Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
wines are anathema to many modern wine
drinkers. Its perfume, though, is haunting and
complex, its crisp strawberry and sour red-
cherry fl avors memorable. In fact, Freisa wines
have fragrances and freshness that other varie-
ties can't match, and locals appreciate its high
acidity and tannic bite, both useful when
matching wines to foods in need of robust pal-
ate-cleansing acidity. Thanks to its wealth in
tannins, Freisa wines actually age well, though
few wine lovers ever think of cellaring them.
If Freisa wines have a problem, it is that they
can be bitter, as the grape variety packs poten-
tially brutal tannins. For this reason, producers
got into the habit of leaving some residual sugar
to counterbalance this bitterness. But some
(including Aldo Conterno) don't care for this
solution, preferring to make slightly sparkling
versions, in the belief that the carbon dioxide
helps neutralize, to a degree, the wine's tannic
mouthfeel. Most importantly, recent studies by
Caudana, Rolle, and Gerbi (2009) have shown
that to make the best possible wine with Freisa
very ripe grapes are key, so that the polyphenols
in the pips (Freisa's are particularly bitter) are
maximally ripe. Leaving Freisa on the vine a lit-
tle longer than expected is less of a risk with
this variety than it might be with other varieties
due to its thick skin; furthermore, slightly late
harvests help decrease the malic acid concen-
tration, which in Freisa is always high and
responsible for the high-acid mouthfeel (not
always appreciated by consumers). These same
researchers have shown that the fi nished wine
has especially high concentrations of geraniol
(which explains the strong rose aroma), 3-oxo-
alpha-ionol (tobacco), and dihydro-beta-ionone
(violet). Luca Balbiano of the Balbiano estate
(producer of excellent Freisa di Chieri) is bull-
ish about the wine's future prospects:
“Undoubtedly, production volumes are down,
and almost all the wine guides and magazines
have ignored our sparkling and dry wines, but
we persevere, in the knowledge that we have an
excellent product to sell.” Enrica Gastaldi of La
Borgarella adds: “I think similarities between
Freisa and Nebbiolo are not stressed enough,
and they should be, since the two are relatives.
It might help people focus on our grape and
wine more.”
wines to try:
For Langhe Freisa and Freisa
d'Asti, try: Cavallotto*** (Bricco Boschis),
Gianni Voerzio*** (Bastioni Sotto La Morra),
La Montagnetta*** (Bugianen, perhaps my
favorite Freisa of all; I Ronchi Vivace; and Il
Ciaret, which is a chiaretto), GD Vajra*** (the
very structured, serious Kyè), Brezza** (Santa
Rosalia), Gilli** (Vivace, Vivace Luna di Mag-
gio, Vigna del Forno, Arvelé), and Scarpa** (La
Selva di Moirano). For Freisa di Chieri, try: Bal-
biano**, La Borgarella** (Barlèt, aged in oak
barrels), and Terre dei Santi* (La Torrigiana;
made by the former Cantina Sociale del Freisa,
now merged with the Cantina Sociale di San
Damiano d'Asti).
Fumin
where it's found:
Valle d'Aosta.
national
registry code number:
89.
color:
red.
Perhaps more than any other grape variety,
Fumin has demonstrated to wine lovers every-
where the virtues of stubborn people. In the
1960s, famous viticulture experts and univer-
sity professors such as Giovanni Dalmasso and
Giuseppe dell'Olio, then Italo Cosmo, recom-
mended that Fumin be abandoned, for in their
view it was not a variety that could make wines
of any merit. Unfortunately, this led to Fumin
almost disappearing from its original home,
the slopes of the central valley that plunge
down toward the Dora Baltea River in Italy's
bucolic Valle d'Aosta. Fortunately though, not
all vine growers and farmers paid heed to those
“expert” words; a good thing too, since today
Fumin is universally recognized as being the
highest-quality native red grape variety Valle
d'Aosta has.
There's a lesson to be learned here, one that
applies to modern society too, as it is not rare
nowadays to hear media-darling winemakers
denigrating the potential of some native grapes:
wine lovers can fi nd some measure of solace in
