Piedmont wine

Let us be your guide

The real strength of Italian wines is the sheer diversity of choice - there is something for everybody's taste.

Key wines
 
Arneis
Barbaresco
Barbera
Barolo
Brachetto
Chardonnay
Cortese
Dolcetto
Freisa
Grignolino
Loazzolo
Malvasia di Casorzo
Moscato
Nebbiolo
 
Wine topics
 
Growing grapes
Reading the label
Sparkling wines
Wine landscapes

In our vineyards at Casa della Fontana we grow Barbera, Chardonnay and Moscato grapes.

Casa della Fontana is being refurbished to enable us to offer guest accommodation.

A swimming pool will be installed.

More information ?

If you would like more information about

  • Piedmontese wine

             or

  • accompanied wine tastings,

please call me,  Kerrie Barker, on:-

0039 0141 851 154

or send me an email, (link at bottom of page)

If you would like us to keep in touch, please fill in and send us the form on the Registration page.

We look forward to hearing from you.

 © Kerrie Barker 2007

Home Accommodation Destinations Activities Register About us

In the Piedmont hills where we live, the conditions for growing grapes are generally so  favourable that vineyards adorn every horizon.

In Italian culture, where food is afforded such high importance, wine is considered to be an essential part of a meal.

These pages, as they develop, will introduce you to the world of Piedmontese wines, and we hope you will want to come and find out more for yourself.

Join us on a voyage of discovery into the world of Piedmont wines by following any of the blue links in the green side bar on the left. These pages will be developed progressively. 

Introduction

Italy is the world's second largest producer of wine, and the largest exporter.

International markets were first opened up by emigration, particularly in the Americas, and Italian wine is brought to other consumers by Italian restaurants everywhere.

Quality Regulation and Branding

The advent of quality regulation and the wider emergence of corporate brands in the second half of the 20th century has added the continuing impetus of marketing and advertising to market expansion. You can read more about this on the wine label.

Nevertheless, the production of wine in Italy is highly fragmented. Over two-thirds of wine producers own less than 1 hectare of vineyard (that puts Casa della Fontana in the top third !).

Many of the smallest producers no longer find the economics of grape production (except for their own table) viable, and lifestyle changes cause a continual flight from the land by the younger generation.

Viniculture

Harvesting grapes by hand in Barbaresco

There can be no doubt about it, growing grapes is hard and, year on year, speculative work. As a result, the area of land devoted to the grape is diminishing. But all across Piedmont, and at Casa della Fontana, new vineyards are still being planted to guarantee future harvests

 

Strength in diversity

UK supermarkets do a great deal to promote the wine trade generally with their special £4.99 offers, and if this is how you prefer to buy (or limit your spend on) wine there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Italian supermarkets sell wine too, although of course in Southern Piedmont we can show you how to save money by buying direct from producers, which will give you excellent value for money.

Nevertheless, the real strength of Italian wine is the sheer diversity of choice, whether between grape varieties (many only found here), style of wine or individual wine producer.

Southern Piedmont produces white, rosé, red, still, sparkling, dry, sweet, dessert and aromatic wines - as well as grappa distilled from grape pomace - so there is something for everybody's taste.

An Italian Adventure of discovery

A result of the Italian wine trade's fragmentation is that many of these 'brands' are under-promoted internationally and hence little known, so here you can embark on a real Italian Adventure of discovery. We hope that these wine pages, as they develop, will give you just a hint of what is available.

Let us be your guide.

 

E mail: kerrie@anitalianadventure.co.uk

0039 0141 851 154

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