Ovada DOCG: Dolcetto and the time of the hills

Ovada offers a starting point to explore theOvadese, territory that is read through the relationship between the valleys and the villages in height. The city center allows you to direct your visit; the roads towards the nearby municipalities give access to vineyards, pools and glimpses of the reliefs. The wine finds a recognizable frame in this alternation of environments.

Rocca Grimalda, Cremolino and Tagliolo Monferrato offer three stages to approach the landscape. Their positions and profiles of historic buildings make the link between settlement and hill legible. The visit can alternate routes of the villages and panoramic points, so that each inhabited center is also recognized in the wider design of the countryside.

The DOCG was recognized in 2008 and can also be indicated as Dolcetto di Ovada Superiore. This double possibility tells the relationship between grape and place: the vine is the productive reference, Ovada is the name that unites the geography and the work of producers. The name includes many municipalities, in which the vineyard enters nearby but different landscapes.

Aging time is part of this identity. The disciplinary defines maturation paths and also includes the mention Reserve. For those who visit wineries, this opens a precise theme: how is Dolcetto's evolution accompanied and what characteristics are sought in wine? The answer helps to read the taste inside a project, connecting the care of the vineyard to the choice of presenting a bottle after a certain period.

The ampelographic base is 100% Dolcetto. This fact makes the comparison between producers and vintages particularly interesting: the vine remains the same, while the vineyard and wine cellar choices give shape to different results. The disciplinary profile is dry, with fruity or mandorated calls, and the color can evolve from ruby to garnet.

In the glass you can see how the fruit and texture of the sip meet. Dolcetto has a tannic component to follow next to its generally contained acidity. A dedicated tasting allows you to recognize weaving and persistence, letting wine open during the meal. Comparison between a younger bottle and a long-lasting one adds depth to the story of the denomination.

Meat dishes, stuffed pasta and tasty cheeses offer opportunities to get to know the Ovada. The structure of the wine can accompany intense preparations, while the fruit preserves a thread to be found in different meetings. The lunch completes a day in the villages: the glass returns to the countryside and allows you to connect the label to Rocca Grimalda, Cremolino or Tagliolo just crossed.

The Dolcetto di Ovada DOC is a distinct denomination and offers the most direct comparison. The two pages allow you to know the same vine through different productive paths, maintaining a nearby territorial reference. You can then follow the Dolcetto d'Asti to enlarge the journey beyond the Ovadese and observe other Piedmontese expressions of this grape.

A final stop on the village of Rocca Grimalda gathers the day in an image: the country on the relief, the countryside below and the movement of the valleys form the name Ovada met in the glass.