266 ITALY NORTHWEST ITALY
This area includes the great wine region of Piedmont as well as the regions of Liguria, AVERAGE ANNUAL PRODUCTION
Lombardy, and Valle d’Aosta. Generally, the wines REGION DOC PRODUCTION TOTAL PRODUCTION are fuller and richer than those of northeastern Piedmont 11 million cases 44 million cases (1 million hl) (4 million hl) Italy, which is a more mountainous area. Lombardy 4 million cases 22 million cases (400,000 hl) (2 million hl) Liguria 78,000 cases 4 million cases FEW AREAS ENCOMPASS such contrasting topographies as (7,000 hl) (400,000 hl) northwest Italy, from the alpine pistes of the Valle d’Aosta and Valle d’Aosta 5,550 cases 350,000 cases the Apennines of Liguria to the alluvial plains of the Po River. (500 hl) (30,000 hl) Contrast is also evident in the character of its two most famous Percentage of total Italian production: Piedmont, 5.2%; Lombardy, 2.6%; Liguria, wines—the big, black, and tannic Barolo DOCG and the light, 0.52%; Valle d’Aosta, 0.04%. water-white, effervescent, and grapey-sweet Asti DOCG.
PIEDMONT (PIEMONTE) excels around Alba and, to a slightly lesser extent, around Asti. Piedmont is dominated by two black grapes (Nebbiolo and White Asti, made from Moscato, is Italy’s most popular fine Barbera) and one white (Moscato). Nebbiolo makes the wine. Whether still, frizzantino, or spumante, Asti is light and magnificently rich and smoky Barolo and the elegant, more succulently sweet, with a mesmerizing grapey character. Fully feminine, yet sometimes just as powerful, Barbaresco. The sparkling Asti is no longer called Asti Spumante because the term, Barbera has a much greater yield than Nebbiolo but is potentially like mousseux, has a cheap, low-quality connotation and Asti is almost as fine. It is softer in tannin, at least as high in acidity, and undeniably the world’s greatest dessert-style sparkling wine.
NORTHWEST ITALY, see also p.263 LOMBARDY (LOMBARDIA) The presence of the Alps gives this largely hilly region a hot growing season and Northeast of Piedmont, Lombardy stretches from the flat plains of a long fall. The finest wines come from the foothills of Piedmont, which provide the Po Valley to snow-clad Alpine peaks. The region’s finest wines ideal growing conditions for the late-ripening Nebbiolo grape.
13 Riviera Ligure di Ponente Hinterrhein St. Moritz 3841
3773 2 4049 Colline Novaresi e ôn 3 Ponte Dimaro Brig Rh di Monferrato Legno Sierre Chiavenna TRENTINO Langhe 33 Tirano Locarno Bellinzona Sondrio ALTO ADIGE Cinque Terre Martigny 3462 Tione di Trento 3052 21 Lugano Trento 45 Colli di Luni 4477 Menaggio Chamonix 2171 2512 Riva del Lambrusco Mantovano Laveno Lago Clusone 4807 For detail see next page di Lecco Garda Rovereto Barolo (1), Barbaresco (2), Como VALLE Varese 42 Lovere 15 2236 Nebbiolo d’Alba, Barbera d’Alba 26 S è 6 s Arona Lago Docetto d’Alba 26 i COMO Aosta a 9 d’Iseo 5 32 36 D’AOSTA 8 BERGAMO Barbera d’Asti, Grignolino d’Asti 4 8 Saronno Salò Gattinara 16 Lago di Freisa d’Asti, Asti Spumante, re 4061 9 MONZA Garda sè 5 3 Moscato d’Asti I Biella 10 Legnano Treviglio BRESCIA Pescantina 7 Carema (3) Val d’Isère Ivrea D 4 Desenzano VERONA Or o Milano co r NOVARA a T Crema 4 Balme B i ci Erbaluce di Caluso, Caluso Passito a Vercelli n l LOMBARDIA o 21 VENETO t 26 rc e Vigévano A Cirié 4 a O Lessona (4), Bramaterra (5), Lodi gli Trino A o Boca (6), Gattinara (7), Susa 100 Pavia d 415 Nogara 25 d Mántova Ghemme (8), Sizzano (9), Fara (10) a Canneto M in 32 Cremona ci Dolcetto di Ovada 14 Casale 21 10 420 o Monferrato Stradella Ostiglia Torino21 Po Gavi ALESSANDRIA Voghera PIACENZA 11 Casalmaggiore S e Asti Fiorenzuola c Pinerolo Guastalla c Carmagnola Tortona d’Arda h Mirandola Oltrepò Pavese 45 i Fidenza a PIEMONTE 13 Crissolo Franciacorta, Cellatica (16) Bra 231 2 Acqui Bobbio EMILIA PARMA ROMAGNA Terme a Alba a i 1355 3891 id 26 b 6 T 1724 b Fornovo rm e á ó Ovada Bardi Valcalepio Saluzzo B r di Taro n T 20 a 1 Borgo Val di 12 Acceglio r Lugana o Taro Cairo- LIGURIA 15 za Argentera Cuneo Ceva Montenotte En Valtellina, Valtellina Superiore Pontremoli T Mondovi Genova Chiavari in Rapallo é Savona TOSCANA Rossese di Dolceacqua e Garessio Aulla Colli Piacentini (11), Colli di Parma (12), Isola 2000 Golfo Finale di Sarzana Colli Tortonesi (13), Freisa di Chieri (14), Ligure LA Riviera del Garda Bresciano (15) ROME r Genova SPEZIA Massa a V 20 Provincia boundary 1627 Villars Height above sea level (meters) sur Var Imperia 0 10 20 30 40 50 miles San Remo Monaco 0 20 40 60 80 km NICE NORTHWEST ITALY 267
FACTORS AFFECTING TASTE AND QUALITY
