Freisa and his second childhood!

There is a wine in Piedmont that is experiencing a second youth!

Consider that in the nineteenth century it was undoubtedly the most consumed wine in Turin. We are talking about the Freisa, which has a noble history, but is still counted by enthusiasts among the great grape varieties (and therefore wines) of Piedmont

To better understand the origins of the freisa grape variety, we have to go back to the late Middle Ages, when the "uva fresearum" was considered a variety capable of producing quality wines, fragrant and with a lot of character, typical of Piedmont and the subalpine areas.

Freisa, the origin of the name and a little history

The name derives from fresia (in Piedmontese dialect) or fraise (in French), or strawberry, because of its characteristics related not only to its color, but also to a complex fruity aroma in which the strawberry undoubtedly plays the leading role. Starting in the nineteenth century, when studies on the genetics of grape varieties began to delve more deeply into the DNA of individual varieties, this grape was associated with the nebbiolo, and indeed, recent research shows that they are not the same grapes, but that there is certainly a close family relationship.

As mentioned, wines made from this red grape variety dominated consumption in Turin and the hills surrounding the capital from the eighteenth century and throughout the nineteenth century. The Freisa wines of the time were usually sweet (a characteristic common to many expensive wines of the time) and sparkling, also because both sugar and carbon dioxide were (and are) essential to temper one of the peculiarities of the grape variety, namely its tannin content, which can sometimes give it a bitter taste.

Today, it is the dry and non-sparkling versions that are the most successful, the result of long macerations and aging in steel or large barrels. However, some producers, in the name of tradition, continue to produce sparkling versions, the result of refermentation in the bottle, or slightly sweet versions.

The Freisa in the main appellations

The Freisa is currently grown throughout Piedmont and is an authorized variety in the main DOCs, from the regional Piedmont DOC to other famous DOCs, where it is allowed 15%. In other appellations it is the absolute protagonist and in this case its name is accompanied by that of the area of origin, as is especially the case for the Freisa di Chieri and the Freisa d'Asti, the Colli Tortonesi Freisa, the Langhe Freisa, the Monferrato Freisa or the Pinerolese Freisa. And although the grape variety did not go through a rosy period in the twentieth century, because other varieties were chosen in the region, for the past twenty years or so Freisa has been experiencing a second youth thanks to several producers who have rightly bet on it and manage to bottle fresh, cheerful, fragrant and very drinkable wines.

The most suitable areas remain the historical areas, namely the hills of Turin and the Monferrato of Asti and Alessandria. The plants prefer calcareous and clayey soils and especially like temperate climates and especially dry autumns, given their late ripening