Piemonte wines from the Erbaluce cultivar

As is the case in the southern half of Piemonte, Nebbiolo is the king of red grapes in the region's north. There it is called Spanna (with the exception of Val d"Ossola where it is called Nebbiolo and an earlier variant is called Prunent). Unlike the south, with its "wide" variety of indigenous white grape varieties, the Erbaluce cultivar reigns supreme in the north. I explore the variety and its growing areas in this post

The figure below shows four allowed Erbaluce-based wines in Piemonte, one of which, Erbaluce di Caluso has been accorded DOCG status. All of the wines are made 100% from the Erbaluce grape.

Erbaluce is a high-acid, late-ripening grape of unknown origin which is currently limited to the northern part of Piedmont and the Canavese hills. The vine is vigorous and productive, with elongated bunches and bright yellow berries. The chart below illustrates key aspects of the cultivar and its preferred training system in Caluso and Canavese.

As I confirmed with Silvia Barbaglia of Barbaglia Winery again today, the topia system is not employed as a vine training method in either Colline Novaresi or Costa della Sesia. Rather, they train the vines using the Guyot scheme.

The growing regions associated with the four wines are detailed below.

Erbaluce di Caluso DOCG

Erbaluce di Caluso DOCG is a wine appellation covering the production of wine from the Erbaluce grape variety grown in 37 communes located in the Piemonte provinces of Torino, Biella, and Vercelli. 

Erbaluce di Caluso DOCG map 
(Source:http://www.erbalucecarema.it/en/)

At 188 ha, this is a relatively small appellation. It became a DOC in 1967 and was elevated to DOCG status in 2010.

The soils in the region are remnants of a post-ice-age glacial moraine. The thin topsoils are a mix of clays, pebbles, and shale rich in phosphorous, magnesium, and potassium.

The disciplinaire allows for the production of still, sparkling, and passito wines made wholly from the Erbaluce variety planted in the morainic soils at elevations ranging between 200 and 500 m. Vines must be trained Caluso pergola which dictates 500 m between rows and 5000 vines/ha.

I recently tasted the Cieck Erbaluce di Caluso Vigna Misobolo 2018. 

The wine had a faded green and hay color. Herbs, mint, and sweet fruit on the nose initially. Bright acidity on the palate along with a saline minerality, metallic character, citrus, citrus skin, and heavy excitation of the salivary glands. Some weight, but clean. After some residence in the glass, the edge came off the acidity and the taste observed was of sour citrus fruit, green herbs, minerality, and salinity. I held some of the wine over to the next day and it had become a cross between a Carricante, an Assyrtiko, and a Friulano from Collio: salinity, minerality, and weightier acidity but with the addition of a strong blackpepper character.

Canavese DOC

The disciplinaire for Canavese DOC (initially awarded in 1996) covers the growing of grapes --- and the production of white (1), rosé (1), red (3), and sparkling wines (2) therefrom -- in 114 ha distributed between 98 municipalities in Torino, seven municipalities in Bielle, and one municipality in Vercelli. According to torinodoc.com, Erbaluce "is now the most important grape in this area in terms of cultivated surface and the commercial value of the wine."

The growing area is humid with frequent foggy days. Rain is frequent and the summers are hot.

The grapes are grown in the humid soils on a series of morainic hills that surround Lake Candia. The wine growing area is broken into three distinct zones:

• Alto Canavese -- several valleys between the hills
• Basso Canavese -- area closest to Turin
• Eporediese -- area in the municipality of Ivrea.

The white still wine produced in the DOC is made from 100% Erbaluce and is "straw yellow with a fruity deep nose" and a confirming palate.

Colline Novarese DOC

Key characteristics of this region are provided in the below chart.

I recently had a discussion with Silvia Barbaglia (Barbaglia) about their winery and wines and she was tasting a white wine and their Boca DOC during the course of our conversation. The white wine was the Lucino Colline Novaresi DOC. This wine is fermented in stainless steel (lengthy fermentation) and then bottled. The winery retains 4 to 5 grams of sugar in the final wine in order to help offset the brisk acidity. It needs a lot of time before being ready to drink so is not released to the market until one or two years after harvest. Her father, she says, is a white wine drinker in a red wine area; he makes this wine for himself. The one that she was tasting was salty, with mineral and balsamic notes.

I have since bought and tasted the Lucino. It had a honeyed nose and was sweeter and weightier on the palate than the Erbaluce di Caluso I had tasted previously. I do not mind bright acidity; but that is a personal choice.

Costa della Sesia DOC

This DOC sits across the Sesia River from Colline Novaresi and serves the same purpose as its counterpart; a catchment area for wines not covered in the more-defined Alto Piemonte DOCs. While the soils of Colline Novaresi are alluvial moraine, the soils of Costa della Sesia are less homogenous. Key characteristics of the DOC are presented in the second figure following.

Costa della Sesia
(https://www.wijnkennis.be/locatie/coste-della-sesia)

According to vinook.it, this wine has "a more or less intense straw yellow color with a characteristic fine and intense aroma. The flavor is dry, harmonious, characteristic."

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One of the key characteristics of the Erbaluce grape is its acidity, illustrated in part by the Barbaglia Winery's attempt to tamp it down. 

Given the relative locations one could visualize the wines from Caluso and Canavese being riper and richer than the wines from its more northerly compatriots and the acidity in the north to be more intense. 

Rain is a constant in all of the areas discussed and, in that sense, there is a similarity to the east coast of Mount Etna; and whites are favored there also. Some Carricante-like characteristics have been noted in the Erbaluce di Caluso.

Another sturdy thread in the tapestry that is Piemonte white wines.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme