| Dogliani and Dolcetto Wines of Piedmont | | | | By: Subhash Arora | << back  Page 2 of 5 next >> |
Of course, the area is not as prime as the Barolo and Barbaresco where the wines produced from Nebbiolo are considered noble in quality, recognition and price. Dolcetto wine can sell immediately as it is ready to drink after minimal bottling period after fermentation. Dogliani takes pride in concentrating on this grape, 90% of the regions wines are from this region.
DOC Dolcetto di Dogliani wines win perhaps the highest recognition from Gambero Rosso, L ‘espresso and other wine competitions compared to the other appellations making this wine.
Bottega Wine Shop
An old, charming 16th century building, which use to be an old monastery the Town Hall of Dogliani. The basement has a beautiful, antiquated wine shop which cellars wines from all 45 members of the association. One can taste wines from all the wineries at this shop for free and purchase- sort of a one stop shop for enjoying the tastes of Dolcetto di Dogliani – as also the Nebbiolo and Barbera. It is open all days of the week, though hours vary.
Dolcetto is usually drunk slightly cool- at 16°C to get the best flavour. The alcohol levels of 12-14% (11.5% is the minimum prescribed for DOC and 13% for DOCG). Dolcetto can be enjoyed throughout the meal as well as with Pizzas and Pastas. It can complement chicken and lamb dishes, if not too hot. Due to soft tannins, it can be enjoyed even by vegetarians and on its own.
Stay at Dogliani
There are plenty of decent and comfortable B&Bs and hotels in the area. Barbarossa (€ 50 for 2 with breakfast), Cascina Gabriela (€78, Cascina Martina €65 Del Tufo Bruno €55 Poderi Luigi Einaudi €93-135 give you an idea of what is available as agriturismo.
If you prefer to stay in a hotel, there are a fair number of them available too. Villa Santa Teresa is a newly built 4-star property that rents for €50-75. Leon d’Oro is a classic hotel in the middle of Dogliani and at 40 without breakfast, quite economical too Larenzania €45- 130 is a hotel situated on the wine estate.
Proud Producers of Dolcetto in Dogliani
In today’s world of wine where big conglomerates are gobbling up the smaller ones and where brands are becoming more important than the sub-regions or even regions, the producers of Dogliani are too proud to fall in that mould.. As an outsider one wonders the need to have 7 appellations for such a small region, where Dolcetto Piemontese, the lowest in the current hierarchy could be a generic appellation that could be universally popular. But the producers here are too individualistic of the style of their wine because of their terroir and the history through which they have connected with their fathers, grandfathers and beyond.
Chionetti
As an illustration, let us take the example of Chionetti. Owned by 82 year old Quinto (a fifth child in the family in Italy) Chionetti, the wines win top honours in all the major ratings and tastings every year. If Angelo Gaja is named as Prince of Piemonte by Wine Spectator, Quinto certainly qualifies for that honour in Dogliani. He has perhaps done for Dogliani Dolcetto what Angelo did for Barbaresco Nebbiolo. Much more senior to Angelo in age, Quinto breathes Dolcetto. In fact, the day we visited his winery, he had gone to Rome for some award ceremony for one of his wines getting the top honours.
DOC Dolcetto di Dogliani ‘Briccolero’ and ‘San Luigi’ are the only Dolcetto produced by Quinto. He is entitled to label his wines DOCG Dogliani- a new appellation earned by the region a couple of years ago recognising superior wines in the appellation that meet the set norms. Since, this appellation does not allow ‘Dolcetto’ on the label he refuses to call his top level wines DOCG Dogliani and prefers sticking by his old label. Of course, he is revered by wine connoisseurs and producers alike, miles away.
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