Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
such as Duchman Family Winery and Man-
dola. Texas isn't often thought of as an impor-
tant wine production area, but the wines
deserve attention and credit: the 2008 Dolcetto
by Duchman Family Winery was named one of
the ten best Texas wines in 2010, but also won
double gold at the 2010 San Francisco Interna-
tional Wine Competition. There's plenty of dol-
cetto to choose from in New Mexico; though
the level of winemaking in this state stands to
improve, I am fascinated and thoroughly enthu-
siastic about the efforts made by many wineries
I visited on a trip a few years back. Black Mesa,
Luna Rossa, and Vivác all make dolcettos from
New Mexico-grown grapes, and I plan on fol-
lowing their progress.
There are also many fi ne examples of dol-
cetto made in Australia, though it's fair to say
the wines have encountered less success there
than Nebbiolo and especially Barbera. Very
interesting wines by Box Stallion, Catherine
Vale Vineyard (where they make a
dolcetto
rosato
called Dolcetto Rosé with a small addi-
tion of semillon), Grant Burge (they make a
sparkling version blended with a little shiraz),
and Parish Hill. Last but not least, an unlikely
source for high-quality, thoroughly excellent
dolcettos is Heron's Flight in New Zealand's
Matakana Coast wine country, less than an
hour north of Auckland. They make as many as
four different wines from Dolcetto: three mon-
ovarietals (Reserve, Unplugged, and a
rosato
)
and a blend with Sangiovese.
Einaudi*** (Tecc, from vines planted in 1937;
one taste tells you old vines are at work here),
Marziano Abbona** (Papà Celso), Francesco
Boschis** (Sorì San Martino), and Pecchen-
nino** (Siri d'Jermu). For Ormeasco, try:
Lorenzo Ramò*** (many different versions: try
the Sciac-trà and the Passito, a rare air-dried
version), Lupi** (Sciac-trà, a
rosato
), Cascina
Nirasca, Fontanacota (both the Ormeasco and
the Sciattrà are simple and fresh), Case Rosse**
(Sciac-trà), and Depero* (Sciac-trà). Colle Se-
reno** makes an excellent
passito.
For Nibiò,
try: Daglio** (Nibiö), La Colombera** (Suciaja,
a word derived from the local dialect meaning
“droughty”; these vines were planted in the
1930s by owner Elisa Semino's grandfather),
Rugrà* (Picùla Rùsa), Cascina degli Ulivi*
(Terre Rosse; made biodynamically, it can be
marred by excessive volatile acidity in some vin-
tages), and Forti del Vento* (Ventipassi).
Dorona
where it's found:
Veneto.
national regis-
try code number:
460.
color:
white.
Dorona was almost always viewed in the
past as a table grape, probably because of the
big, round, juicy berries that also caused it to be
called Garganega dall'Oro (in the Colli
Euganei), Garganega Piramidale, Gargane-
gona, and Garganega Grossa. In fact, the vari-
ety is distinct from Garganega though closely
related to it; its offi cial name, Dorona, is that
typically used on the islands of the Venetian
lagoon. Apparently, Dorona was well known
and described in fourteenth-century Venice,
and there are good descriptions of it both by
Acerbi (1825) and in the
Ampelografi a della Pro-
vincia di Treviso
(1870). However, given Gar-
ganega's immense intravarietal variability, it
may be that some of those supposed Dorona
sightings were instead of one of the many dif-
ferent Garganega biotypes, especially the large-
berried ones. In this light, results by Di Vecchi
Staraz, Bandinelli, Boselli, This, Boursiquot,
Laucou, Lacombe, and Varès (2007) defi ning
Dorona as the result of a natural cross between
wines to try:
For Dolcetto d'Acqui, try Paolo
Pizzorno Vini** (Il Commensale). For Dolcetto
d'Alba, try: Marcarini*** (Boschi di Berri;
made from centenary ungrafted vines, this is a
great Dolcetto wine) and Vajra***. For Dolcetto
di Diano d'Alba, try: Gigi Rosso** (Moncolom-
betto), Giovanni Veglio**, and Fratelli Savi-
gliano**. For Dolcetto di Dogliani, try: Quinto
Chionetti*** (Briccolero), Einaudi**, Osvaldo
Barberis** (Valdibà), Pecchennino* (San
Luigi), San Fereolo* (Valdibà), and San
Romano* (Bricco delle Lepri). For Dolcetto di
Ovada, try Luigi Tacchino**. For Dogliani, try:
