Why Alto Piemonte Should Be Your Next Wine Region Trip According To A Sommelier And A Chef

In Northern Italy, in the foothills of the Alpine massif Monte Rosa, lies Alto Piemonte. This region was once celebrated for its wines before decades of problems — from bad weather to changing demographics — led to its near demise. But Alto Piemonte is again making its mark on the wine world with its reds, mainly from the Nebbiolo grape, called Spanna locally. If Niebollo sounds familiar, it's because of Barolo — the ultra-popular wine from further south in Piemonte that's made with these same grapes. Their counterparts from Alto Piemonte are more elegant with good tannins and lots of minerality due to the area's unique soil, according to Sommelier Danilo Ingannamorte.

"Usually Nebbiolo has good tannins. And that's the case... in Alto Piemonte, although the tannins are a little less aggressive than in Barolo, because the climate and the soil is different, so they tend to be a little less intense, but still there," he tells Chowhound. Alto Piemonte has 10 appellations, including Boca, Gattinara, Lessona, and Bramaterra, which correspond to various towns, he said. 

Ingannamorte, who owns the farm-to-table restaurant Erba Brusca in Milan, Italy, with his partner, Chef Alice Delcourt, has had a long love affair with Alto Piemonte. The couple's love of the wine region has produced Gather Experiences, a program with their friend Sonal Miller, which includes private wine retreats in Alto Piemonte, among other offerings. Of the wineries that have reclaimed the region's wine history, they have several favorites.

Back in 1999, father and son Paolo De Marchi and Luca De Marchi began resurrecting their family's vineyards. Today, Proprieta Sperino has eight hectares under cultivation and a fanbase that includes Danilo Ingannamorte. He considers this winery one of the best in Alto Piemonte, especially its Lessona Riserva. "I'd bet anything on this wine in a blind tasting among the best of Burgundy's pinot noirs," he said. In Boca, Le Piane, founded by Swiss-born winemaker Christoph Künzli, has been dedicated to revitalizing the region since 1998. Besides its well-respected Boca Riserva that does very well with aging, Le Piane also produces a red from a less known grape called Croatina, which Ingannamorte said is well-balanced, and a white from the Erbaluce grape.

In Gattinara, one of two Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) in Alto Piemonte (the other is Ghemme) — considered the highest classification in Italian wines — Ingannamorte suggests Antoniolo Gattinara and Travaglini Gattanari. Both are older, the first having been established in 1948 and the second in the 1920s. Travaglini helped keep the appellation alive over the years, according to Ingannamorte. "Gattinara is the appellation that managed to lose less vineyards," he said. He praised Antoniolo's reds made from Nebbiolo for their structure and juiciness. Finally, there's Colombera & Garella, which Ingannamorte said is indicative of younger wine makers who are helping to revitalize the region by clawing back land that had been lost to woodland to produce good reds.

Chef Alice Delcourt finds the wines of Alto Piemonte earthy and more interesting than Barolo. She said they can hold their own against rich foods, but pair well with simple meat dishes. At Erba Brusca, Delcourt often serves dishes like roasted pork neck, which work well with these wines, since the tannins can cut through the meat's fattiness. "What I really enjoy about them is that they can kind of go head-to-head with food without overpowering it, so you can also have food that's actually not that heavy," she said.

The region's reds also work with vegetable dishes, especially cabbage. Delcourt suggested cabbage with horseradish sauce, with the wine's spice able to keep pace with the horseradish. "Or you just drink the wine," Danilo Ingannamorte said. "Those wines that we call meditation wine... you don't have to eat with them, you just pair them with your thoughts."

Although Alto Piemonte may still be a bit under the radar, this underrated wine region producing some exceptional wines is once again coming into its own and, as of now, many of its wines are still reasonably priced. "There's a lot of young energy, Ingannamorte said. "You can sense it's not at the beginning but it hasn't yet reached its peak." While Ingannamorte and Delcourt highly recommend visiting Alto Piemonte in person, if you're not able to get to Italy, many of the region's wines can be found at retailers in the U.S. or online.