Piedmont, Bocchino, and IuliItaly’s Wine Mecca and Two of its Superstars

Piedmont lies at the foothills of the Alps in the Northwest of Italy and is arguably one of the two or three greatest wine producing areas in the world. Piedmont is home to  Nebbiolo, the source of Barolo and Barbaresco, often called Italy’s Noble Grape. Barbera is actually the most abundantly grown grape there, and Dolcetto is also very common. Although known for red wines, three grapes grown give rise to magnificent white wines: Arneis, Cortese from the appellation of Gavi, and Moscato from the Asti region.

Piedmont wines are grown mostly on hillsides. Nebbiolo and Barbera are planted on the warmer south-facing slopes and Dolcetto and Moscato on the cooler slopes. The summer temperatures are similar to those in Bordeaux, but with less rainfall, and the winters are harsher. Fog is common and aids in the proper ripening of Nebbiolo (the grape’s name is from the Piedmontese nebbia, which means fog.)

Piedmont is the most strictly controlled region in Italy with eighty-four percent of its producers falling under DOC/DOCG designation. Despite this, the majority  of  producers are very small—often family run estates.

Nebbiolo

This grape is truly unique to Piedmont. In fact it essentially is found nowhere else in the world despite being one of its most cherished varietals. It grows in the hills of Langhe. The wine is called Barolo if the grapes are grown in the vineyards surrounding the small town of Barolo, and Barbaresco if grown near Barbaresco. Otherwise it's called Langhe Nebbiolo.

Barolo is produced southwest of the town of Alba, near the town of Barolo. The appellation is only five by seven miles in area and produces 500,000 cases annually of one of the world's most sought after wines. The clay and marl soils lessen the natural acidity of the grape and produce a big tannic age-worthy expression of the grape. Often requiring ten to twelve years to mature after release, these wines evolve into elegant medium-body wines with amazing power and depth.

Barabaresco, although only about ten miles from Barolo, has a more maritime climate and different soils. The wines produced there are slightly less tannic and more approachable, but still have all the elegance and grace of Barolos. This smaller area produces 200,000 cases per year.

Barbera

This grape is planted all over Piedmont but grows best near the towns of Alba and Asti. It produces juicy, fruity, muscular wines with rich red fruit flavors and a nice acidity that makes them wonderful food wines.

Dolcetto

Dolcetto is also grown everywhere in Piedmont and gives rise to light to medium body wines that are fresh, dry and slightly tannic with a wonderful spiciness. Probably the less consistent of the three, Dolcetto wines can be very good or quite insipid, but the good ones are awesome values and wonderful to drink. Dolcetto is meant to be drunk young, and is the every day drinking wine in Piedmont.

A Rising Star

Eugenio Bocchino and his wife Cinzia have farmed 5.5 hectares on their estate in LaMora since 1996. Eugenio is the winemaker and Cinzia biodynamically manages the vineyards. For their first vinification, they used an old restored wine press, four used barrels obtained by selling their only car, and Cinzia's parents’ garage. In 2001, they built a house and winery and are now producing amazing wines.

Bocchino Nebbiolo Roccabella: This vineyard is only a few hundred feet from the border of Barolo, and although the vines are young (fifteen years old), it is destined for fame. The wine is aged for only one year in wood and is a fresh and vibrant expression of, and perfect introduction to, the Nebbiolo grape. There are aromas of roses, red fruits and spice, with violets, blackberry, mint, and licorice on the palate. The tannins are soft but ample, and there is a fresh acidity. Dark and powerful yet elegant, this is an absolutely awesome wine for only $25.99.

Bocchino Vino Rosso del Popolo: This wine is made only occasionally by Bocchino and is one of the best new wines I've tried in the last two years. I always have a bottle or two at hand. It is a blend of Barbera and Nebbiolo grown by Bocchino and Dolcetto purchased from a friend. The Nebbiolo is aged for eight months in oak while the Barbera and Dolcetto are kept in stainless steel until they are blended. The wine melds the characteristics of all three. It’s bright with red and black fruits, spices, and a lively energy. The aromas are of fruit and flowers with light tannins on the finish. This wine is limited in production, and at $16.99 a bottle, get it while it lasts.

A Barbera Master

Fabrizio Iuli calls himself a “barberista” for his love, focus, and dedication to the Barbera grape. Located in Monferrato, home of many of Piedmont's top Barberas, the Iuli estate is organically farmed and his old vine vineyards have a strong core of limestone which adds a distinctive “terroir” to his wines.

