courses. Quality is the big issue, so time and effort spent on preparation don't count as long as the result is satisfying. The Piedmontese take their time over meals, and love to spend hours with family and friends around the dining table. Wine is always part of the meal and is enjoyed reverently. Interestingly, the 'slow food' movement, the Old World's answer to the fast food revolution, was founded in Piedmont in 1986. This doesn't mean that the pizza, an import from the south, is unpopular - the towns in the region boast some excellent pizzerias. The Piedmontese have also developed a taste for Chinese food - and not only for pasta, imported from China by the Venetian explorer Marco Polo in the thirteenth century. Pasta - a traditional Piedmontese housewife always makes her own, and cuts it by hand. With twenty eggs per kilogram of flour and the lightest Ligurian olive oil, it has very little in common with the pasta on our supermarket shelves. Accompanied by freshly-grated truffles, it is simply a delight. |
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