Author Archives: Piemontegirl

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About Piemontegirl

I am a wine lover currently located in Boston. I drink wine mostly from Piemonte and Burgundy. Two summers in a row I have worked at Vietti in Piemonte.

Bruno Giacosa

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Although I never had the chance to meet him, I know for sure that the wine world has lost a true legend. It has been a pleasure reading what people had to say about him, and I am sorry I never had the chance to experience it first hand.

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Antonio Galloni calls him the “Maestro of Nebbiolo” in his article on Vinous. James Suckling recounts the story when Giacosa refuses to bottle his 2006 Barolo and when asked the reason he says “Because I don’t like it”.

Giacosa was, like Elio Altare, an early adopter of French barrels and single crus. A truly historical figure in the hills of Langhe, Giacosa leaves behind a great legacy and a fantastic winery.

Bruno Giacosa: Wine of the Week

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Bruona Giacosa Langhe Nebbiolo

Bruno Giacosa, tucked away in Neive, is a producer that is appearing more and more frequently at Piemontegirl’s table. I tend to stay within the borders of Barolo, but sometimes it’s nice to venture outside into Barbaresco (hehe). Bruno Giacosa makes 15 different bottles of wine, including a few bottles in Barolo. You see, he has two wineries: one in Barolo and one in Barbaresco. You can check him out here.

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Wine: Langhe Nebbiolo

Producer: Bruno Giacosa

Region/Appellation: Piemonte, Italy

Grape varieties: Nebbiolo

Vintage: 2015

 

Eye: garnet red

Nose: floral

Mouth: dry, good tannins

Price Point: $24

Available at Vinmonopolet: no

Available at Systembolaget: no

Fun Fact Friday: Trediberri Cru

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 Trediberri has a very cool cru to their name, which one is it?

Not sure if you noticed, but Trediberri has become a favorite producer of mine. The wines are good, of course, but it’s the people that make it so great! I have written about Trediberri before, you can read about the winery here. But what I maybe didn’t mention is that they are one of a few winemakers that have a piece of land in a very cool cru. Do you know which cru it is?

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Rocche dell’annunziata

If you guessed Rocche dell’annunizata then you are correct. Not many winemakers have a spot in this fantastic cru, and Trediberri is one of those winemakers! Have you tried it? You can read about the wines on their website.

Trediberri

Theatercafeen – Christmas Tradition

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Theatercafeen – Historic Place in Oslo

Every Christmas I go to Theatercafeen with the family. The pictures are not very good, but the food was! And the wine was even better. It’s always nice to have some traditions, and I am already looking forward to next year’s dinner.

 

You visit https://www.theatercafeen.no/ and have a look at their wine list, which in my opinion is pretty good!

 

Barolo Weekend in Sweden

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Barolo Night in Gothenburg

6 people, 10 barolo, 1 night: does it get any better? (Yes I know one of them is technically a Barbaresco, but it’s not my fault someone cheated!) The deal was: bring one (or three) bottles of barolo and we’ll taste them blind. So, blindtasting gallore!

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The bottles were a little too cold when we started, which made it even harder to taste and try to differentiate and eventually guess the wines. But we had some good conversations around all the wines, and after they warmed up and opened up they were all pretty much incredible.

Barolo Sweden

The way we did it was: 3 bottles at a time, random order. To help us remember which was which I brought my Wine Glass Writer along. Genius way to assist during a blind taste. I also sometimes use them for seating arrangements at dinner parties. You just write the guests names on the glasses instead of on a card. Safe to say I use mine all the time!

Man surprises during the night. What was difficult was that some of the older bottles outshone the younger ones, even though the younger ones were also very good. Example: 2013 Alessandro Veglio is a very good wine, but for me too young and therefore the 2009 Barbaresco and 2010 Enzoboglietti came out a little stronger. I had also set my mind on the Marengo (without label) and so any wines after that were sort of put in second place.

Top 3 wines of the night: Aurelio Settimo Rocche dell’Annunziata 2009, Marengo Unknown Barolo and 2005 Renato Corino Vecchie Vigne. Outstanding. Looking forward to the next Barolo Night!

Barolo Sweden 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wine of the Week

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Elio Altare Barbera d’Alba

IMG_8912Wine: Barbera d’alba

Producer: Elio Altare

Region/Appellation: Piemonte, Italy

Grape varieties: Barbera

Vintage: 2011

 

Eye: ruby red, violet reflections

Nose: violets, black cherry

Mouth: dark red fruits, full bodied, good acidity

Price Point: $15

Available at Vinmonopolet: Yes

Available at Systembolaget: nei

Bottle Variance

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Bottle Variance: A conondrum

This Christmas, I experienced Bottle Variance for the first time. It was the strangest thing. We opened 2 Azelia Barolo Margheria 2004, but they tasted like two completely different wines. Both were good: there was nothing wrong with either of the wines, but when we were blind tasting, no one guessed they were the same wine, or even the same vintage.

