Piedmont for Wine Lovers
📍Piedmont’s Wine History
Piedmont is one of the largest wine-producing regions in Italy, Famous for it’s renowned Nebbiolo wines, Piedmont actually has quite a number of different wines to be proud of.
The history of winemaking in Piedmont goes way back to before the Romans, when the Taurini were most likely taught vine growing methods via the Etruscans. Even during the Roman times, Piedmont was already making a name for itself with its Nebbiolo, as noted by Pliny the Elder. However, the first specific mention of Nebbiolo by name occurs later in 1268, noting the vines growing near Rivoli.
Another early mention of Piedmontese wines was in the 1300s when Pietro de Crescentius wrote his agricultural piece Liber Ruralium Commodorum. In the 17th century, Chiaretto became famous with production by the court jeweler of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy.
📖DOC vs DOCG
When looking at Italian wines you'll notice a little label defining a wine as DOC, DOCG or IGT. These are appellation indications, which each one defining a set of rules for quality control. Rules usually include the amount of bottles to be produced, the land allowed for cultivation and production restrictions.
DOCG - Denomination of Checked and Guaranteed wine, these are the strictest productions. Reserved for the wines considered to be the best. To be released these wines must have been professionally taste-tested and pass a lab test.
DOC - Denomination of Checked wine, this is a high quality control, but leaves a little more flexibility in the production.
Today Piedmont Produces 17 DOCG and 42 DOC wines.
Wine Regions of Piedmont
Coming soon:
📍Alto Piemonte
If you have any questions about visiting Piedmont before these guides are published, feel free to reach out via:
📧 evelyn@collineallemontagne.com
IG: @collineallemontagne
The home for unique & authentic travel