The whites of Morgex et de La Salle and the Valle d’Aosta may be difficult to find, but their mouthwatering flavors will reward the diligent; Gian Francesco Orsolani is one of two top producers credited with restoring interest in Erbaluce, a crisp white with a nose of almond and flowers.
Photo: Kerin O’Keefe
Great Whites of Italy's Northwest
By Kerin O'KeefeBecause Italy's wine scene has long been defined by its revered reds of historic repute, the casual observer might view its whites as mere wallflowers. The initiated know better, however, and can readily tick off an honor roll that includes Pinot Grigio and Soave from the Veneto; Sauvignon Bianco from Trentino-Alto Adige; and Falanghina, Fiano and Greco from Campania. What they may overlook are Valle d'Aosta (Italy's smallest region), Liguria and even Piedmont, regions not usually associated with white wine or in the case of the former two, wine production in general. Yet this perception is quickly changing because some very exciting whites, all native and not produced anywhere else in the world, are emanating from the peninsula's northwest corner.
Thanks in large part to the dedication of winemakers in the farthest reaches of the northwest, who are investing in nearly extinct native whites and the reawakening interest of astute consumers, the long-forgotten, ancient white varietals of Valle d'Aosta, Liguria and Piedmont are being revived with modern vinification techniques.
The venerated Italian critic Luigi Veronelli was once asked which wine he would save from a cosmic disaster if he had to choose but one. Without hesitation, he responded: "Blanc de Morgex, the one produced by Abbot Alessandro Bougeat," who in the early 1970s introduced modern winemaking and united the local grape growers. Veronelli's endorsement put the Valle d'Aosta on the map among enophiles, but its stardom was fleeting. Because of the premature death of Abbot Bougeat in 1972, production of this little-known wine plummeted, sending it back into obscurity until a cooperative took over where the abbot left off.
In 1983, La Cave du Vin Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle was founded, but several vintages would pass before it was fully outfitted. In an attempt to save viticulture from certain extinction in the rugged mountain communes of Morgex and La Salle, the regional government of Valle d'Aosta provided the funding necessary to install a large, well-equipped cellar in 1989. The move symbolized a fresh beginning for a region that proved its merits long ago.
In the late 1800s, there were approximately 9,880 acres under vine in the Valle d'Aosta. But the 20th century presented opportunities to the younger generation that lured them down from the steeply terraced vineyards that their families had tended for decades with the promise of less laborious city and factory jobs. By the late 1960s, only 494 acres remained. Before dwindling away to nothing, the 1970s saw a subtle reversal of the trend and the number has slowly climbed to nearly 1,235 acres today, of which 54 are devoted to prié blanc. This obscure, autochthonous variety produces the region's most highly sought-after wine, Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle.
The small production is dominated by La Cave, which unites 90 growers who cultivate this unusual grape on tiny, fragmented parcels in the highest vineyards in Europe (reaching up to 3,937 feet), planted directly under the snowy peak of Mont Blanc that separates Valle d'Aosta from France. The sheer beauty of these soaring mountain vineyards is made even more arresting by a time-honored system called pergola bassa, or low pergola, where the vines are trained near the ground in trellised arbors with stone columns surrounded by stone walls. According to La Cave's winemaker Gianluca Telloli, "The low pergola has been used for centuries here because it protects the vines from wind and heavy snowfall, while allowing them to benefit from heat accumulated in the ground during the daytime." Yet the low pergola presents many difficulties, too. Harvesters must pick the grapes on their knees and, in some cases, while laying flat on their backs.
Telloli explains that the stone walls surrounding individual plots and the enormous piles of rocks heaped in a seemingly haphazard manner among the terraces have a function beyond aesthetics. "Centuries ago, the peasants realized how important the heat conducting capabilities of the stones were. We've kept the ancient stone walls and rocks because they really help retain heat during the cool nights, which is crucial for the grapes' maturation."
According to Mario Vevey, one of the five non-co-op producers of Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle, "Prié blanc has adapted over the years to this rigid climate where the vineyards are covered in snow until the end of March. It has a very late bud break, and then ripens quickly so the harvest is usually between the second and third weeks of September - the same time as other areas where buds emerged a month before prié blanc's." Because the grape's maturation cycle is so accelerated, the winegrower rarely needs to apply pesticides or anti-fungal treatments.
