Please The Palate |

Two almost-forgotten grapes of Piemonte

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.

Italy is home to more indigenous grape varieties than anywhere else in the world. According to Ian D’Agata’s comprehensive guide, “Native Wine Grapes of Italy,” there are approximately 2,000 indigenous grape varieties in Italy. Of those 2,000, approximately 400 of them are used to make commercial wine.

Twenty of these grapes are grown in Piemonte in the northwest of Italy. The most famous grapes are Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto but it is also home to Cortese (the grape in Gavi) and the sweet wines Moscato and Brachetto. Many of the lesser known grape varieties in Piemonte have been close to extinction.

As in Napa, where many grape varieties were pulled up in order to plant Cabernet Sauvignon, in the Asti region in Piemonte, many grape varieties were decreased to plant more Barbera. But, thanks to some winemakers in Piemonte, some of these lesser known grapes have survived and are beginning to thrive again. Two of these grapes are Freisa and Grignolino. Both red grapes, they produce wines that are high in tannins and acidity. They both are fun to say out loud and even more fun to drink and enjoy with food.

26 June, 2018

Slightly Sweet and Effervescent – Very Delicious – Brachetto d’Acqui DOCG Italy

This post originally appeared in Wine Tourist Magazine It is red, slightly sweet and slightly effervescent, that is how I would describe Brachetto d’Acqui DOCG, a wine I fell in love with when I was living in Piedmont, Italy several decades ago. I was not a wine drinker at the time and did not have the foresight to know that I would be a student of wine and a professional in the business these many years later. But, this was the wine that started it for me. I was living in Vercelli, a town of 50,000 in Piedmont in northern Italy. The rice capital of Italy, Vercelli is less than an hour drive to famous wine areas such as Asti, Barolo and Barbaresco. Every afternoon during aperitivi time, I would head to a local bar to meet my new Italian friends. I did not speak Italian at the time and would let them order what they wanted for me. And every day I was presented with a refreshing glass of this slightly sweet, slightly sparkling red wine, Brachetto d’Acqui.

WHAT IS BRACHETTO?

21 December, 2016

Eating and Drinking Around Acqui Terme, Italy

A couple decades ago, when I was just out of college, I moved to Italy to work as an au pair. Unlike most travelers, I did not end up in a city like Florence or Rome but rather a small town in the region of Piedmont where no one spoke English. I knew nothing about wine at the time but everyday day I would meet my new Italian friends at the local bar for aperitivi and they would do the ordering. And, each day a glass would be placed in front of me filled with a red wine that was slightly sweet and slightly sparkling and very delicious. It was Brachetto d’Acqui. A recent trip took me back to Piedmont, to the heart of where Brachetto is from, Acqui Terme. This ancient Roman town, an 1 ½ hour southeast from Milan, became my home base for three days. We settled in at the Grand Hotel Nuove Terme which overlooks the town square and began the tour of eating and drinking and eating and drinking some more.

21 March, 2014