Three great Piedmontese winegrowersBy Samuel CogliatiPiedmont boasts 47,000 hectares of vineyards, 54 designations of origin, several tens of native grape varieties, a very wide variety of types of wine and a longstanding tradition of quality. Despite a certain conservatism, this tradition perpetuates a know-how that other Italian regions do not possess. Giuseppe RinaldiAuthentic yet not unchanging – that’s the style of Giuseppe Rinaldi, known as Beppe, whose family has been growing vines in Barolo for over a century. Reserved but mischievous, Rinaldi is the effigy of “old-style” Barolo, following in the footsteps of the much-missed Bartolo Mascarello, but far from the modernism of famous estates such as Roberto Voerzio or Luciano Sandrone. © S. Cogliati In the cellar there are no barrels or casks, but specialised use of the traditional tun (35 hl). So the Barolo expresses all its austerity, conceding nothing to the smoothness of the wines currently in fashion. You have to wait five to ten years after bottling for a mellowness to blend with the elegance of the Nebbiolo grape variety and marly land. The wine then develops a generous complexity but never loses the strong tannin that is its very soul. True to its origins, Rinaldi does not offer cuvées made from one single vineyard. “Barolo has always been an assemblage of wines from several places,” he asserts. You will discover two labels combining the Brunate-Le Coste vineyards on the one hand, and Cannubi San Lorenzo-Ravera on the other. The 2003 vintages (on sale only from wine merchants, since the estate is out of stock) are of rare freshness. The 2004 vintages, scheduled for bottling in the spring, will bring more success in very classic style. Enjoy with braised red meats, but also with a lamb tajine or quiche lorraine.  © S. Cogliati Vittorio BeraSome 40 km (25 miles) east of Barolo, in the province of Asti, the Bera family has been devoted to Muscat for a long time. This aromatic grape variety has been established around the village of Canelli since the 13th century. Four hundred years later, the mastery of filtration and diffusion of the bottle made it possible to produce a vaporous (5 to 6 degrees), sweet and effervescent Muscat. It is this type of wine that Vittorio Bera and his children, Gianluigi and Alessandra, continue to make according to traditional methods, preserving its purity and naturalness. A challenge, when you are aware of the much easier success of the sparkling Asti industry. The Beras have been cultivating their vineyards organically since 1964, when this method was not a commercial advantage. “I have never wanted to weed my vineyards,” says Vittorio, “You can do a lot better by working the soil”! The Bera Moscato d’Asti is a wine in its own right – fresh, fragrant and full-flavoured. Delicious served with a fruit crostata or Breton kouign-amann cake: the ideal wine for a snack. The Bera family also produces a very typical “Ronco Malo” Barbera d’Asti and a full-bodied Dolcetto del Monferrato – two red wines with a comforting natural quality.  © S. Cogliati Walter MassaAt the southeast end of the region, the hills of Tortona are known only to connoisseurs. It’s a pity, because they harbour one of Italy’s most interesting white wines. A grape variety as talented as it is rare, Timorasso covers only about fifty hectares. It produces a strong, meaty, refined wine that improves with age. Walter Massa, a very determined winegrower in Monleale, brought it back from oblivion twenty years ago and has not stopped believing in the potential of this variety, which is grown on the sunniest soils of Piedmont. It took 15 years for a Colli Tortonesi Timorasso designation to be granted, but what results! The Vigneti Massas produce three cuvées of Timorasso: a “village” called Derthona and two vineyards, Costa del Vento (“Coast of the Wind”) and Sterpi. These are fine, sumptuous wines, because the grape variety is good for concentrating acidity, alcohol and body harmoniously. It sometimes brings to mind the refined opulence of the sunniest Burgundies. Derived from 8 ha of very steep parcels of land, grown with “clean” methods (if necessary, little weedkiller and few synthetic products), Massa produces the Timorasso wine in the traditional way, using only stainless steel vats. There is a few hours’ maceration prior to fermentation. This is the wine to serve with white truffle on fried eggs, frogs, and fried cepe mushrooms in breadcrumbs.  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8    Practical informationGiuseppe Rinaldi estate Via Monforte, 3 12060 Barolo (Cn) Tel and Fax: 00 39 0173 56156 Barolos for 28 euros at the estate Vittorio Bera estate Regione Serra Masio, 39 14053 Canelli (At) Tel and Fax: 00 39 0141 831157 Moscato d’Asti for 10 euros at the estate Vigneti Massa Piazza Capsoni, 10 15059 Monleale (Al) Tel: 00 39 0131 80302 Fax: 00 39 0131 806565 Timorasso Derthona for 12.50 euros and Timorasso Costa del Vento for 22 euros at the estate Two authentic “local” restaurants: Ristorante Da Giuseppe Via 4 Novembre, 7 15050 Montemarzino (Al) Tel: 00 39 0131 878135 Fax: 00 39 0131 878914 Closed Tuesday and Wednesday Polished family ambiance, as carefully thought out as the cuisine, which is based on local produce. Boletus mushrooms, truffles, “bagna cauda” (Piedmontese anchovy sauce), hare, cow’s and ewe’s milk cheese (Montebore). Comprehensive wine list, with a vast selection of Colli Tortonesi wines. Ristorante Da Geppe Via Umberto I, 8 14030 Castagnole Monferrato (At) Tel: 00 39 0141 292113 A village restaurant serving ordinary fast food at lunchtime, but capable of reviving authentic local recipes for dinner. “Fassone” veal tartare, agnolotti (tortellini) stuffed with three types of meat, fried coley in breadcrumbs. |
Tourism and Gastronomy
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