As the Temperature Drops, Red Wine from Valle D'Aosta Rises to the Occassion

grosjean vineyards - courtesy of weinburgOctober has brought with it an undeniable fall chill.  Quickly following the drop in temperature will be a new harvest of fall ingredients and, in our case, a desire to start drinking more red wine.  Before it gets too cold, the October weather is perfect for that transition from warm weather white and rose to lighter "fall reds."  Italy's north western region of Valle d'Aosta is the perfect place to look.  Our friend and wine geek extraodinaire Dan Pucci has provided us a rundown of Italy's unique region.

Often overlooked in surveys of the Italian peninsula, Valle d’Aosta holds many great treasures for those interested in investigating. The alpine region, sandwiched between Piemonte, France and Switzerland, seamlessly blends the cultures and its neighbors into a uniquely Italian culture.  

The Wines of Valle d'Aosta have largely been untouched by the influences of ultra-modern wine making. Indigenous, local varietals are favored over the popular international grapes like merlot and cabernet sauvignon. Historically, these wines have been drunk locally and never exported in large amounts simply because there has not been a surplus to sell abroad.  The region is dominated by small farmers that grow grapes to sell to the local cooperative to help subsidize their other agricultural products. Cooperatives have a bad reputation in Italy for overproduced bulk, inferior wine. Many of these cooperatives were set up by the federal government after the Second World War as a way to sustain prices and production. Unfortunately, they have also become a dumping ground for inferior and unwanted grapes. Valle d'Aosta, along with Trentino-Alto Adige, has a long history of Cooperatives, some of which have been around for centuries.

old enfer d'arvier vineyards - courtesy liz nicholsonThe unique alpine growing conditions of Valle d'Aosta make for some of the most interesting Italian wines.  Bright acidity, lots of minerality, smoke, and other delicate aromatics are commonplace among these special wines.  Indigenous grapes like blanc de morgex, petite arvine, fumin, cornalin, torrette, and vien de nus provide producers and cooperatives alike an excellent platform to contribute to the growing success of Valle d'Aosta wine.

Les Cretes and Grosjean are two of the regions top producers and their elegant, traditional, and well-structured wines perfectly express Valle d'Aosta's terroir.  Caves de Donnas and Enfer d'Arvier are two of the region's top cooperatives.  Donnas produces an exceptional alpine nebbiolo (referred to as picotendro throughout the region) that's blended with a handful of indigenous grapes.  Enfer d'Arvier is a well-respected, cult favorite due to the fact that they harvest their grapes from the steep, terraced mountainsides of Arvier in Valle d'Aosta.  Collectively, their efforts have resulted in a spike in availability of Valle d'Aosta wines on the New York Market and we're happy to drink them as the weather turns colder.