Piedmont

History

Piedmont and wine go hand in hand because this region has always been one of the most important areas of quality wine production. The first historical notes on grape growing can be traced back to ancient Rome. Documents written by Pliny the Elder already spoke about a “spinea grape”, which is probably at the origin of the name “spanna”, the term used for Nebbiolo in upper Piedmont or the north-eastern section of the region. The key moment in the development of wine in Piedmont took place in the nineteenth century thanks to the contributions of four personalities: Marchesa Colbert Falletti di Barolo, the oenologist Louis Oudart, Count Camillo Benso di Cavour and the Gen. Francesco Staglieno (Director of Winemaking at the Pollenzo Agency owned by the Savoy Royal Family). Their studies greatly improved the production of their wines and the Piedmontese vines; just imagine that until then Barolo was often a fizzy, sweet wine mainly as the result of poor hygiene and lack of attention in the cellars.

Territory

Piedmont’s surface has 26% plains, 31% hills, and 43% mountainous terrain. The vineyards are mostly red grapes, with some noteworthy native and international white grapes grown as well. The hills around Turin consist of porphyr and granite while the most fertile soils are those of the Langhe and Monferrato hills, composed of marl, sandstone and chalk. The climate is continental with high temperature ranges, cold winters and hot summers; rainfall is constant. An important feature is the considerable moisture which gives rise to the fog in hilly areas. The wine-growing areas of greatest importance are: the hills of Novara and Vercelli with the ‘Northern’ Nebbiolos; the Monferrato that includes the “Astigiano” (well-known for Moscato d’Asti, and some very interesting sweet wines such as Loazzolo) and “Casalese” (known for Freisa and Grignolino); the area of the Langhe and Roero, where we find the Nebbiolo wines of Barolo and Barbaresco, but also high-quality Dolcetto, Barbera and more.

In addition to Nebbiolo, there are many red grape varieties grown such as Barbera, Dolcetto, Freisa, Grignolino, Brachetto but also other varieties that once risked extinction but are having an important comeback such as Avanà, Ruché, Pelaverga Grosso and Pelaverga Piccolo, Malvasia di Schierano and Malvasia di Casorzo just to name a few. Piedmont is a great wine region, not just because of the volume of wine produced, but because of its many excellent wines, as shown by the high percentage of DOC and DOCG wines made there.