Gavi: One of Piedmont's Great White Wines

As we round out these last couple weeks of November, this week I'm focusing on the Piedmont wine region and one of its great white grapes, Cortese, specifically the wines produced from the Gavi area. You can find this area located in the southeastern corner of Piedmont where Piedmont merges with the region of Liguria within the provinces of Monferrato and Alessandria. The landscape of this area not only has hills and valleys with the Ligurian Apennines nearby, but it’s only about 30 miles north of Genoa with the Ligurian Sea influences.

Wines have shown up in documents within the area of Gavi since 972 AD, but this region had historically been based on red wines. By the 17th century documentation shows that the vineyards had completely converted over to the Cortese grape. After phylloxera had hit the area, producers chose to replant their vineyards with the Cortese grape over the Dolcetto grape. Much success and attention was drawn to the Cortese grape driven by the producer La Scolca. 

In 1974 Gavi earned the DOC certification. In the 80’s Cortese’s quality declined due to its high yields and production of neutral, acidic wines. Into the 90’s Cortese’s quality recovered earning the Gavi DOCG certification in 1998. The Gavi DOCG wines hail from 11 communes within the Alessandria province produced from 100% Cortese. You may also see the wines labeled as Gavi di Gavi and those are wines that come specifically come from the Gavi commune.  

Legend has it that these wines were named after Princess Gavia. In 528 she fled the wrath of her father, Clodomiro the King of France, due to her love for a young page that he disapproved of. She fled to the hills of Gavi to seek refuge from the troops and hence this area was named after her. Not sure of how much truth there are in these legends of these names come about, but it is always a fun read. 

The area in which Gavi is grown has a moderately continental climate with cold winters and warm summers. There is great air circulation with such close proximity to the Ligurian Sea. The wines of Gavi will show better in warmer vintages as they will have more body and flavors than those in cold vintages that tend to be more lean. Cortese tends to be a grape that has nice crisp acidity with subtle aromas showing notes of citrus, almond and minerality. It’s a wine that is meant to be drunk in its youth. The Consorzio Tutela del Gavi descibes the Cortese grape as “elegant and a delicate bouquet, with hints of fresh fruit and white flowers, with notes of citrus and bitter almonds, enriched with age by mineral scents and complexity”. 

I don’t have a particular wine to share with you today with the chaos of the holidays and preparation for my family vacation coming up, but you can check out some of my prior blogs on Gavi wines. 

• Michele Chiarlo Gavi with Grilled Chicken Caprese 
• The Minerality of Gavi with Coppo Winery 

I’ve written a number of times about Michele Chiarlo’s wines here including my feature last week on the Michele Chiarlo Barbera, the Gavi featured above and others. It’s unfortunate to hearing of his passing November 18th at the age of 88. It’s beautiful to see his sons carry on the family’s traditions and Michele’s love and passion for wine.  

You can find other Cortese and Gavi wines at Wine.com. 

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Information and pictures sourced from the Consorzio Tutela del Gavi. 

 

*I may receive commissions if any wines are purchased directly from the above site to support the operations of Vino Travels.  

 

Michele Chiarlo Gavi with Grilled Chicken Caprese

Spring is upon us as I slowly start to gravitate towards choosing a white wine over red some evenings.  Today the focus is on one of Italy’s top whites, Gavi, made from one of Piedmont’s respected producers, Michele Chiarlo.  Gavi, located in the Alessandria province, is situated in the northwestern wine region of Piedmont where it is tucked in the southereastern corner very close to Liguria and the port of Genova.  With its close proximity to both the Mediterranean Sea as well as the Alps these varying landscapes are major influences on Gavi’s wine production. 

The Winery ~ Michele Chiarlo 

This is not Michele Chiarlo’s first appearance on Vino Travels as I have featured them not too long ago talking about sustainability at the forefront at the winery.  Michele Chiarlo is a well-established name in the Piedmont wine region.  They were established in 1956 and own about 270 acres between the areas of Langhe, Monferrato and Gavi.  Their focus is only on indigenous grapes and in Piedmont there are plenty to work with.  They also don’t blend any of their grapes either.   

