Writing about the wines of Piemonte, Italy and France
The wines of Piemonte/Piedmont
I am delighted to say that my book has been published and is now available for sale directly from the publisher or Amazon in the USA. This is the culmination of a huge amount of intense work, especially over the last four years. I am hugely grateful to all the producers and other colleagues who have made
Since my last update in January, I have made important progress on The Wines of Piemonte. The big news is that on 31 May, on time, I submitted my full text to the Classic Wine Library. This is genuinely an important milestone! While it has been on the publisher’s and Amazon’s websites for some time to pre-order, that
Vinitaly 2023 The biggest event in Italian wine business is the national wine fair, Vinitaly, held in Verona every year in spring. It is massive. 93,000 visitors, of which more than a quarter were foreign buyers, attended this year. The organisation has improved over the years, especially since the pandemic, with a better shuttle bus
Where and what is Boca? Last spring I was able to spend two weeks in Alto Piemonte, the remarkable Nebbiolo territory close to the Alps. However, even a fortnight in a relatively small region means you can’t visit all the top producers. I came back knowing that I needed more depth in Boca DOC in
It is always exciting to be in on something new. Most wineries in Piemonte are happy to regale you with how many generations have been farmers before them. And there is nothing wrong with local pride. By contrast, Emanuele Gambino of the winery with the same name is a new venture. Yes, part of the
Happy new year! A year has passed since I last wrote to update you on the progress on my book, The Wines of Piemonte. It has been an excellent year. I have spent a good amount of time in the region and have finished the basic research for the book. I also have complete first drafts
I was fortunate to attend a complete vertical tasting of Guido Rivella’s Barbaresco Montestefano, courtesy of Ultravino, his UK importer. Ultravino is doing a great job finding hands-on winemakers producing small volumes of really high-quality wines from Piemonte. It has been impossible to visit every important winery for my forthcoming book on The Wines of
Is Alba DOC the same as Barbera d’Alba? Barbera d’Alba, Dolcetto d’Alba and Nebbiolo d’Alba are all well-known Piedmontese DOCs. The former two are important as they represent Barbera and Dolcetto in and around Barolo and Barbaresco, even if there are also specialist DOCGs in this area for Dolcetto. By contrast, Alba DOC is an
I started work on my book, The Wines of Piemonte, for the Classic Wine Library in October 2019. The idea was to deliver the text for this 300-page book in three years. However, Covid 19 had other ideas. Fortunately, I was hugely helped by the growers who sent me samples during lockdown and were happy
Barolo is of course made with the Nebbiolo grape but there are also rare varieties around the Barolo area. For me, the week of 18–23 July 2022 was devoted to Pelaverga piccolo, Gamba di Pernice, Nascetta and Croatina. With, naturally, some fine Barolo along the way. All of this research contributes to my forthcoming book,