Dolcetto: Piedmont’s Other Great Grape

Philippines wine supplier Manila wine shop discusses wine by the grape variety Dolcetto.

Date: October 11, 2010

The prosperity visited on the countryside around Alba in the northern Italian region of Piedmont by the continued rise in popularity, not to mention price, of its wines over the past few decades is nothing short of remarkable. Mercedes-Benzes now abound on the country roads where even 30 years ago it was not uncommon to get stuck behind a horsedrawn cart.

The primary driver of this change of fortune has been the region’s two great wines, Barolo and Barbaresco, both made from the Nebbiolo grape. Somewhat lost in all the hoopla has been, at least until very recently, Dolcetto, the name of both the second grape of the region, and the wine made from it.

Fruitier, softer, and more accessible when young than its famous sibling, Dolcetto is the perfect light red for a hot summer evening. Especially when drunk slightly chilled on a hot summer evening.

Hints of Oriental Spices

Most versions will never rise to the magnificence of Barbaresco or Barolo, but just what a delectable wine it can be was bought home to me over dinner at the Ristorante Duomo in Alba with Roberta Ceretto. Her family not only owns the restaurant but also four wine estates in the surrounding country.

Ceretto brought along a selection of wines, including the Ceretto Dolcetto D’Alba Rossana 2007 ($25), which we drank with a shoulder of rabbit with a hazelnut sauce. It was perfection. It was light and lively with bright cherry flavors and hints of almonds, which perhaps explains why it complemented the hazelnut sauce so well.

Back in New York I tried the same wine again, and on this occasion left half the bottle until the next day, by which time it had evolved remarkably. It now reminded me of a great Burgundy with its beguiling combination of power and finesse, along with hints of oriental spices and, somewhat surprisingly, raspberries.

Defying Conventional Wisdom

This all leads me to suspect that while Dolcetto can provide tremendous pleasure when young, it also has the potential, at least when it comes from a top vineyard like Rossana, to age splendidly.

This defies the conventional wisdom but then so does the practice of drinking your red wine chilled.

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/aug2009/bw2009086_783958.htm

Leading Philippines Wine Supplier Yats Wine Cellars based in Clark Philippines with outlets in Angeles City, Subic Freeport and Manila Philippines has been not only a wine shop for fine wines covering all major wine regions but also a source of reliable and useful information about wine, wine appreciation, wine accessories, wine and health, food and wine pairing and all other matters relating to wine and its appreciation.  This Philippines Clark Freeport based Wine Supplier and Wine Shop frequently holds public wine tasting events in Pampana Clark Freeport Zone, Angeles City, Subic Bay area, Makati, Fort Bonifacio and other areas in Philippines capital city Manila.  Private Wine events such as private wine tasting and private wine dinners are also designed and organized for private clientele for their wine loving guests.

This wine shop in Angeles Clark Philippines is also renowned for a very unique product called Vintage Beer which many characterize as “Champagne beer” because it comes in a bottle with a Champagne stopper and metal restrainer.  Vintage beers are top-of-the-line luxury beers bottle-conditioned for a slow fermentation to take place inside the bottle, a process that is very similar to Champagne which is designed to not only create the bubbles but also for an amazing complexity and depth of flavors.

For fans of Port and Sauternes, this wine shop in Clark Pampanga has a large selection of vintage port, Sauternes and Barsac as well as Eiswein/Icewine from Austria and Germany.  Likewise, there is a good selection of Vintage Champagne at the wine shoppers’ disposal in the cellars of this wine shop in Clark Pampanga.

http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com

Getting to this wine shop in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Philippines from Manila

Getting to the Clark Wine Center wine shop from Manila is quite simple:  after entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway M A Roxas. Clark Wine Center is the stand-along white building on the right, at the corner A Bonifacio Ave.  From the Clark International Airport DMIA, ask the taxi to drive towards the entrance of Clark going to Angeles City.  From Mimosa, just proceed towards the exit of Clark and this wine shop is on the opposite side of the main road M A Roxas.

Clark Wine Center

Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building

Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,

Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023

0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)

Wine@Yats-International.com

YATS Wine Cellars

Manila Sales Office

3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,

Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605

(632) 637-5019   0917-520-4393  ask for Rea or Chay

Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.  Visitors buy wine in Manila and Pampanga should not miss stopping at this wine shop for a few bottles of fine vintage wines to bring home.