Your guests will enjoy your next wine tasting event all the more if you provide a look at the winery producing the wine you serve. As you pour the wine, take the moment to share a story about the winery and the region so your guests can appreciate not only the distinctive taste produced by different wineries, but can also picture the area and history. Your guests will welcome the education you provide them with in addition to the wine. This article looks at the Piemonte region of Italy and three of the fine wineries that call this area home.
The Piemonte Region Of Italy
Almost half of Piemonte, which means “foot of the mountain,” lies in the great arc of the Alps and the Apennines from which the Po River flows east through its broad valley to the Adriatic Sea. Bordering Switzerland and France, Piemonte and the smaller Valle d’Aosta to the north were part of the French-speaking principality of Savoy between the 11th and 18th Centuries. They played a key role in the Risorgimento, the movement that united Italy under a Savoy king in 1859.
Famous ski resorts and the wild Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso draw visitors to the majestic mountains in the north while in the south, vine covered hills around Barolo and vast fields of grain and rice in the Po Valley continue a rich agricultural tradition. Torino, the region’s capital, is a crowded industrial city home to the Fiat car company, but it also offers Baroque buildings, palazzo, and museums, including a world-renowned museum housing an Egyptian collection gathered during the Napoleonic Wars.
The ancient Liguri tribes who dominated the region probably first cultivated the wild vines of the Apennines, but they learned winemaking from the Greeks around 600 B.C. The Celtic Taurini, who gave their name to Torino, also grew vines in the region. Although the Romans planted vines, they didn’t favor the wines. Finally in the 19th Century, the wines of Piemonte gained distinction when the Savoy and others began to use French methods. Today, Piemonte has 52 DOC and DOCG zones, more than any other region.
Cascina Chicco Winery
Owned by the Faccenda family and located in the Roero district of Piemonte, Italy, Cascina Chicco features the best planting sites with Nebbiolo, the noble grape of Piemonte, which reaches its highest expression in the Barberesco and Barolo appellations. Although farmers have grown grapes in the Roero district since ancient times, it only received DOC status in 1990 and each year it gains more respect for its wines. Cascina Chicco crafts fruity, approachable wines a favorite of many Italian wine clubs, including white Arneis, Nebbiolo d’Alba, Roero, Barbera d’Alba, Favorita, and Brachetto. They receive the highest award possible from the wine guide, Gambera Rosso, for their Barbera d’Alba Bric Loira, Nebiolo d’Alba Mompissano and the dessert wine Arcass Passito.
Azienda Agricola Icardi Winery
Perched on the Alba hills in Castiglione Tinella of the Piemonte region of Italy between the famous viticultural appellations, the Langhe and Monferrrato, Azienda Agricola Icardi is a family winery. Azienda Agricola Icardi has a reputation for making distinctively drinkable wines upon release that embody both an international style and old-world character. The family has grown grapes in the area since 1914, but in the early 1960s, Piereno Icardi chose to make his own wine instead of selling his fruit to others. After almost 50 years, Pierino Icardi is still in charge today and his wines remain a favorite of Italian wine clubs worldwide.
Quinto Chionetti Winery
Gambero Rosso calls Quinto Chionetti the “grand old man of Dogliani,” a zone just a few kilometers south of Alba known for Dolcetto wines with extraordinary structure and strength. Quinto’s grandfather founded the 14-hectare estate in 1918 and over time, the family has produced some of the greatest Dolcetto in Italy. The family makes only this one varietal, but from three different vineyards, Briccolero, Vigna la Costa, and San Luigi. Known as a viticulturist and winemaker, Dolcetto is a staple of Italian wine clubs not only because of the taste, but also because Quinto has never compromised in his winemaking.
Learning a little about the region and the winery’s involved in Italian wine clubs or your next wine tasting event will ensure you get the most enjoyment from the wines of Piemonte as possible.
Kent Campbell is a co-author for the premier wine club Celebrations Wine Club, in collaboration with Anna Maria Knapp. Celebrations Wine Club is one of the few Italian wine clubs offering the wines of Sicilia.
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