LOCATION bottled at the optimum time HFlanked to the north and west although there is still no consensus by the Alps and by the Ligurian Sea about the best aging vessels. The to the south, northwest Italy use of cuve close for sweet, grapey contains the provinces of Piedmont, styles of wine from Asti has been Lombardy, Liguria, and Valle d’Aosta. very successful and these wines sell well internationally. Some of the CLIMATE F same spumante houses have The winters are severe with developed dry spumante from Pinot frequent inversion fogs rising out and Chardonnay grapes, using the of the valleys. Summers are hot, traditional method, to produce fine- though not excessively so, but hail quality sparkling wines. can damage the grapes at this time of year. Long falls enable the late- GRAPE VARIETIES ripening Nebbiolo grape to GPrimary varieties: Barbera, be grown very successfully. Muscat (syn. Moscato), Nebbiolo ASPECT (syn. Chiavennasca) EThis area covers mountains, Secondary varieties: Arneis, Blanc de Morgex, Bonarda, foothills (piedmont means PERGOLA-TRAINED VINES “foothill”), and the valley of Italy’s Brachetto, Brugnola, Cabernet These Nebbiolo vines, grown near Carema in Piedmont, are trained on a longest river, the Po. Grapes are Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, grown on hillsides that provide Casalese, Chardonnay, Cortese, Pergola Piemontese. They are made into a fragrant, medium-bodied wine. good drainage and exposure to Croatina (syn. Bonarda in Lombardy, the sun. In classic areas such as but not the true Bonarda of include Franciacorta’s full reds and its new DOCG for classic brut Barolo, every south-facing hillside Piedmont), Dolcetto (syn. Ormeasco sparkling wines, plus the best of Valtellina’s red Sassella. These is covered with vines, while in in Liguria), Erbaluce, Favorita, Lombardy many vineyards extend Freisa, Fumin, Gamay, Grenache, wines are still relatively unknown compared with Piedmont’s down to the rich, alluvial plains of Grignolino, Gropello, Incrocio Terzi Barolo and Barbaresco and are good value. the Po Valley. (Barbera x Cabernet Franc), Lambrusco, Malvasia, Marzemino, LIGURIA SOIL Mayolet, Merlot, Neyret, Petit Rouge DA wide range of soils with many (syn. Oriou), Petite Arvine, Pigato, One of Italy’s smallest regions, Liguria is more famous for its local variations, the predominant Pignola Valtellina, Pinot Blanc (syn. Riviera, which is set against the dramatic and beautiful backdrop type is calcareous marl (see p.18), Pinot Bianco), Pinot Gris (syn. Pinot of the Maritime Alps, than it is for its wines. Cinque Terre, which which may be interlayered or Grigio, Malvoisie, not Malvasia), is the best-known Ligurian wine, is named after the Cinque Terre, intermingled with sand and clay. Pinot Noir (syn. Pinot Nero), Premetta, Riesling (syn. Riesling or five villages, which are perched along the Ligurian coast, above VITICULTURE AND which the steep, intricately terraced vineyards tower like some JVINIFICATION Renano), Rossese, Rossola, Ruché, Schiava Gentile, Syrah, Timorasso, The great red wines of the region great Aztec pyramid. Other than the Cinque Terre, interesting wines Tocai Friulano (separate variety— have suffered in the past from long include the soft, spicy Rossese di Dolceacqua and the vividly neither Pinot Grigio nor Malvasia), aging in large wooden vats, as many colored Albenga rosé of the Riviera Ligure di Ponente DOC. The Trebbiano (syn. Buzzetto), Ughetta, growers bottled their wine only Uva Rara, Vermentino, Vespolina, Colli di Luni is almost Tuscan, and part of this DOC even overlaps when they sold it. This practice Vien de Nus, Welschriesling (syn. that region, so it is not surprising that it is capable of producing a dried up the fruit and oxidized the Riesling Italico) wine. However, many wines are decent Sangiovese. However, most Ligurian wines belong to the category of pleasant vacation drinking, and some of the best potential vineyards have been grubbed up to accommodate 21 4478 Macugnaga 4634 the tourists who drink them. 3819 4314 Breuil-Cervinia
Lago di Morgex et La Salle VALLE D’AOSTA Place Moulin ne If Liguria is a marginal wine lli Enfer d’Arvier lpe Va region, then Valle d’Aosta is Étroubles di Champoluc ier th Torrette almost subliminal. High in the 27 Bu Alps, overlooked by Mont Blanc E Nus v a n and the Matterhorn, the Valle Morgex ç 26 o Nus Chambave n Chambave D La Salle L o Aosta y d’Aosta looks at first as if it r 5 s a 26 Bá Arnad-Montjovet lt could as easily be a part of ea Montjovet Arvier Donnaz France or Switzerland as of s 3559 e Italy, but the only easy, natural m Gra ê nd Provincia boundary h e E R y Arnad access is from Piedmont along v i i Champorcher d Valgrisenche S a Valle d’Aosta DOC boundary
a a Cogne the Dora Baltea River. Italy’s v r A a yasse o Donnaz r Height above sea level (metres) D a smallest and most mountainous 0 5 10 15 miles wine region, the Valle d’Aosta 0 10 20 30 km has picturesque, high-altitude 4061 Valprato Soana Traversella 230 vineyards that produce some
143 Buronzo enjoyable wines, particularly Val d’Isere 4 Chambave, Nus, and Torrette, Viverone just three of the 20 wines within the Valle d’Aosta DOC. VALLE D’AOSTA, see also opposite However, most are tourist The winters here are cold and snowy, but summers in the valley can be very hot with contrastingly cold nights, which wines; the best are easy- should make for some exciting wines. drinking and unpretentious.