Dolcetto is reviewing his identity
Posted on: 01-12-2019 om 17:36:34
| Karina Imschoot
The Dolcetto looking for an identity
The seminar devoted to Dolcetto at high altitude - the Alta Langa, to be clear - aroused a great deal of interest. On Sunday 17 September, the Battuti church in Albaretto della Torre was packed with people, producers, technicians, journalists and authorities. Dolcetto's future and its relationship with the market and the consumer are close to many people's hearts. The year of Dolcetto, promoted by the Piedmont region, has also brought a new step in the debate and awareness. Several requests have emerged from the speakers' table, which should make us think and help to plan a different future for this vine and its wines.
Firstly, many have referred to the large number of wines with designations of origin that are wholly or partly dependent on this vine. The list is long and it is not even worth remembering. One of the few countercurrent choices - the confluence of Dolcetto delle Langhe monregalesi with Dogliani - is not yet sufficiently appreciated. If one had stayed with Albese, it would originally have been better to create a large Dolcetto delle Langhe or Langhe Dolcetto, with the possibility of making specific entries related to situations of higher quality and conviviality such as Dogliani, Diano, Treiso, Monforte, Albaretto della Torre, Montelupo and others. The choice made then was different and today it would be difficult to change it. There are too many acquired rights to respect.
The report of Federico Spanna of the phytopathological service of the Piedmont region was very much appreciated. The focus of his speech was on the climate, the environmental condition that makes it bizarre and no longer bizarre. Now the demonstrations are more distressing, but it is since 1985 that it no longer goes as it should. And climate events have a direct impact on areas and crops. Spanna presented a comparison of climate data collected in Dogliani and Serravalle Langhe. The comparison shows that in warm years there are few differences between the different heights, while the differences in cool years increase, with better results in height than at lower altitudes. Spanna's opinion was drastic: "Climate change and climate fluctuations have a major impact on crops, plant diseases, parasites and their interactions: the effects are mainly reflected in the high concentration of CO2, temperature fluctuations, precipitation amounts and their distribution, extreme events of opposing signals and evapotranspiration".
The strong link between Dolcetto and its daily consumption has damaged this wine and its identity. And it has nothing to do with whether it is a difficult vine, whether it needs attention and punctual interventions or whether its wine requires rigour and attention to the behaviour of the producer. It must be decisive that Dolcetto itself has the characteristics of an international wine, ready to drink, but also able to withstand time, eclectic in its behavior on the table, but not banal or too simple. It depends on the fact that Dolcetto wine can be an example of harmony and scent, which has its own style in telling the story of a vintage.
It is true: it has a certain name, which can also be misleading. Dolcetto is not a sweet wine at all!
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