The unique combination of soils and an extremely rigid climate have also conspired to spare the vines from phylloxera, the root louse that wiped out nearly all of Europe's vineyards between the late 1800s and early 1900s. Evidence exists that the parasite arrived, but quickly died off, due perhaps to the sandy soils deposited by avalanches and/or frigid weather. Therefore, prié blanc was never grafted over to American rootstock as are most vines in Italy and the rest of the world. Rather, it is planted directly in the ground on its own roots.
The average age of the vines is 90 years with some older than a century. "Apart from modern practices, like temperature-controlled fermentation, the basis of our wine hasn't changed in the last century, with the same cultivation and original rootstock," Vevey says. The wine itself is crisp, refined and very refreshing due to the grape's naturally high acidity. None of the producers use wood in any stage of vinification because its overt character would overwhelm the variety's delicate nature.
Less than 250 miles away from Valle d'Aosta's snowy peaks, Liguria's Cinque Terre is a genuine Mediterranean paradise. Its name references the "five lands" or villages of Riomaggiore, Corniglia, Manarola, Monterosso and Vernazza perched along the rugged Ligurian coastline. Nearly 200 acres of terraced vineyards tumble toward the sapphire sea below and produce the renowned wines of the Cinque Terre DOC as well as Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà (shahk eh TRA) DOC, one of the world's rarest dessert wines. Wines from these vertiginous slopes have been lauded as far back as the 14th century.
The vineyards here are extremely narrow and difficult to work, making machinery of any kind impossible to operate. Therefore, as in Valle d'Aosta, everything from maintenance to harvest is done manually. The indigenous vines that cling to these precipitous cliffs and produce both wines are bosco (at least 60 percent according to the appellation), albarola and/or vermentino. In the recent past, as production declined (due again to mass abandonment of the vineyards), the dry version was considered bland and uninspiring, while Sciacchetrà was virtually unavailable to outside markets because of its miniscule production.
One of those who has helped spur renewed interest in the region's wines is Walter De Battè, who began making Cinque Terre on a bet with friends. "British wine critic Jancis Robinson had just described bosco as ordinary and oxidizing easily. Since many people agreed, I wanted to try and prove that with the right vinification, Cinque Terre could be a great wine." He has proven his point convincingly, and although he produces less than 4,000 bottles per year of Cinque Terre and Sciacchetrà combined, he can count his admirers among the world's toughest wine critics, including Burton Anderson. In Anderson's Best Italian Wines, he praises De Battè as "Cinque Terre's most accomplished winemaker" and describes his wines as being "of unprecedented polish, depth and aging capacity."
"The essence of any wine is in the skins, which reflect terroir - in our case, the sun, sea and wind," De Battè observes. "We have a pristine environment and all of this accumulates in yeasts found in the skins." He therefore ferments his whites with the skins, a technique normally reserved for reds, carrying out fermentation in both barrique (never more than ten percent new wood) and stainless steel tanks. He then assembles the two before bottling. The result is an unforgettably rich, full-bodied wine with characteristics of honey, plum and roasted nuts. His Sciacchetrà is creamy and smooth; a perfect vino da meditazione to be sipped after the meal.
Producer Riccardo Arrigoni believes that the dry Cinque Terre should be kept simple and that Sciacchetrà expresses the area's true spirit. "Sciacchetrà is condensed exertion," he says with a laugh. Yet he isn't joking. This unusual wine is the fruit of hard work. The best grapes are found nearest the sea, which means hiking up and down the steep slopes for maintenance and picking, or using the small monorail trains that are in great demand at harvest time. Only the best grapes are selected in an early harvest and are then dried on mats or suspended from the ceiling for six months in airy lofts. While many producers have abandoned this wine - only about 7,000 half-bottles are produced annually - Arrigoni has instead focused on it. He has even held back a cask of his liquid gold each year since 1991 and calls this treasure trove "the family jewels."
Winegrowers here have overcome numerous obstacles, but just as both versions of Cinque Terre seem to have regained their previous glory, an unlikely problem threatens their efforts: A recent explosion in the wild boar population poses a serious threat to the industry. "Last year, I lost 50 percent of my production thanks to wild boar," De Battè notes. "They don't just eat the grapes, they travel in packs and completely destroy the vines."
