Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Marenco Carialoso 2016, Monferrato DOC

Written by Allison Levine on September 18, 2019

Wine

The Piemonte region in northwest Italy is famous for its Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, Moscato d’Asti, Brachetto d’Acqui, Arneis and Cortese. In addition, there is Grignolino, Ruché, Friesa, Bonarda, Croatina, Erbaluce, Pelaverga, Vespolina, Timorasso and more. But one grape I had not heard of until my recent visit to Piemonte was Caricalasino, a rare native grape in Piemonte that was close to extinction. Luckily, the grape has been revitalized and the Marenco Carialoso 2016, Monferrato DOC is the Please The Palate wine of the week.

Caricalasino, which translates to the “load of the donkey”, was saved by Marenco winemaker Patrizia Marenco who discovered some old vines in the Bagnario Valley in Strevi.

In 1990, Patrizia began experimenting and approximately 3000 plants were reproduced. For a while, they thought that this white grape was Vermentino, brought up from Ligueria. But this wine has more structure than a Vermentino. Then, ten years ago, research and testing concluded that the grape Caricalasino is white Barbera (the skin of the grape is white).

The Marenco Carialoso comes from a vineyard in Strevi with white marl soils. The grapes are hand-picked and fermented in stainless steel for 15 days. The wine is then aged on the lees for five or six months in stainless steel and in 250 liter barrels.

The Marenco 2016 Carialoso is a bright straw yellow color with delicate notes of citrus fruits, aromatic herbs, flint, camomile and butane. The wine is well-structured with electric acidity on the palate. It is refreshing with a saline finish and soft tannins.

Only 3000 bottles of this wine are made and only in the best vintages. 2016 was the last one they produced and 2018 will be the next vintage. This is a wine that is versatile with food pairing! It can be enjoyed with white meat and fish.

Luckily, 20 cases of this wine are imported into the USA by Vias Imports. It may be difficult to find but it is available and delicious if you can get your hands on it!

Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Azienda Agricola Caudrina di Romano Dogliotti 2018 La Galeisa Moscato d’Asti

Written by Allison Levine on September 11, 2019

Wine

Moscato d’Asti DOCG, the sparking wine made from the Moscato white grape and produced in the northwest Italy provinces of Asti, Alessandria and Cuneo, is a sweet wine that is low in alcohol and high in acidity. After a week in the region, I had the pleasure to taste many delicious Moscato d’Asti from different producers and would happily drink any of them. But one in particular stood out. It was the Azienda Agricola Caudrina di Romano Dogliotti 2018 La Galeisa Moscato d’Asti, the Please The Palate wine of the week.

Located in Castiglione Tinella in the province of Cuneo, between Langhe and Monferrato Asti, Redento Dogliotti began growing Moscato grapes in the 1940s and sold them to the larger companies. In the 1970s, Redento’s son Romano Dogliotti decided to make wine from their own grapes. He was the first non-industrial producer in the region to begin making Moscato d’Asti.

In 1989, Romano Dogliotti produced Moscato d’Asti La Galeisa. A single vineyard wine, the grapes are hand-harvested and then gently pressed. The grape juice is stored in refrigerated tanks until it is ready to be processed in an autoclave (pressurized tank). The bottle of 2018 La Galeisa that I enjoyed was fermented and bottled in March 2019 and is 5.5% alc.

The 2018 is a clear, light straw yellow color with intense stone fruit, floral and sage aromatics. It is perfectly balanced between the sweetness and the acidity. The wine is full-bodied and round on the palate with a long, persistent minerally finish.

I tasted the wine while visiting La Caudrina and enjoyed a delicious home-cooked meal prepared by Bruna Dogliotto, Romano’s wife. A warm, friendly family, Romano and Bruna run the winery with their three sons, Alessandro, Sergio and Marco. We enjoyed the La Galeisa at the end of the meal with a chocolate hazelnut cake, a typical pastry in Piemonte.

Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina 2018

Written by Allison Levine on September 4, 2019

Wine

It is hot outside and all I want to drink is a crisp, refreshing white wine. A week spent in Campagna, in the south of Italy, meant I had a few choices….Falanghina, Fiano di Avellino and Grecco di Tufo. Honestly, I have been enjoying them all and it is really hard to say I have a favorite. But, if there was one I had to chose, it is the aromatic and refreshing Falanghina. And that is why the Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina 2018 DOC is the Please The Palate Wine of the Week.

Feudi di San Gregorio is located in the Avellino region in Campagna, otherwise known as Irpinia. Established in 1986, Feudi di San Gregorio has 890 different plots/vineyards, totaling 400 hectares. The Falanghina comes from Sannio, a hilly area north of Naples, which straddles the Benevento and Avellino provinces. The soils are mixed, including chalky tuff and calcareous clay.

Recently I was at a restaurant touting its “natural” wine list and they had a Falanghina blend by the glass. When I went to order it, the server mentioned to me that it had “barnyard aromas”. That is NOT what Falanghina is supposed to smell like. The Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina 2018 is an example of what Falanghina should taste like and why it is such a beautiful grape growing in popularity.

The Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina 2018 is a pale straw yellow color. It is super-aromatic with perfumed notes of white flowers, fruity citrus notes and candied fruit. On the palate, the wine is bright and fresh with crisp acidity and an elegant saline finish.

Refreshing, light and clean, this is a wine to enjoy with fresh cheeses or pair with a simple grilled fish. I enjoyed the 2018 vintage while in Italy but that vintage is not yet in the US. The current vintage in the US is 2017 and you can find the wine for $17.