Dolcetto: the red that leads to Ovada and Acquese

Dolcetto is cultivated in several areas of Piemonte. In the territory of Ovada finds a strong relationship with the landscape and with the name Ovada DOCG, dedicated to wines obtained from this pure grape. It is one of the points where the journey from vine to wine meets a precise geography.

Start from Ovada, then explore Rocca Grimalda and Tagliolo Monferrato. The story of theOvadese connects countries to the countryside and valleys: it offers the context to arrive in the cellar with places and distances already recognizable.

The Dolcetto has dark grapes and bunches rather scatter them. Mature relatively early compared to Piedmontese varieties such as Barbera and Nebbiolo. On the enological level it stands out for a good color intensity and a generally contained acidity, with a final that can recall a bitter note.

The name Dolcetto belongs to the vine: Ovada DOCG is a dry wine. This distinction helps to read the label and start tasting with a clear reference. Following color, texture and finish, the grape acquires a more precise identity than that suggested by the name alone.

Dolcetto includes wines to drink young people and interpretations capable of facing aging. Ovada offers an important context to know this second perspective. The vine is better understood when the company's story puts together origin of grapes, processing and time chosen before sale.

Continue towards Acqui Terme and the hills of Acquese, or side by side Dolcetto the Cortese, other grapes present in the Upper Monferrato. The passage from red to white expands the journey and invites you to look at the territory through different productions.

Ovada offers a concrete starting point to get to know Dolcetto through the landscape. The confluence of the Stura in Orba places the city in a system of valleys and roads also directed towards the Ligurian hinterland. From the historic center, the visit can continue on the slopes that host countries and crops. The passage from the valley floor to the height makes visible distances and slopes; the presence of the vineyards enters an environment that gradually approaches the Apennines. This geography gives depth to the name of wine and invites you to spend time also at the stops outside the cellar.

Tagliolo Monferrato overlooks these valleys from a hilly position. The castle and the nucleus of the village open a historical reading of the territory, while the presence of the cellars bind the buildings to the culture of wine. A part of the municipality falls in the Natural Park of the Capanne di Marcarolo: the wine countryside is thus a context that also includes apennines. The city card allows to deepen architecture and history; the panorama helps to find on the ground the relationship between sea, valleys and roads.

From Rocca Grimalda to the Trisobbio, other stops extend the discovery of the Ovadese. In wine, Ovada DOCG and Dolcetto di Ovada DOC add two productive identities to know through their own insights. The same vine offers the connection to listen to differences in processing and time. In a visit, ask for the position of the vineyards connects the taste to the hills encountered; flanking a stretch of path to the stop in the village completes the experience. Dolcetto becomes a guide between agriculture, landscape and local history, with the possibility to continue towards Acqui Terme and the valley of Bormida.