Piedmont Pt. 6- GAVI & DOLCETTO

We are back in the Piedmont region, the northwest part of Italy, for a look at a 2 great wines: Gavi, a white and Dolcetto, a red.

Cortese di Gavi DOCG – Gavi is the name of the city and the grape is Cortese. 

It is not unusual to see a variety of names on the labels of Gavi.  Some examples are- Gavi di Gavi, Cortese d’Gavi, Gavi del Commune di Gavi and just plan Gavi.  However they are labeled, they are all made with Cortese grape.

Gavi the place sits in Piedmont near the Liguria border and is close to the Mediterranean Sea. 

Close to 85% of Gavi’s 1 million case production is exported to the USA, UK, Germany & Russia. Thank goodness they export good amounts to the USA, as this is a tasty white wine and we want more of it!  

Cortese is also grown in the neighboring region of Colli d Tortonesi but the bulk of the grapes are grown in Gavi.

As is the case with most Italian wine, the wine is usually named after a place, either a region or city/town. 

When in doubt, the d’ means “of or from” a geographically area.  Cortese d’Gavi is Cortese grape from the Gavi area.  

Cortese is a wonderful grape that makes great wine.  Gavi is a prime example of the greatness.  

Generally, the wines are dry, crisp, above average acidity, some pleasing minerality and peach, pear fruit flavors. 

Most of the wine is made without the use of oak and is not really meant to be aged. 

We are starting to see some Cortese from outside the “Gavi” boundaries and labeled as simply Cortese.  The ones I had tasted were quite good and at a good price.

Please allow me another personal story. 

When I was an Italian distributor rep, (1990’s) my boss called me one morning and asked me to pick up one of our producers of Gavi from a downtown hotel and take her to a few accounts to show (and hopefully sell) her wines.

I agreed of course, and after the details were worked out, I asked my boss how I will know her from any other woman at the hotel.  He said, “Oh you will know her when you see her”.

So off I go to this hotel to pick up a woman I hadn’t met or have a picture of.  I pulled up to the hotel and there was my wine producer.

My boss was right, there was no mistaken her as an Italian woman.

She was dressed almost entirely in bright flamingo pink. From a hat to handbag in leather, colorful yellow blouse and pink leather skirt. 

She stood out in the crowd all right.

Well, we get in my car, and I realize she doesn’t speak English and I didn’t speak Italian.  It was awkward to say the least. 

There was a lot of smiles and we both understood a little bit of Spanish so that was our best form of communication for a couple of hours selling wine.

Her wine was fantastic!  That was the only wine they made, Gavi.  It was a limited production wine, and it was amazing. 

I still remember her business card had a picture of her horse on it.  I believe she named the wine after the horse.

She was very sweet woman, we sold some wine, and I had a morning I hope I will not forget.

 Gavi is wine with more character than Pinot Grigio but has similar crispness and balanced fruit. 

The addition of acidity and minerality gives it a great mouthfeel and loads of flavor. 

Great Italian whites are in that vein; dry, crisp, and flavorful.

There are some sparkling Gavi too!  Though I haven’t had the pleasure yet, I think they would be quite delicious wines. 

There isn’t a big quality difference between the producers either.  Most of the Gavi on the market is pretty consistent with only minor differences due to the nuances of the winemakers “recipe”.

Not every Gavi is the same, but in my opinion, it takes a trained palate to isolate those subtle differences.

Gavi is fun!    

It’s a great wine to enjoy daily without spending a lot of money. 

It’s a refreshing porch pounder on a hot day and crowd pleaser for most parties or gatherings. 

It appeals to the wine geek and the novice wine drinker. 

If you haven’t had the pleasure of drinking Gavi, I highly recommend you get a bottle. 

Wines start at $16 retail and go up from there.

Gavi is another amazing reason to drink Italian wine!

Food Pairing:

Fish would be the first to come to mind.  Shellfish would be fine as well. If you are a sushi fan, get this wine! 

A great “starter” wine with appetizers or a tasty match with risotto. 

It would also pair with poultry and pork in lighter sauces .

DOLCETTO- 

Dolcetto (translates to slightly sweet) is the 3^rd main red grape of the Piedmont region.  It’s one of those everyday drinking wines. 

It is lighter in body with more raspberry & blackberry flavors than Nebbiolo or Barbera. The different nuances are a result of the area it comes from.

Most of the descriptions from those in the industry claim Dolcetto to be low acid and high tannins.  I feel it is a fruitier red, light bodied and easy to drink. 

For a bit of clarity, high tannins don’t equate to strong tannins. 

For me, I get more acidity and ripe fruit than high tannins.  I haven’t tasted a lot of Dolcetto’s so maybe we are both right due to our experience. 

Much of my experience with Dolcetto had been categorized into 2 kinds of styles; the fruity and the tart. 

Perhaps my “tart” is the pros “tannin”. 

That is great thing about wine appreciation, it is a personal thing. 

We can use other opinions as reference points but when you get down to it, it is an individual experience.

Let’s remember the main red grape of Piedmont is Nebbiolo.  The 2^nd most important is Barbera and then there is Dolcetto.

Please don’t misunderstand and think Dolcetto isn’t a wine to seek out & enjoy. 

It is a lovely dry wine and provides great pleasure. 

It’s just #3 in Piedmont.  It is the everyday drinking wine.

The prime growing areas in Piedmont are on the top 1/3 of a hill where the Nebbiolo is planted. (Unless it is in Asti, then the top of the hills are for Barbera)

The middle section is devoted to Barbera and the lower 1/3 is for Dolcetto. 

Dolcetto is an early ripening grape, so it is the first to be picked and starts the harvest.

Nebbiolo benefits a great deal by spending time in oak barrels.  We are seeing more Barbera getting some barrel aging too. 

Dolcetto isn’t really the oak-aging type. 

From a financial point-of-view, oak barrels are expensive, so throwing money at oak barrels for Dolcetto is not a good use of resources. 

If your winery doesn’t produce Barolo or Barbaresco, then some oak on your Dolcetto might be okay. 

Dolcetto is a wine not really made for oak.  It doesn’t enhance the quality that much.  It’s a stainless-steel wine.

Dolcetto is priced about the same as Barbera.  Many of the top Piedmont producers only do one Dolcetto for sale.  There are some producers that concentrate on Dolcetto only, but not many.

There is some oak used in making the Riserva’s or Superior’s and a few producers will do some oak-aging to enhance the wine. It isn’t the norm however.

There are differences in style between the Dolcetto DOC’s & DOCGs.  Dolcetto d’ Dogliani DOCG wines tend to be more floral & powerful and require a minimum of 12 months aging (bottle) before release.

Dogliani is another region implementing the “menzioni geografiche aggiuntive” (on the label) which means “additional geographical mentions” or MeGAs.  These are specific vineyards or communes where the grapes were grown.

Dolcetto d’Alba DOCG is the fullest bodied Dolcetto.

Dolcetto is great red wine to start in your experimentation into the red grapes of the Piedmont region.  

Being lighter & fruiter than the others, it is a great starter red wine.  The quality is great and the pleasure you will receive will bring you back for more. 

It is important to not assume all Dolcetto are the same.  Trying wines from the different regions would be a great wine drinking experience.

Food Pairings-

Another reason Dolcetto is a good everyday kind of wine, is the food versatility.  

Pair with most meats; beef, poultry, or pork.  Enjoy with medium cheeses, roasted veggies, tomatoes, risotto, pastas with cream or tomato sauces. 

Don’t forget pizza with all the different toppings.