A king whose kingdom is slowly disappearing; The vineyard area planted with Dolcetto has been decreasing each year, and thus in Piemonte we find some 100 hectares fewer planted with this variety than was the case ten years ago. Many producers have planted Nebbiolo instead, chasing the success of Barolo and the likes. Today there is a renewed interest in tradition and biodiversity. Of the remaining 5.279 hectares of Dolcetto remaining, slightly more than 2.000 are located in the Monferrato region. The wine, which represents almost the entire identity of the upper (alto), is much misunderstood even in Italy itself, not least because of its name, the „little sweet one“, leading one to expect a sweet or at least a mild wine. However, the ancient name serves merely to remind us of the high level of natural fruit sugar found in the ripe grapes. At that time, nobody was concerned about marketing strategies, nor about whether the name might be misinterpreted, as the wines were frequently only produced for personal and local consumption. The sugars have always been completely fermented, and Dolcetto wine was and is a dry wine. However, let’s start at the beginning, with the vine from Acqui.

Acqui Terme, the origin of the „grape from Acqui“ (Photo: Katrin Walter)

The vine

When describing Dolcetto it is difficult to improve on the analysis presented by Giorgio Gallesio, one of the most important Piemontese ampelographers of the nineteenth century: „Vine from Acqui, the earliest ripening of all, medium-sized bunch, simple, longish, few round berries, very dark, reddish flower stems. The wine has an intense crimson red colour, it is delicate, soft, easily digested and can be drunk quite soon after the harvest. The common name for the vine is the ‚grape from Acqui‘ or ‚Dolcetto del Monferrato‘.“ Gallesio also gave us some tips as to the best location for this variety: „The climate of the region around Ovada appears to be best suited, as in this region the grapes ripen without any grapes falling off (caduta). (...) Early ripening is a great advantage in cool climatic zones, but can turn into a problem in warm regions, as the grapes will dry out prematurely and fall off“.

Nibieu oder Nibiö der Colli Tortonesi, sehr lockerbeerige Variante des Dolcetto (Foto: Az. Colombera)

The home of choice of Dolcetto lies in the foothills of the Apennine mountains, the hilly belt in which the upper and the lower Langa region meet and overlap, the area around Acqui (including the south of Bormida), the region around Ovada, the Ormeasco region (which lends its name to the Ligurian version of Dolcetto) in the upper Tanaro valley, in Pieve di Teco and in Pornassio. However, geologists point out that all these regions are located in the Scriva valley, and should actually be included with the alpine formation rather than with the Apennines; they are located precisely on the border of the two mountain ranges. Therefore, the upper Tortonese is really a part of the Apennines. Here, the Dolcetto is less widely distributed, although it certainly is found here as well. In Gavi and in the region around Tortona one finds a local biotype of Dolcetto with a sparse bunch and an intensively-coloured red flower stem; it is known traditionally as „Nibieu“, although it has nothing whatever to do with Nebbiolo. In climatic terms, this area is characterised by cooler temperatures, more prevalent winds and a slightly higher level of rainfall, compared to the traditional home of Barbera, with hills of lower altitude and vineyards that spread out towards the plains.

Dolcetto is a sensitive grape that suffers from excess heat, particularly when it is close to being ripe. The determination of the picking date is extremely important, as the channels in the stems will close down in overripe grapes, similar to what happens with Syrah: in practical terms there is a limited time window during which the assimilates will pass from the leaf to the fruit. If you miss this window, nothing further will come through, and any changes taking place in the berry will be limited to internal enzymatic reactions to the loss of water by evaporation. Because of this early ageing of the flower stem on damp, fertile soils, the grape berries literally drop off, sometimes without achieving full ripeness.

During the ripening phase, Dolcetto is quite happy to experience changes in temperature during the day, but fears too cold nights. It also does not handle drought very well. It is thus a grape variety with high demands in terms of climate, as is Pinot Noir. In fact, it is even less resistant to cold, and can achieve peak form only under very special climatic and soil conditions. This, together with its late shoot development and budburst, explains why Dolcetto is found mainly on the middle to upper hilly slopes (at 300 to 600 m above sea level), but not on north-facing slopes (Tramontana).

You do not have to be an ampelographer in order to recognise Dolcetto. In the light, the foliage has bronze-coloured shades that turn to a flaming and intense red in September. The bunches are exceptionally large with round berries that have a deep blue colour when ripe; it is sweet with a low level of acidity (from whence the name Dolcetto), and is sometimes characterised by an almond aftertaste, which is frequently found in the wine. Shoots develop at a late stage, which helps to protect the vine from frost, the onset of the ripening phase, on the other hand, is quite early: in good vintages, producers will start vying with each other at the end of July as to who can spot the first dark berries, an early sign of a good harvest.

Dolcetto vineyards in September (Photo: Az. Agr. Castello di Tagliolo)

Dolcetto is not a particularly fertile variety. Also, the internodal distances are short. These two factors combine to make it possible to plant the variety at high density in the vineyard, frequently with more than 5.000 vines per hectare. The Dolcetto wines of the Alto Monferrato with the most intense bouquet are derived from the white soils (terre bianche), which are rich in limestone, medium compact and well drained. The best vintages for Dolcetto are the years in which the last stage of summer is sunny but not too hot, when the soils have been able to accumulate a sufficient reserve of water. It ripens later than the Muscat grape, around the middle of September. Dolcetto is by no means a cosmopolitan grape, and does not adapt easily to unfamiliar conditions other than those it is used to in its home region. So far, not much experience has been gained with plantings outside of Piemonte: bei t in Central Italy, as far as Australia and the United States of America, virtually always only disappointments. It is only in the Santa Ynez Valley in California, to the north of Los Angeles that I have drunk good Dolcetto.

Row of Dolcetto vines in fully ripe stage (Photo: Az. Agr. Castello di Tagliolo)

Geography and the decrease in vineyard area

In the past forty years, the area traditionally planted with Dolcetto has decreased, and the wine has become more scarce. The main reasons for this can be seen in the fact that producers are less willing to cultivate the steep sloping sites and out-of-the-way hillsides of the Tanaro, Bormida, Belbo and Orba valleys on the one hand, and on the other side the competitive situation in the market with its increasing demand for other varieties: particularly Nebbiolo from the Langhe region and Moscato from the Acqui area. Neverthless, Dolcetto retains its strong roots in its traditional homeland, the Monregalese region, part of Langa in Cuneo province as well as in the area around Ovada in Alessandria province. The further away we go from these regions with the most important appellations of origin (DOC), the more Dolcetto disappears, until it totally loses the part of the protagonist, although it still maintains an important role in southern Piemonte as a whole. By the time you get to the area around Asti it is already a rare product. At this stage there are still ten communes in the whole of Piemonte, in which Dolcetto as a DOC wine exceeds a hundred hectares, of these eight are located in the Langhe and two in the Alto Monferrato Ovadese (Carpeneto and Rocca Grimalda).