Ep. 1808 Petit Rouge & Picolit By Stephanie Guth | Italian Grape Geek

The Italian wine podcast is the community driven platform for Italian winegeeks around the world. Support the show by donating at italian wine podcast dot com. Donate five or more Euros, and we'll send you a copy of our latest book, my Italian Great Geek journal. Absolutely free. To get your free copy of my Italian GreatGeek journal, click support us at italian wine podcast dot com, or wherever you get your pods. Welcome to the Italian GreatGeek Podcast. Join us as we explore personal stories of travel and tasting with Italy's must know grape varietals. Chart your own course with my Italian GreatGeek Journal. Your personal tasting companion to accompany the series. Available now on Amazon with thanks to Colangelo and partners for their generous support with this project. So the fourth variety I will be talking about is Pite Rouge, a red wine grape, primarily associated with the Austa Valley Northwest Italy. So a small mountainous region located near the borders of Switzerland and France. It's an indigenous grape variety of this area and plays a significant role in the production of the wines from the region. Though they may not make a lot of wine, what they're making is delicious. So some key information about the grape it's well adapted to the challenging mountainous terrain and cool climate of the Austa valley. So something that I think as a Canadian, we can relate to well in terms of the style of wine that's coming out of the valley. But, the terrain in the cooler climate really helps to contribute sort of a unique alpine character to the wines produced. And this is particularly evident in petite rouge. So The grape is well suited to the valley's high altitude vineyards and it's known for its ability to ripen in cooler climates. The grape clusters are typically small and compact and the berries have thick skins. Which can contribute to the structure and color of the wines. So wines made from petit rouge are often medium to surprisingly full bodied with moderate to high acid and really decent tenant structure. They can display a range of red fruit flavors from cherry, raspberry, sometimes plum, pomegranate cranberry. So all sorts of nice sort of tart fruit characters. The wines may also have herbal and spicy notes which I think are what drew me to them the most because it really adds complexity to their flavor profile frequently used as part of a blend in the valley wines. Wein makers combine it with other local grape varieties such as Van de noose or Fumin or Cornaline. It's used in the production of both still and sparkling red wines, which are a little bit more rare. In terms of a personal connection to the grape, I only ever had it in Italy, but I was so struck by it. I found a wine shop that definitely that sold it, you know, and, bought a few bottles to bring back home. Unfortunately, this was a few years ago, and I don't have any of these left, which makes me think I need to once again travel to Italy to pick up some wine for my seller. Like I mentioned, I only ever had it once, and this was during the Via course, we had a section or a sort of an afternoon session concentrating on wines, Northern Italian wines, or less sought after Northern Italian wines. And I just remember loving all the wines coming from this sort of tiny region. What interested me most in learning about the grape style was sort of their uniqueness, but yet how similar notes kind of translate to a lot of wines that we actually grow here in the Niagara region in Ontario. So also a very cool climate region, not necessarily alpine in nature, but sort of a lot of herbal characters, I could see a connection between the wines of the Valodusta in particular pity rouge and some wine styles that are coming out of Niagara. So unfortunately, like many natives and indigenous Italian varietals, we don't find it in this market in Ontario. I wish we did more, but a big, I think, deterrent for us here being the monopoly market is the pricing structure. So wines that are a little bit more unique and in smaller production often aren't the most inexpensive, especially when the examples are being done really well. And unfortunately, we have high taxes and shipping and all the rest So examples like this definitely come in in the more premium price range, and I think that is maybe a deterrent for some, some importers, unfortunately, but hopefully that will change. In terms of some benchmark producers worth Triime, definitely La Cret, Anselmee, Danilo Tomlin, and Didier Gerbelle. In terms of personal food pairing recommendations, I think, again, a grape variety that is very adaptable to a lot of different foods. So nice diversity. With its sort of moderate tannins and vibrant acidity, it pairs really well with some game dishes, so like a venison stew or if you are having, some cured meats on a charcuterie platter. So if you're hanging out with a bunch of friends and having sort of a large cheese and meat platter, I think it's a nice fun line to have with that. Coming back to America, the Italy International Academy, the ultimate Italian wine qualification will be held in New York City from four to six March twenty twenty four. Have you got what it takes to become the next Italian wine ambassador? Find out at benitely dot com. So the fifth and final grape that I will be talking about is equally. A white grape variety is primarily associated with the Freulee Venezia Julia region in northeastern Italy. The grape is renowned for its role in producing sweet and highly aromatic wines, so often characterized by a rich and complex flavor profile. So definitely worth seeking out. It has a long history in Frugally, particularly in the provinces of Udini and Pordinone. Its cultivation is traditionally associated with small family owned vineyards, which actually might play part in making it sort of harder and a more rare wine to seek out late ripening grape variety, and it's known for its small compact clusters and small berries. So because of this cluster structure, the grape requires definitely careful attention in the vineyard, and it's susceptible to diseases and somewhat challenging to cultivate. So we definitely don't see this variety cultivated on a large scale. But if cultivated well, you are rewarded with high quality sort of very distinctive wines. It's primarily used in the production of sweet wines and often featured in late harvest and Pecito style wines. So these wines are characterized by a rich golden color, a luscious mouthfeel, a nice complex bouquet of aromas, like honey, apricot, peach, mango, papaya, tropical fruits, and sort of yellow floral notes. We know the pacito method involves the grapes being partially dried before pressing, and this concentrates the sugars and flavors contributing to the intense sweetness and complexity found in these wines. It's limited production contributes to its reputation as a rare and prestigious wine, and its low yields and labor intensive cultivation contribute to the scarcity of Picley wines. So in terms of a personal connection, I, again, have only, unfortunately, had the chance to try this variety once, and it was a suite still style. And it was during the Via Course in Italy. We were lucky to have so many indigenous and rare varieties during the course. What interested me most in learning about the grape is its complexity in terms of aromas and flavors. So sweet wines I find are so underappreciated and harder to come by and just learning about what this indigenous grape can give you is just was so delicious. It's so worth seeking out. So again, unfortunately, in the Ontario market, I have never ever seen this wine be available, but I will definitely make it my mission to try and find there are some agencies here that specialize in only Italian line, and there might be the opportunity here and there to private order something from them. Some benchmark producers are actually producers that are quite well known for other wines as well. So Ronquille D'Siala, Livio faluga, Aquila Deltore are definitely producers that we see in the Ontario market, but just, unfortunately, I have yet to see their pecoly wine on the market. So in terms of personal food pairing recommendations, a dessert wine like Piculi that sweet and complex could be enjoyed on its own as its own dessert or with a yellow plum tart, a dessert with honey notes or like a honey crumble or in Germany, it's called a bean and cheese cake. So, like, a honey cake. That's actually quite light, but shares a lot of the sort of honey nutty notes that the wine does. It could also go with some creamy cheeses and some custard pastries. Listen to the Italian wine podcast, wherever you get your podcasts. We're on SoundCloud Apple Podcasts spa to buy himalaya FM and more. Don't forget to subscribe and rate the show. If you enjoy listening, please consider donating through Italianwine podcast dot com. Any amount helps cover equipment, production, and publication costs. Until next time. Chichi.