© Kerin O’Keefe | Christoph Kunzli of Le Piane in his vineyard in Boca
If you’re a fan of Nebbiolo – the sole grape behind Barolo and Barbaresco – you’ll love the radiant, mineral-driven Nebbiolos and Nebbiolo-based offerings from Alto Piemonte.
© Paolo Tenti | Cinzia Travaglini in one of her vineyards in Gattinara
Vibrant and loaded with finesse, the best are drop-dead gorgeous, possessing age-worthy structures and impeccable balance. And if warmer temperatures and drier summers are pushing alcohol levels to the extreme in other areas, vineyard altitudes, cooler temperatures and highly acidic soils in Alto Piemonte make it rare to find wines above 14% abv.
© Kerin O’Keefe | Paolo De Marchi with some of his Proprietà Sperino bottles
Located at the foothills of the northern Piedmont Alps, the most exciting wines come from five small growing areas: Lessona, Gattinara, Ghemme, Boca and Bramaterra that lend their names to the wines.
A bottle of 1921 Lessona Sella, tasted during a Master Class at Vinitaly 2017
The wines are steeped in history: in the late 1800s, Alto Piemonte boasted almost 45,000 hectares (111,197 acres) of vineyards, most of them now long gone. Reds made with Nebbiolo (locally called Spanna) – often blended with other local grapes, like Vespolina and Uva Rara – were already imported to the US in the latter half of the 19th century, decades before anyone had heard of Barolo or Barbaresco.
© Kerin O’Keefe | Large Slavonian casks at Proprietà Sperino
Then, in the early 1900s, after outbreaks of devastating vine diseases and a catastrophic hailstorm in 1905 destroyed entire vineyards, growers abandoned agriculture en masse to work in the booming textile mills in the nearby city of Biella.
Thanks to a few brave producers, Alto Piemonte is now undergoing a full-blown Renaissance.
Read the full article here: http://www.winemag.com/2017/05/08/learn-about-italys-secret-nebbiolos/
Alto Piemonte Boca Bramaterra Christoph Kunzli Gattinara Ghemme Le Piane Lessona Nebbiolo Paolo De Marchi Piedmont Prorpietà Sperino Sella Lessona Spanna Travaglini Uva Rara Vespolina Wine Enthusiast
Last modified: November 1, 2022
