Identikit
Dolcetto is a native grape of Piedmont and in the Cuneo area it’s present with 2 Aocg: Dolcetto Superiore di Dogliani or Dogliani and Dolcetto di Diano d’Alba or Diano d’Alba. The wine has a full ruby red color with hints of blackberry and violet, the scent is intense, with flowers and fresh fruits such as blackberry and wild cherry, broad, fine and elegant. The taste is dry, decisive, harmonious, pleasant for its finely almond aftertaste.
Area of production
Diano d’Alba is produced in the entire municipality with the same name, in Cuneo area.
Dolcetto di Dogliani is produced in the following municipalities: Bastia, Belvedere Langhe, Clavesana, Ciglié, Dogliani, Farigliano, Monchiero, Rocca di Ciglié and partly from the municipalities of Roddino and Somano, in Cuneo area.
History
Historically, Dolcetto was the bargaining chip with Liguria from which it was found oil, salt and anchovies, basic ingredients for the “Bagna Caoda”. In the Cuneo area, instead, the dolcetto grapes were bartered with calves reared in the plains. The wine from Dolcetto had a moment of great fortune in the ’70s-80s when it was tied to the daily meal and the name derives from the particular sweetness of the grape pulp. Depending on the area of cultivation and the type of vinification, Dolcetto gives rise to fresh and drinkable wines, which accompany the table thanks to their softness, freshness of taste and ability to adapt to many different foods; or wines with a more evolved form, of body and structure, capable of aging up to six to seven years thanks to skilful work in the vineyard and proper management in the cellar. In the ’20s and’ 30s of the twentieth century, the dolcetto grapes were often used in the “grape treatment”, for the delicate flavor and for the low content of acids and tannins.
