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Dolcetto di Ovada DOC: villages and table in the Ovadese

DOC · Red

Panorama of Cremolino, village of Ovadese.
Panorama of Cremolino, village of Ovadese.Photo: Davide Papalini · CC BY-SA 3.0 · resized version
  1. 01Region
  2. 02Grape variety
  3. 03Wine
  4. 04Winery

From the region to the glass

Dolcetto di Ovada DOC, a wine to discover

The Dolcetto di Ovada DOC is a direct encounter with grapes and the territory that gives it its name. The wine accompanies a landscape of hilly villages, valleys and crops, in which Ovada offers a citizen reference. The visit allows you to know a red tied to the table and agricultural work, following the thread of Dolcetto between neighboring countries.

The vineyard in the geography of Ovadese

The area includes Ovada and numerous surrounding municipalities. The disciplinary reserve the production of hillside vineyards, recalling the importance of position and exposure for the ripening of grapes. These elements can be observed during the journey: the relief, the design of the slopes and the alternation between crops make visible the agricultural geography from which the bottle is born.

Cremolino, Trisobbio and Rocca Grimalda offer a route between villages ofOvadese. The journey can move through a sequence of points of view, from the internal routes of the countries to the countryside crossed between one stage and the other. The profiles of historical buildings give references to the hills and help to read the relationship between inhabited and cultivated land.

A name and a daily culture

The DOC recognition dates back to 1972. The name Dolcetto di Ovada binds a Piedmont variety to a territory in which wine preserves an important presence in agricultural life. The bottle allows to talk about the vines and the wine cellar, but also of the place that the wine occupies at the table. This convivial dimension is a key to knowing Dolcetto through a simple and concrete experience.

The term Dolcetto indicates the vine, while the wine is dry. The distinction helps those who meet him for the first time and opens the tasting with a clear reference. The work of the producer tries to value the fruit and balance of the sip, giving the familiar name a recognizable quality. During a visit, the story of the vineyard makes more personal a bottle designed to accompany the meal.

Fruit and mandored character

The Dolcetto is the basis of wine. The description of the name describes a ruby red, dry, with a vinous character and with possible nuances. The taste can start from the fruit and continue on the consistency, observing how the wine leaves a feeling after the drink. The finish becomes an element to be found when the glass accompanies different preparations.

The personality of Dolcetto is well known in comparison with other Piedmontese reds. Its acidity generally contained and tannic presence give a different rhythm than Barbera. The visit to a winery offers the opportunity to connect these characteristics to the maturation of grapes and to the choices of vinification. Each producer builds a proper balance, maintaining the link between vine and ovadese origin.

A table between the stages of travel

A stop with meats, first dishes and meat preparations allows you to know the Dolcetto of Ovada inside a meal. Wine can follow the variety of flavors, from simpler to richer. Conviviality makes taste less isolated and helps to observe how they change fruit, tannin and persistence when the cup meets food.

To deepen the territory, continue withOvada DOCG, distinct name obtained from the same grape and linked to a production path. The Dolcetto d'Asti instead leads to other Piedmontese hills. You can choose to stay in the Ovadese, visiting a second village, or follow the vine on a later journey: both directions add a concrete comparison.

Fra Cremolino and Trisobbio, leave time for the walk in the historic centers and to the view of the countryside. The route acquires a personal measure when each country preserves a distinct image, which returns to memory by reading the name of wine.

Wine begins with the grape

Grape varieties in the story of Dolcetto di Ovada DOC

The hills before the glass

Regions to explore

A village begins the journey

Villages, stories and routes

Follow the villages connected to the story and continue among their stories and itineraries of the hills.

OvadaCremolinoTrisobbioRocca Grimalda

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