Things look even worse for this year. At press time, about a week before the harvest, many of De Battè's small parcels of vineyards had been completely destroyed; he predicts that about 70 percent of his grapes were lost. De Battè can only hope that his remaining hard-to-reach vineyards will not be harmed. While authorities have finally installed elaborate fencing designed to keep the voracious beasts out of the vineyards, in true Italian bureaucratic style, the timing was miscalculated and most of the wild boar were inadvertently fenced in. Even though Cinque Terre is on Unesco's World Heritage List, it is managed by the local government, which has merely watched for three years as ancient, terraced vineyards and stone walls have been trampled and ruined. "But," says a dismayed De Battè, "there is always next year, by which time the fencing may actually work once the animals inside are somehow let out."
Still in Italy's northwest corner but removed from snow-capped Mont Blanc in Valle d'Aosta and the sparkling sea of Liguria, Piedmont's rolling hills bring to mind regal reds capable of marathon aging. Yet fans of Barolo and Barbaresco should know that the region also produces some outstanding whites. One of the best is Roero Arneis (made from the grape of the same name). Arneis, which means "difficult" or "stubborn" in the local dialect, is currently among the most coveted Italian wines imported to the U.S., where sales have exploded.
According to the very elegant Bruna Giacosa, daughter of Bruno, the renowned Barolo and Barbaresco producer, "The grape is difficult to cultivate due to its thin skin, and difficult to vinify. Fermentation will stop, then start, then stop again. My father, who can himself be very 'arneis,' loves the challenges this varietal presents," she explains with filial affection.
This luscious wine, redolent of flowers and pear, was saved from obliteration by Giacosa and other pioneers such as Alfredo Currado of Vietti, another noted Barolista. The latter is credited as being the first to vinify arneis, which was nearly extinct by the 1960s. Currado explains, "The locals called this white varietal nebbiolo bianco because it grew in the midst of the nebbiolo vineyards. They would vinify it sweet, or because the amount was so insignificant, throw it in with the red wine production." By researching old texts, he discovered that this curious grape was called "arneis." He recounts that it yielded a dry wine that was highly praised hundreds of years ago. In 1967, Currado asked the local priest to instruct parishioners interested in selling their "nebbiolo bianco" to meet him after mass. The request was met with unanimous enthusiasm. "Forty-six peasants showed up loaded with grapes," he recalls. "They came on bicycle, in horse-drawn carts and on foot. With those grapes, I vinified my first Arneis."
Another white that is gaining cachet in the heart of Barolo Country is Langhe Favorita, made from 100 percent favorita grapes. Gianni Gagliardo has invested heavily in this variety, planting it in prime hill vineyards with ideal exposures. "Favorita, which has been linked genetically to vermentino, used to be the favorite table grape in the Langhe, which is why it got its name," explains Gianni's enologist son Stefano Gagliardo. The family currently makes two wines from Favorita: the lavish and full-bodied Casà and the slightly effervescent Fallegro.
More esoteric but no less delicious, a stunning dessert wine, Caluso Passito, has been produced in Piedmont for centuries in an area known as Canavese, between Turin and the border of the Valle d'Aosta. Made from 100 percent dried erbaluce, this amber nectar has become a rarity as producers focus their efforts more on Erbaluce DOC, a crisp white that has a rich nose of almond and flowers. The variety owes its new-found notoriety to two producers, Gian Francesco Orsolani and Luigi Ferrando.
The Orsolani family has been producing wine since 1894 in this niche in northern Piedmont, which enjoys a warmer and drier climate than does the rest of the region. Its fabulous Caluso Passito Sulè and Erbaluce Spumante have captured the interest of wine enthusiasts in Italy and abroad. The wines also caught the attention of other area producers.
Ferrando, a well-known Nebbiolo house in the nearby Carema commune, was especially interested. "Here there were two winemaking traditions: red wines from nebbiolo and dessert wine, the Caluso Passito, from dried erbaluce," notes Ferrando. "The first attempts to produce a dry Erbaluce proved hopeless. With our backgrounds, we didn't know how to vinify dry white wine and thought it was the varietal's fault that it produced extremely acidic wines that were comparable to vinegar."
In 1980, Ferrando sent a small amount of harvested erbaluce to a winemaker friend in Friuli to see what he could do. "I think that the real masters of white wine vinification are in Friuli," he admits, "but even I was shocked with the wine he sent back. I had other local producers try it and they didn't believe it was Erbaluce." Ferrando proceeded to study white wine vinification techniques, invested in refrigeration facilities and stainless steel tanks, and began making a dry white from erbaluce as well as a dessert wine. His enticing Erbaluce di Caluso Cariola is now one of Italy's cult wines and is sought by the best restaurants and wine shops in both Europe and the U.S.