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Now, this can happen to any wine maker, any wine at any time. Remember, these are products of nature, so there is very little control over the end products. There is also the topic of storage: were they stored at the same place, at the same temperature? The corks, are they the same? Wine makers tend to experiment with different corks, which then could make the bottles act differently. There are so many factors that can affect the wine, which is why bottle variance occurs.

Nonetheless, Azelia makes amazing wines and both these wines were incredible! If you want to know more about Azelia, you can check out their website.

 

 

Piemontegirl Style DIY

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Piemontegirl makes Christmas Gifts

In true Piemontegirl style I decided to make homemade candles out of the used wine bottles quickly accumulating in my apartment. I am not a super crafty person, but it turns out this is quite easy. And owing the right gear helps. I happen to have a bottle cutter lying around, so that part was quite easy. And look at the results: not bad right?

Piemontegirl DIY

What you need:

  • Candle Wax
  • Wine Botles
  • Wicks
  • Wine bottle cutter (or another genius way to cut bottles)
  • Optional color and scent

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How to proceed:

You need to cut the bottles, and you do that however you want. I use the bottle cutter you can see in the photo below. Very easy to use and works very well! Bought on amazon a few years back. Then you need to melt the wax. I think you should follow the directions on the box (if you buy one) but I just put it in a kitchen bowl, put the bowl in a pot with boiling water and let it melt. You can add colors and scents if you want, or just make them regular white. I did a mix of colors, scents and sizes of the bottles. When the wax is metlted and ready you pour it into the bottle where you have attached the wick and then let it set. I am not sure there is an easy way to make them stay in the center (mine certainly did not) but they look good anyways! And voila, Piemontegirl had homemade Christmas gifts!

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Piemontegirl makes Pasta Dough

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Piemontegirl loves pasta

Piemontegirl, that’s me! As you probably know, I love italian food. Especially pasta. Over the years I have had the pleasure of cooking with some local italian women, among those the mother of Elena Currado (Vietti) and the mother of Bruno (who runs Corte Gondina).  These women are amazing cooks, and it is so much fun to cook with them. All in italian of course, and sometimes also in piedmontese… The latter is hard for me to comprehend, so hand gestures and visual aids are needed.

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Anyway, to make pasta dough from scratch you need:

  • Eggs
  • Flour
  • Salt

And all you really need to do is pour the flour (and a touch of salt) into a bowl or right onto the counter, make a little valley where you put the egg and then slowly you mix it together until it becomes a solid dough. Then the fun part: You need to knead the dough for 10 minutes! Yes, you heard me. 10 minutes! Man, were my hands tired afterward. Not sure exactly why you have to knead for so long, but I always try to follow the recipe.

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Above you can see me, Piemontegirl, kneading the pasta dough. Once you are done kneading, place the dough in plastic and leave on the counter for about 30 minutes. Then you can make whatever pasta you want. My favorite is ravioli (recipe to come).

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Let me know if you try it! Or if you need help. Enjoy!

Dolcetto – the often forgotten grape in Piemonte

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Vietti Dolcetto Tre Vigne

I love dolcetto. Always have. It’s easy to drink, refreshing, doesn’t need to be accompanied by food and has little to no tannins. Vietti’s is no exception; a world class wine! Not that their other wines are not good either, I mean all their wines are top notch. Vietti even has a soft spot for Barbera. But I digress.

Why Dolcetto is often forgotten, put aside and left behind I will never know. I understand that Barolo is the big gun in Piemonte, and I can see that dolcetto would be “plain” in comparison. But who says wine always have to be big and expensive? There is no need to open a $50 bottle of wine on a regular Tuesday evening. I usually save my Barolo’s for guests or special occasions, and pick the “smaller” wines on “regular” days.

IMG_8914Wine: Tre Vigne

Producer: Vietti

Region/Appellation: Piemonte, Italy

Grape varieties: Dolcetto

Vintage: 2014

Eye: Purple red

Nose: black cherry, raspberry, blueberry, minerals

Mouth: red berries, soft tannins, moderate acidity, well balanced

Price Point: $20

Available at Vinmonopolet: yes

Available at Systembolaget: yes