Iuli Barbera del Monferrato Rossore is, in my mind, one of the best Barberas in the world. It is made from one hundred percent organically farmed fruit, some from his ancient plot known as Barabba. The wine has a nose of ripe fruit and chocolate followed by a palate packed with flavor, ripeness, and a beautiful balance of underlying acidity and tannin. It is aged one year in old French oak. Fabrizio calls this wine “Rossore” because “that's the color of your cheeks when you drink it”. A steal at $23.99.

The many great estates in this picturesque wine region all make great wines from these three very different grapes. Treat yourself to a bottle of Bocchino or Iuli soon.

The Amazing Lady Winemakers of Italy

Women are making their mark in all walks of life, including the wine industry. While America has its Helen Turley, nowhere are women making a greater impact on winemaking than in Italy, where three women are rapidly joining the ranks of the truly elite.

Elisabetta Foradori has become one of Italy's "superstar" winemakers and without a doubt is Italy's finest producer of wines made from Teraldego, one of Italy's oldest and finest endogenous grapes. All of her vineyards are in the Campo Rotaliano region of Trentino, where this grape (genetically related to Syrah) reaches its zenith. From these biodynamically farmed vineyards she is quietly making some of Italy's most complex, deep and compelling wines.

The style of Foradori's Teraldego is stunning and unique. The bouquet is of sweet black fruit, orange, chocolate, herbs and soil. On the palate the wines are graceful, focused and beautifully balanced, somehow refining a robust somewhat Syrah-like flavor profile of black fruit, cherry and plum, with a hint of chocolate. The tannins and acidity are perfectly integrated. She has single-handedly renewed interest in a previously little known varietal and her wines are in restaurants all over Italy.

Foradori's entry level wine is called simply Foradori (about $25) and is wonderful. Her flagship wine is called Granato, comes from her finest selection of grapes and is aged 12-15 months in used oak. It is spectacular, worth the $60 price tag. She also makes two single vineyard wines which are now just arriving in the U.S. I can't wait.

Nicoletta Bocca founded her winery in 1992. Since then she has raised the stakes for production of Dolcetto and there's simply no stopping her. She has amassed 16 acres of old vines (40-60 years old) nestled in the hills of Dogliani, an area gifted for long-lived wines with strong tannins that have a higher aptitude for aging and the ability to maintain freshness despite the evolution of flavors and complexity. She stresses the characteristics that come naturally from extraction during fermentation and aging in wood instead of the fruitiness and easy drinkability that this grapes has been known for....until now.

Her wines, beginning with her stunning entry level Valdiba ($16) and ending with her fabulous Dogliani ($27) are hugely intense with beautiful fruit (black cherry, plum blackberry) and floral notes. There is a very noticeable background of stone and mineral that marks her wines with a unique identity. I recently tasted a vertical of the Dogliani beginning with the 2003 and they were by far the best Dolcettos I've ever drunk.

While only in her twenties, the immensely talented and precocious Sicilian winemaker Arianna Occhipinti has charmed the world with her organically grown local varietals, namely Grillo, Frappato, and Nero D'Avola. She has taken the natural wine movement to dizzying new heights and there is as much fanfare about her unwavering dedication to producing terroir driven wines as there is the enjoyment of the resulting wines' grace and beauty. She has rapidly become Sicily's "rockstar" winemaker.

Occhipinti's entry level wines are called TAMI ($12-18), a joint project between her and some friends including her boyfriend, owner of Tami Wine Bar in nearby Siracusa. The TAMI IGT Grillo is one of the most aromatic wines imaginable with tangerine, jasmine tea, chalky minerals and figs leaping from the glass. On the palate there is ample fruit balanced by perfect acidity and brilliant minerality. Smelling the TAMI IGT Frappato is like walking in a ripe strawberry field. Beaujolais-like in body, there is sweet black cherry, blackberry and chocolate on the palate with a lively fresh acidity. It is a beautiful summertime red. The TAMI IGT Nero D'Avola is a soft, elegant expression of a varietal that can be bold and fruit forward. The nose is very aromatic with delicate notes of violets, sage and strawberries. The palate is extraordinarily elegant with layers of boysenberry, espresso and and licorice. There is amazing complexity for a medium-bodied wine. Finally, there is her Occhipinti SP68 IGT Rosso ($26), a blend of Frappato and Nero D'Avola. It is named for the road that goes by her estate. The wine combines the spiciness of Zinfandel with the earthiness of a Chianti, and possesses a zippy acidity that gives it an eccentric twist. This is an amazing wine, not to be missed if you can find it.

If you can find any of these wines, buy them while you can. They are going to get harder to find and more expensive as the reputations of these ladies continue to grow.