Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
18 percent since 2000. And of course, we have
lost that beautiful kaleidoscope of colors, not to
mention biodiversity.
While the wine made with Dolcetto is reso-
lutely dry, never sweet, the grapes are quite
sweet and low in acidity (which explains its
name, “little sweet one”). Dolcetto, or Dosset in
Piedmontese dialect, was always much in favor
as a table grape. However, it is a diffi cult variety
to work with, and that is one reason why it has
slowly been falling out of favor with those who
have to tend the vines and makes the wines. For
one of Italy's best-loved and most-planted varie-
ties, Dolcetto's history and origins aren't well
known. It is believed to be a native of the Mon-
ferrato area of Piedmont, in the province of
Alessandria. Ligurians will object, as they
believe the variety to be original to their region,
where they have grown and produced Dolcetto
for centuries, often calling it Ormeasco (though
most often this name was reserved for the
wine). However, the word Ormeasco derives
from the city of Ormea, which is in Piedmont,
where the grape was also known as Uva
Ormeasca; there is evidence that it was brought
into Liguria by the Marchesi del Carretto, a
Piedmontese noble. In fact, written descrip-
tions of Dolcetto go back only as far as the six-
teenth century, though it's hard to believe the
variety was not found on Italian soil before
then. Interestingly, there have never been many
synonyms for Dolcetto, nor confusion with
other varieties. We know two of Italy's most
important political fi gures loved Dolcetto and
cultivated it extensively: Luigi Einaudi, Italy's
fi rst president, planted thousands of Dolcetto
vines on his Piedmontese estate; and at the
Castello di Grinzane Cavour, owner Camillo
Benso, Count of Cavour and an Italian prime
minister, left many handwritten letters docu-
menting his amazement at how much earlier
Dolcetto ripened compared to other Piedmon-
tese cultivars, and at the very interesting prices
Dosset grapes fetched at the nearby Alba
market.
Dolcetto is a variety with many biotypes: not
only do they look slightly different from one
another, but they behave differently too. The
most important phenotypic difference is the
color of the stalk: most have a green-tinged
stalk leading to the grape bunch, but at least
one biotype's stalk becomes fi ery red when the
grapes are fully ripe. Found in the area around
Tassarolo near Alessandria, it is called Nibiò
(Nibieu in local dialect) or Dolcetto dal Pedun-
colo Rosso (“Dolcetto of the red stalk”). Despite
what
Nibieu
might imply, it is not a Nebbiolo at
all, though locals will refer to it as one. There is
apparently even a very rare white-berried Dol-
cetto (I haven't seen it yet), whose grapes are
blended with all the others by locals who make
wines for family consumption; it's not an albino
Dolcetto but a distinct cultivar (Schneider and
Mannini 2006). Dolcetto must not be confused
with the rare Dolcetto di Boca, a native typical
of the Boca area, nor with the Douce Noire of
France (called Charbono in California), which
was once erroneously believed to be synony-
mous with Dolcetto.
Some Dolcetto biotypes are very fertile and
highly productive, others produce only a few
berries per plant. Available clones are many:
R3, CN 69, CVT CN 22 (which gives very
refi ned dolcetto wines), CVT CN 275, AL-DO
67, AL-DO 100, CVT 8 (characterized by strong
sugar buildup and potentially high alcohol lev-
els, it gives high-quality, complex wines; it's
also a rare short or stocky-bunched Dolcetto, as
most have elongated bunches), CVT 237 (with
CVT 8, two of the few clones to have pyramidal
bunches, as most are conical), CVT 167,
UNIMI-VITIS DOL VV901, UNIMI-VITIS
DOL VV910, VCR 464, VCR 466, and CVT 4.
Expert producers such as Michele Chiarlo and
Pio Boffa have told me the most interesting
clones are CN 69, CVT CN 22, and CVT 8.
No matter which Dolcetto clone one
chooses, it remains a diffi cult variety to grow as
its buds are fragile and break easily. What's
more, it grows low to the ground, requiring
backbreaking vineyard work. It has poor vigor,
and tends to give scrawny vines. Close to har-
vesttime, Dolcetto becomes very weather sensi-
tive and excessive swings in maximum and
