750Daily: Alto Piemonte Wines

WINE TALK
#1

Interesting article in 750Daily, as linked by WineTerroirist, by AlanTardi:
750Daily:AltoPiemonte

describing the resurgence in interest in wines from the AltoPiemonte.
Our very own Oliver McCrum gets star billing in the article. With his picture, no less. Handsome dude.

I’ve always considered Carema as part of the AltoPiemonte. It is not. It is adjacent but in the province of Turin.

It mentions the AOC of Val d’Ossola, where Nebbiolo is often called Prunent, but offers no details. Some think that Valli Ossolane was the origin of Nebbiolo.

Anyway, interesting article. Lots of familiar names in there.
Tom

#2

Having visited both Alto Piemonte and Carema, I can assure they are very far apart from each other. Alto Piemonte is located to the northeast from Langhe, an hour’s drive away, whereas Carema is situated in the almost opposite direction: geographically in the Aosta Valley, the Alps surrounding the village from both sides, yet sitting on the Piedmontese side of the border and thus belonging to Piedmont, not Aosta. The neighboring village of Pont-St. Martin is less than a quarter of a mile away from Carema, bot located in Aosta Valley, not Piedmont.

However, I can understand why Carema is usually grouped together with Alto Piemonte, since the style is very similar to the wines of Alto Piemonte and - unlike a great majority of Aostan reds - the wines are made of only Nebbiolo.

#3

Thanks for clarifying that, Otto. I can see from the map it’s right up there on the Val d’Aosta border.
Interesting that Valli Ossolane is included in their grouping but not Carema.
Tom

#4

Perfectly reasonable to group them together, Tom, they’re all in Northern Piedmont, which after all is how we translate Alto Piemonte.

#5

I guess this is the main reason for the mistake. However, “Alto Piemonte” isn’t a catch-all name for the northern reaches of Piedmont, but instead a well-defined region around the Sesia river, located at the northeastern corner of Piedmont.