Wine: Langhe Nebbiolo
Producer: Cantina del Pino
Region/Appellation: Piemonte, Italy
Grape varieties: Nebbiolo
Vintage: 2014
Eye: light red, transparent
Nose: fruity, spicy, smoky, cherries
Mouth: fruity, smooth, good structure,
Price Point: $30
Available at Vinmonopolet: yes
Available at Systembolaget: no
Wine Folly has a great color chart with an overview of the main wine colors, as you can see below. It is very common to describe a wine using color, and wine people have their own terminology, like pale amber or deep ruby. This chart also mentions the types of wine usually tied to the different colors: Nebbiolo is usually described as pale garnet and Chardonnay as deep gold.
Anyway, enjoy!
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.
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
Of all the Barolo wines, this might be considered one of the best. Wine is all about tastes and is a very personal matter, but Maria Teresa is a legendary wine maker in Piemonte. If you have the chance to taste her wines or even visit her, you should. This wine is well balanced with smooth tannins and powerful notes on the nose and the palate. You can keep this in your cellar for at least another decade, 10 years is still way too young!
Wine: Barolo
Producer: Bartolo Mascarello
Region/Appellation: Piemonte, Italy
Grape varieties: Nebbiolo
Vintage: 2008
Eye: garnet red
Nose: floral notes, spices, dark red berries, licorice
Mouth: smooth tannins, well balanced, red fruits, earth tones
Price Point: $96
Available at Vinmonopolet: usually yes, but sold out as of right now
Available at Systembolaget: no
Friday Pizza has been a longstanding tradition. When Friday comes around, wherever I am, I try to make pizza. Lake Como, Milano, Stavanger, Boston; doesn’t matter. Recently, Friday Pizza has been accompanied by Blind Tasting. This particular occasion was to teach my brother’s friend a little about wine. We decided to stay in one area, so Piemonte wines were on the menu.
It ended up being one of each grape and then of course both versions of Nebbiolo. And my dad picked wines that show the typical characteristics of each one. Dolcetto and Barbera by Bartolo Mascarello. Nebbiolo and Barolo from Marengo. Absolutely fantastic. The 2012 Barolo was a little young but decanting it helped slightly. Overall a great meal and an interesting “wine lesson”.
The main grape varieties in the Barolo area are Dolcetto, Barbera and Nebbiolo. There are of course other grapes that grow in the area, but the above mentioned are the main varieties. For my untrained eye, they just look like grapes. But each type has different characteristics, different leaves and of course different tastes.
Dolcetto grapes are used make what I call the “baby wine”. The word dolcetto means “little sweet one”, however the wines are not necessarily sweet. Dolcetto is typically dry, and are known for it’s black cherry and licorice flavors. The wine is light and easy to drink, an everyday wine.
Barbera is the next grape variety. The wines is heavier than dolcetto and is typically consumed with food. The wine has notes of cherries, raspberries and blueberries. It is also known for it’s deep ruby color.
Nebbiolo is the king of Piemonte. If Nebbiolo is grown in the Barolo region, you can call it Barolo. But if it grows next door, in Barbaresco, then you have to call it Barbaresco. But in general nebbiolo is used for the big wines, the wines you can store for decades. And it’s one of the main attraction for wine lovers.
Wine: Cannubi
Producer: Brezza
Region/Appellation: Piemonte, Italy
Grape varieties: Nebbiolo
Vintage: 2010
Eye: light ruby color
Nose: bold flowers, sweet cherry fruit
Mouth: more structure than 2009, fairly ready
Price Point: $30
Available at Vinmonopolet: yes
I was very lucky to be invited along into the vineyards to collect already harvested grapes with the one and only Silvia. We drove her truck along the hill, deep into the vineyard, where the grapes were waiting in their buckets. The leaves are starting to change color, many grapes have already been harvested and there’s dust coming up everywhere where the trucks and tractors are driving around collecting the harvest. It was a truly incredible experience.
Silvia and a member of her team loaded the buckets onto the truck, strapped them down, and off we went to bring the grapes back to the winery.
In the picture below you can see that there are many dry berries. This is because of the hail. There was terrible hail in the vineyards along La Morra, and the loss has been devastating for many wineries. PS, the grapes depicted are not the ones belonging to Altare.
Azelia Dolcetto 165,-
Oddero Dolcetto 199,-
Mauro Veglio Barbera 198,-
Paolo Scavino Barbera 217,-
Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo 190,-
PIEMONTEGIRL 