Piedmont; It. Piemonte [PEED-mawnt (It. pay-MAWN-tay)]

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Piedmont; It. Piemonte
[PEED-mawnt (It. pay-MAWN-tay)]

An important wine-producing region in northwestern Italy. Its name, which means “foot of the mountain,” refers to its place at the base of the Alps, which create the natural boundary between Italy and its two neighbors, France and Switzerland. A majority of the region’s 142,000 acres of vineyards are southeast of Turin, the capital of Piedmont, although there are a few vineyards to the north and northeast. Piedmont contains seven DOCG areas—ASTI, BAROLO, BARBARESCO, BRACHETTO D’ACQUI, GATTINARA, GAVI, and GHEMME. It also has over forty-four DOCS including BARBERA D’ALBA, BARBERA D’ASTI, CAREMA, DOLCETTO D’ALBA, ERBULANCE DI CALUSO, LANGHE, MONFERRATO, and NEBBIOLO D’ALBA. These DOCGs and DOCs produce over 50 percent of Piedmont’s wines. Red wines are the favorites in this region, and the premier grape variety is NEBBIOLO, which is used in four of the DOCG wines and in a number of the DOC wines. However, BARBERA is the most widely planted variety, taking up over half the available vineyard space. Other popular red varieties include DOLCETTO, BONARDA, FREISA, GRIGNOLINO, CROATINA, and Vespolina. White wines are made from CORTESE, Moscato Bianco, Moscato di Caneli (see MUSCAT), ARNEIS, ERBALUCE, and Favorita. Also very popular in this region are the Muscat-based SPUMANTE (sparkling) wines from the DOCGs of ASTI and MOSCATO D’ASTI (see ASTI).

Related Links: Boca DOC, Langhe DOC, Valle d'Aosta, Grignolino, Nebbiolo

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