Please join
us this Friday (5:30-7:30) and Saturday (4:30-6:30) for our FREE weekly
tastings. This week, Charles and the Vino staff will be pouring Piemontese
blends.
For more information on this and other events at Vino, please email events@vinosite.com.
When one thinks of the wines of Piemonte, one often thinks of single
varieties: Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, and Barbera, not to
mention Freisa, Bracchetto,
Ruche, and Pelaverga, all of which are grapes
traditionally vinified as "mono-varietal" wines. However, in the past, Piemontese
wines were often made with more than one grape. Even the noble Barolo had
some Barbera in it, a practice that Angelo Gaja has
brought back. Therefore, it comes as no surprise today to see the number of
blends coming out of Piemonte, both those which use traditional grapes and
those which add international varieties. These wines are sometimes less
expensive than, let us say, a Barolo or Barbaresco.
Some of these blends are very traditional and use grapes that are indigenous
to Piemonte and fall under the various Italian appellations. In other words,
they are traditional wines made from local grapes and have some historic
significance. Canavese is a wonderful example of this, a wine that few
know in the United States.
It is made in the township
of Canavese, which lies
to the northeast of the Langhe (home of Barolo and Barbaresco), not far from Carema, where they make 100% Nebbiolo. This wine is much
lighter in body than wines made from 100% Nebbiolo because of the addition of
grapes such as Barbera, Bonarda, Freisa, and/or Neretto. The wine retains its flavor but can be drunk
much younger and costs less.
Other wines are made using a blend of local grapes and international grapes.
One of the most unusual is Le Grive, which is a
combination of Pinot Nero and Barbera. This combination seems strange at
first but once you taste the wine you can see that it really works.
Another interesting Piemontese blend that we carry in the store is the Policalpo, which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and
Barbera made in Asti.
The producer is one of my favorite producers of Barbera, Cascina Castle't. I was first introduced to Maria Borio of Cascina Castle't at Barbetta restaurant in Manhattan at a Piemontese dinner for Les
Dames d'Escoffier. The highlight of the event was a
Piemontese truffle hunter and his dog in the garden of the restaurant where
the truffle hunter buried the truffle and set the dog loose to find it. The
dog was let loose inside the restaurant and immediately ran outside and in
just a few minutes, it found the truffle. The dog, however, would not give
the truffle up and ran around the garden and into the restaurant under the
tables being chased by his owner, the wait staff, and whoever felt so
inclined. To better understand the scene, you must know that Barbetta is and always has been one of Manhattan's top Italian and most
fashionable restaurants. Many years ago, the great opera singer Enrico Caruso used to eat there and the inimitable Laura Maioglio still runs it with great panache (it is the only
Italian restaurant in the United
State listed in the Locali Storici d’Italia or Historic Sites of Italy registry). While this
was all going on, I was calmly drinking my Policalpo
as I enjoyed a dish of bagna cauda. The dog was finally cornered and gave up the
truffle, not without a fight however. Even though the dog had the truffle in
his mouth, no one that night refused truffles at the dinner. Needless to say,
it was a very memorable night as was the wine.
--Charles Scicolone, Wine Director, I Trulli and Vino
Charles would love to hear from you: please email him at charles@vinosite.com.
