Aiming for pure fruit expression Tank method sparkling wine has such a bad rap. Do we complain that delicious, refreshing Beaujolais is not grand cru Burgundy? Both have their time and place. In the same way, it makes no sense to compare a fruity and undemanding Prosecco with a grand Champagne. Indeed, within Piemonte, there
Diary 26: tank method sparkling wine: much more than Asti Read More »
In mapping Piemonte, I explained the fun I had at the beginning of research for The Wines of Piemonte in commissioning a large (A1) size map of the region. I have now gone a second step, acquiring a wine map of southern Piemonte. It is based on the ‘heart of Piemonte’ map in The World
Diary 25: Wine map of southern Piemonte Read More »
Today Piemonte is famous for its grand red wines and, in a different part of the market, for the delights of Asti and Moscato d’Asti. The latter two made with the tank method, producing low alcohol, sweet wines have indeed been a huge success. But in fact, Piemonte’s sparkling wine tradition predates Asti and the
Diary 24: Piemonte’s sparkling wine tradition Read More »
It is the nature of research to lead you down some interesting byways. In my work on The Wines of Piemonte, I have been tracing the history of traditional method sparkling wine in the region. This has led me from today’s Piemonte to il vecchio Piemonte, ‘Old Piemonte’ as the senior generation in Oltrepò Pavese
‘Old Piemonte’ – Pinot Noir in Oltrepò Pavese Read More »
It is difficult to believe but I am now halfway through my contract period for writing my book. I asked for three years to write a 300-page book on The Wines of Piemonte for the CIassic Wine Library. You can see the summary of the book on the publisher’s website. Is it time for a
Diary 22: half-term report Read More »
Founded during the period when modernism had just taken hold in the region, Mauro Veglio‘s Barolo, like many other estates, is now going through a subtle change of direction. To go back to the early days, Mauro himself started to label his own wine in 1992, having taken over the business in 1986 at the
Diary 21: on the move at Mauro Veglio’s Barolo Read More »
Masnaghetti wine maps are created by Alessandro Masnaghetti, known as Italy’s Mr Map Man. But his contribution goes well beyond maps as he provides a complete toolkit for interpreting vineyards. The detailed maps are indeed the most fantastic resource for wine lovers and students. Whether in your home or in the field, you can examine
Diary 20: Masnaghetti wine maps, a complete toolkit Read More »
In Monferrato’s famous five, I started to express my excitement about the Grignolino variety – pale, aromatic and tannic. By the way, does that remind you of a famous variety from Piemonte? Today I have tasted some examples from two wineries that are part of the Monferace initiative. This is a group of producers, mostly
Diary 19: Supercharged Grignolino Read More »
My family has strong European connections. My mother was an Austrian refugee to the UK before World War 2, my father loved Austria and Germany and of course, I have visited Italy and France regularly and Germany, Austria, Spain and Portugal occasionally in the last 15 years. So like many of the 48% who voted
Diary 18 – additional Brexit bureaucracy Read More »
There are very few things I like more than a good co-operative wine producer. I love the romance of the small grape growers of a region pooling their harvests, sharing experience and expertise. Sensibly, they entrust the complex tasks of making, promoting and selling the wine to a company set up for the common good,
Barbaresco co-operative, Pertinace, with a sense of place Read More »
