Dolcetto Wine Guide: Dolcetto Regions and Tasting Notes

Dolcetto ("little sweet one") is a soft, fruity red grape variety grown only in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, where it is drunk young (in the first two to three years) as a varietal wine. Dolcetto plays an essential role for Piedmontese winemakers, who can sell the young dolcetto while they wait for their Barbera and Nebbiolo (the grape that produces Barolo and Barbaresco) wines to age. Dolcetto also ripens early, thus winegrowers can plant it on colder areas of a vineyard.

Dolcetto is grown almost entirely in two provinces: Cuneo and Alessandria (Monferrato) in the region of Piemonte in northwest Italy. There are seven Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) appellations: Acqui, Alba, Asti, Diano d’Alba, Dogliani, Langhe Monregalesi, and Ovada. Although most dolcetto wines are sold young, Dolcetto d’Ovada DOCG, Dolcetto di Dogliani DOCG, and Dogliani Superiore are aged for at least one year.

Rare dolcetto wines made in Liguria are known as Ormeasco and are typically harvested later and aged a year or more. The dolcetto grape has also spread to other wine regions, including Napa Valley and Russian River Valley in California (where it's sometimes known as charbono) and Australia.

Despite the name, dolcettos are almost always light and dry rather than sweet. Dolcetto grapes produce red wines that are low-acidity, juicy, and earthy. The grape's blue-black skins produce a deep ruby color and tannic flavor even after a brief period of skin contact, so most winemakers opt for a short maceration period to soften the tannins. You can think of low-acidity, tannic dolcetto as the opposite of another popular Italian red grape: high-acidity, low-tannin barbera.

Common dolcetto tasting notes include licorice; fruit flavors such as black cherry, blueberry, blackberry, and prune; and a bitter almond finish.

Dolcetto is easy to drink and pairs well with hearty Italian food such as pasta and pizza, especially those with garlicky tomato sauce, meat, or eggplant. It's also great with spicy foods like vegetable curries.

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