Today the winery is operated by the 4th generation of family members that are staying true to tradition, but also focusing on innovation while expressing their authenticity paying close attention to the environment with much manual care.   

The Grape ~ Cortese 

Gavi, also known as Cortese di Gavi, is named after the town itself and includes a number of surrounding communes located in the hills.  It is made from the Cortese grape, which is a highly productive, high acid grape.  Its home is in Piedmont where it grows in the mineral rich soils and high sunshine area where it thrives.  Gavi became a DOC in 1974 and was promoted up to DOCG in 1998.  It produces wines that are dry, low alcohol, crisp, fresh and lively that deliver floral, aromatic wines.  You’ll find notes of peach, pears, lemon/citrus and almonds.         

The Wine 

2017 Michele Chiarlo “Palas” Gavi DOCG – This wine is made from 100% Cortese on white calcareous soil.  The grapes are softly pressed where it spends a minimum of 3 months in stainless steel.  Straw colored with golden highlights.  Mostly citrus on the nose showing lemon and grapefruit with some green apple and wet stone.  Dry, medium bodied with refreshing acidity.  Pineapple and green apple on the palette with some minerality showing towards the finish.  With an SRP at $10-12 a bottle you can beat the value of this wine.   ABV 12.5%  

This wine paired lovely with a simple grilled chicken caprese topped with sliced tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil and a drizzle of authentic balsamic vinegar from Modena.  It made me crave for warm days on the patio that lie ahead.  Here’s to the warm days of spring and summer approaching quickly where we can all get back outside for some rays of sunshine.  

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The minerality of Gavi with Coppo winery

The Coppo winery is located n the Piedmont region of Italy within the city of Canelli. The founder of Coppo, Piero Coppo, first started their wine production with sparkling Moscato. As time progressed and the need for drier wines was demanded by the market, Coppo started offering wines such as barbera. The winery has been passed down four generations operated by the 4 grandsons of Piero Coppo and continued on further by Edoardo and Massimiliano. 

Coppo Family

The family has made many changes over the years through new wine cellars, renovations, investments in equipment and have tried to stay true to the traditions of the winery while also trying to appeal to the broader audience and the demands of the wine world. The winery's philosophy stated on their site is the following “a wine is produced because it is part patrimony of the history of the locals as well as part of the family’s tradition”. This is what I find beautiful about the wines of Italy. There is deep heritage and roots behind the scenes of each wine. It's more than just the wine. It's the story told from hundreds of years and how the wines came to be.

Coppo Wine Cellar

Coppo winery

The wines of Gavi are from the Monferrato area within the Alessandria province of Piedmont. This area is very close to the Liguria wine region known as the Italian Riviera. As you can see from the pictures the soil is made up of pieces of gypsum (a calcium sulfate mineral), calcareous marl and rocky soil, which produces wine with minerality. The soil consists of marine sedimentary, therefore, Gavi is a nice pairing with shellfish and seafood. It's also good with bagna cauda, a piedmont dish which is a sauce consisting of olive oil, anchovies and garlic along with vegetables. 

The producer that helped put Gavi on the map, La Scolca, introduced Gavi to the states which set off the popularity. That wine became known as Gavi dei Gavi. Gavi had been a white wine that rivaled being one of the leaders in Italy throughout the 1960's and 1970's until pinot grigio hit the scene and became the star grape.

Gavi became a DOCG in 1998. Gavi is made of the cortese grape native to Piedmont and is typically florally on the nose with white flowers, lemon, honeydew and green apples. On the palate its bone dry and fresh and crisp with citrus and minerality. 

Cortese grape that makes up Gavi

Coppo produces a variety of grape varietals including barbera, freisa, chardonnay and moscato that are produced around the comune of Canelli except their nebbiolo and gavi wines produced not far outside this area. The “La Rocca” estate is located in Monterotondo where their Gavi has been produced for over twenty years. 

The 2013 Coppo La Rocca Gavi was straw yellow with a pleasant florally nose the smelled refreshing like peaches, golden apple and sweet almond.  It was dry on the palate and medium in body.  It was moderately crisp and sapid with nice apple on the finish.

Most pictures compliments of the Coppo winery.  Grazie mille!

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