All of these wines are finding favor in both Italy and abroad as wine lovers look for fresh alternatives to more well-known whites produced the world over, such as Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, which have dominated restaurant lists and wine shops for years. Yet some critics are asking if the recent explosion of interest in Italy's native wines is only a trend. Orsolani and his son Gian Luigi refute this idea. "In our case, and for many producers, making these wines is a tradition which goes back many years. Our wines are becoming popular around the world because consumers are being weaned off internationally produced wines and will always be searching for something new and exciting." And with more native grape varieties than any other country in the world, it seems there will always be something exciting and new coming from Italy's ancient vines.
Guest contributor Kerin O'Keefe is an American wine writer who has lived in Italy since 1989.
Tasting Bar
Cave du Vin Blanc, 2003 Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle - $16: Luminous straw hue with greenish reflections. Nose dominated by scents of wild Alpine flowers. Crisp with sharp yet refined acidity and lovely traces of lemon and lime. Delicate and beautifully balanced. Superb
Azienda Agricola Vevey Albert Maison, 2003 Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle - $45 (restaurant only): Bright straw hue. Aromas of citrus fruits and traces of mint and thyme. Clean and fresh with mouthwatering white fruit flavors and a long finish. Outstanding Note: Vevey is between importers and may be difficult to find.
Walter De Battè, 2000 Cinque Terre - $50: Bright golden yellow hue. Aromatic nuances of yellow plum, exotic herbs and a touch of vanilla. Smooth and full bodied with hazelnut, honey and plum on the palate. Long finish. Outstanding
Walter De Battè, 2001 Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà - $150 (375-ml): Deep, glowing gold hue. Toasty aromas of pastry and cream. Voluptuous and well balanced with ample acidity unusual for a dessert wine. Rich flavors of apricots and cream, this is the vino da meditazione. Outstanding
Arrigoni, 2003 Cinque Terre - $20: Pale straw hue. Clean and fresh with aromas of apple and a hint of toast. Medium bodied and dry with green apple flavors with a spicy finish. Very Good
Arrigoni, 2001 Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà - $50 (375-ml): Gleaming amber hue. Nose dominated by scents of honey and wild flowers. Rich and complex with nutty flavors and nuances of honey and dried apricot. Great value for such a rare wine. Outstanding
Cooperativa Agricoltura di Riomaggiore, 2003 Cinque Terre - $22: Pretty gold hue. A heady nose of flowers and peach. The palate is clean, refreshing and dry with flavors of yellow plums and a hint of spice. Superb
Bruno Giacosa, 2003 Roero Arneis - $22: Pale gold hue. This luscious wine has enticing aromas of flowers and pear. Medium bodied, the palate is round and smooth with flavors of mature white fruits and a long, long finish. Outstanding
Vietti, 2003 Roero Arneis - $21: Pale yellow hue. Lovely scents of peach and pineapple. Soft and round palate with flavors reminiscent of exotic fruit. Long finish. Superb
Orsolani, 2003 La Rustià Erbaluce di Caluso - $19: Antique gold hue. Very refined scents characterized by spring flowers and tropical fruit with undertones of mint and sage. Crisp with refreshing acidity and a hint of exotic fruit and licorice. Outstanding
Orsolani, 1999 Sulè Caluso Passito - $32 (375-ml): Luminous golden copper hue. Intense aromas of dried apricot and honey carry over into the velvety palate along with dried apple. Closes with a note of toasted nuts. Long finish. Superb
Ferrando, 2003 Cariola Erbaluce di Caluso - $20: Brilliant straw hue. Scents of green apple and flowers. Crisp palate with flavors reminiscent of pineapple and aromatic herbs. Superb
Ferrando, 1998 Caluso Passito - $90 (375-ml): Intense amber hue. Bouquet of ripe berry, honey and apricot. Honey and dried apricot on the palate with a long, toasty finish that shows hints of vanilla. Outstanding
Gagliardo, 2003 Casà Langhe Favorita - $23: Deep yellow hue. Aromatic nose of peach and apricot. Rich, fat flavors of lemon peel and cream. Maximum expression of favorita. Superb
Gagliardo, 2003 Fallegra Langhe Bianco - $16: Pale straw hue with green reflections; slightly fizzy. Delicate nose of banana and pear carry over to the palate. Quite refreshing. Very Good - KOK
