Piedmont is a fertile land, always capable of providing great products from the farming tradition.
Piedmont is a fertile land, always capable of providing great products from the farming tradition. Together with neighbouring France and Lombardy, the main wine producing regions are located between 30° and 50° latitude in areas with a temperate climate. The areas most suited to wine production are crossed by the 45th parallel, so it is perfect for the production of quality products thanks to an average annual temperature of some 10°C which guarantees the precise amount of sunshine and rain quantity necessary to obtain balanced wines, rich in perfumes, with a constant ripening of clusters.
The name Piemonte, from “ai pie dei monti” (“at the feet of the mountains”), already recalls a moderate climate where the cold weather alternates with the warm summer Mediterranean weather, thus becoming essential elements of, and the reason for, its temperature differences. For centuries, this kind of climate helped to toughen the vineyards making them more productive and strong.
When talking about Piedmont wines, what immediately comes to mind are the renowned Barbaresco and Barolo. These, however, only cover 3% of the entire regional production of wine. The number of DOC and DOCG wines that this area boasts (a good 18!), has been, especially in the last few years, the reason for a role-playing game, complete with the continuous transferring of thrones, sceptres and crowns. In fact, the many and prestigious varieties of wine sovereign in this territory, all owe their crowns to traditions introduced by the House of Savoy.
The main wine growing and producing areas of Piedmont are found in the provinces of Cuneo, Asti and Alessandria, but also around the provinces of Torino, Novara and Vercelli.
Certainly, the Langhe area is the most renowned, divided into Bassa Langa, Alta Langa and Langa Astigiana. Here, the DOC red wines have the lion’s share: above all, Nebbiolo d’Alba and the DOCG labels of Barbaresco and Barolo are the flagships of the area, together with the Alba white truffle and the many DOP cheeses. In addition, Dolcetto from Alba, Diano and Dogliani are also traditional in this area while in the Langhe Monregalesi there is Moscato from Asti and Barbera from Alba.
On the left bank of the Tanaro river, is the Roero area, famous for its sandy fields which produce wines often described as made “on the beach”, with elegant, soft and perfumed hints that together with hints that are more severe and full-bodied, are able to satisfy any person’s particular palate. These historical hills, which provide the setting for incredible stories connected with the Savoy House, are furnished with gentle slopes, hamlets and castles and are renowned especially thanks to the production of the DOC labels of Nebbiolo d’Alba, Barbera d’Alba, Roero and Roero Arneis. It is quite impossible to describe the emotions one can feel when admiring these breathtaking landscapes that are also nominated to become a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The other main area contributing to Piedmontese wine production is, certainly, the area around the Province of Asti: the so called Monferrato Astigiano. Here we are in the land of Barbera d’Asti, Dolcetto d’Asti, Freisa d’Asti, Grignolino d’Asti, Moscato d’Asti, Asti Spumante, Cortese, Brachetto d’Acqui, Malvasia di Casorzo, Malvasia di Castelnuovo Don Bosco, and Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato.
Between Acqui Terme and Ovada, Alto Monferrato is, on the contrary, renowned for the production of Barbera del Monferrato, Cortese dell’Alto Monferrato, Grignolino d’Asti, Brachetto d’Acqui, Dolcetto d’Acqui and Dolcetto d’Ovada.
The other wine producing areas of Piedmont are those in the Canavese area, with Carema, a wine that takes its name from the municipality where it is produced, and the white wine Erbaluce di Caluso, which can be either “spumante”, with bubbles, or “passito”, a straw wine. West of Langhe, we can find the areas of Val di Susa; the Susa Valley, Pinerolese; the area around the village of Pinerolo, Colline Saluzzesi; the hills near Saluzzo, and finally, in the northern part of the region, the so called “Wines of the North” which are of the Nebbiolo vine variety, that include territories dotted with hills such as Colli Novaresi with the production of the wines Sizzano, Fara, Boca and Ghemme, while Lessona and Gattinara come respectively from the areas bordering Biella and Vercelli.
