Great Values from Piedmont

By Ray Isle

Home to Italy’s great Nebbiolo-based reds, Piedmont offers value with delicious Dolcettos and Barberas.

Value Wines

2007 Marcarini Fontanazza Dolcetto d’Alba ($16)

Marcarini’s least-expensive Dolcetto, robust and earthy, comes from vines growing primarily in the La Morra subregion of Piedmont.

2006 Prunotto Fiulot Barbera d’Asti ($17)

Graceful and bursting with lively berry fruit, this youthful Barbera is aged for only four months in stainless steel tanks.

2005 Coppo Camp du Rouss Barbera d’Asti ($19)

Coppo got its start in the 1800s making Moscato but has transformed into a Barbera specialist. This modern-style wine, with its rich black cherry flavor, gains spiciness from aging in new French oak barrels.

2006 Damilano Nebbiolo d’Alba ($20)

This simply named Nebbiolo d’Alba is much less expensive than Barolo or Barbaresco would be but offers many similar characteristics: an aroma of violets and cherries, elegant fruit and chewy tannins.

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Published October 2008