Wine Tasting Group

Buongiorno… Let’s talk Northern Italian Wines

Specifically, 2 well known regions… Piedmont and Veneto. Piedmont or Piemonte translates to “foot of the mountain”. This region is at the foot of the Alps, near France and Switzerland. Veneto is east of Piedmont with Venice and Verona being the larger cities in this region. Most Italian wines are ready to be enjoyed young. There is an exception out of Piedmont, which we will cover below. Now, let’s get acquainted with a couple of white wines and red wines from these areas.

First let’s talk about a couple of white wines from these 2 regions. Pinot Grigio from Veneto and Cortese from Piedmont. Cortese has been around since the 1600’s and is the signature white grape of Piedmont. Cortese is also known as “Gavi”, which is the principal region in Veneto where it is grown. Both of these are crisp, light and dry. They are enjoyed with fish, shellfish, chicken or a hot summer day. A Gavi to try that can be found locally is The Saula Gavi. This gets a 90 rating from James Suckling for under $20 a bottle.

Now on to a couple of Northern Italian Reds. First, a Valpolicella from Veneto. Valpolicellas are red blends with the dominant grape being the Corvina grape.

The Corvina is the dominant red grape of the region. Another interesting wine style that utilizes the same Corvina dominated blend is Amarone. The Amarone grapes are harvested late season and hand selected from only the best bunches. The grapes are then dried for 3-4 months which leaves them with concentrated sugars and flavors. This method is called “Appassimento”. The wine is then aged in oak for a minimum of 24 months. Amarone is a full bodied, dry wine.

Now, let’s travel west and discuss a couple of the dominant grapes of Piedmont. The first is the Barbera.. Barberas are low tannin wines that are drinkable young. Barbera is a versatile wine with food… try it with pizza or hearty beef stew. This grape typically shares vineyard space with the Nebbiolo grape, which is used for the esteemed Barolo and Barbaresco wines. The Nebbiolo is very high in tannin and must be aged for a minimum of 4-5 years to be drinkable. . A saying in Piedmont is; we will drink our Barbera while we wait for the Barolo. Salute!

Submitted by Linda Dollahan Ward, Corte Bella resident