Rossese: One of Liguria's Top Red Grapes

I’ll be rounding out my features this month on the Emilia Romagna and Liguria wine regions with a focus on the Rossese grape. In the 10 years I’ve been writing Vino Travels I’ve only featured a wine made from this grape once and never really discussed the grape so let’s learn more. 

What is the Rossese grape? 

Rossese is a red grape found in the Liguria region of northwestern Italy bordering France and on the western side of Liguria itself. It is best known for the wines of the Rossese di Dolceaqua DOC. It can be found as single varietal, but also as a blending partner. It is one of the top red grapes of the Liguria wine region along with Dolcetto. It is genetically identical to the French grape, Tibouren, from the Provence area of France where it is mostly produced as a rosé. 

Rossese grapes of Maccario Dringenberg

These wines are lighter in body with beautiful fragrant aromatics. They have lively acidity and express a fruit driven profile that is fresh with some pepper and spice notes along with a saline character, influenced by the nearby sea. 

Rossese occupies a small piece of the Ligurian vineyards, only about 200 acres, so production is small and harvesting is challenging on the steep, terraced vineyards. All the work is done by hand as using machinery is not an option due to the structure of the land. It may be a challenge to locate some of these wines, but that makes it all the more fun to try and explore either on a visit to Liguria or if you’re lucky enough to stumble upon a bottle. 

Although I don’t have a specific wine to share this week I’m reverting back to a feature on the native grapes Liguria I wrote a few years back when I shared the 2017 Danila Pisano Rossese di Dolceaqua DOC. 

Next week I’m taking a quick jump back to Toscana since I had some unforeseen circumstances happen and never got to share a virtual tasting I attended in late spring focused on the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano grape hosted by the Consorzio and guest speaker Antonio Galloni.

Don't miss an Italian wine blog ~ Subscribe 

Ligurian Vermentino and Pesto

This month I’m hosting our Italian Food, Wine & Travel group as we travel to the regions of Liguria and Emilia Romagna in northern Italy.  I’ve been fortunate to visit both regions, but unfortunately only Liguria in passing along the highway en route to Monte Carlo.  Although, Liguria has captured the attention of my two little boys since they’re big fans of Disney’s movie, Luca, based in Liguria, so maybe a visit to Liguria is in my future.  Even though Emilia Romagna and Liguria are neighbors, they have a number of differences when it comes to their geography, wines and cuisine.  Today we’ll take a look at Liguria, also known as the Italian Riviera, and its greatest white, Vermentino, along with one of its local specialties, pesto. 

Vermentino grape of Liguria 

The Ligurian landscape is a narrow, crescent shaped, rugged stretch of land in northwestern Italy situated between the Ligurian Sea and the Maritime Alps to the north.  It connects with France to the west and Tuscany to the east with Piedmont, Lombardy and Emilia Romagna bordering to the north.  

It’s a region primarily dominated by white wines with Vermentino leading the way. Two of the most common white grapes of Liguria are Vermentino and Pigato. Although most folks think Vermentino is called Pigato in Liguria, they are actually two clones of the same plant so they do have different characteristics from one another.  

Vermentino is a grape that can be found in several regions throughout Italy from Liguria to Tuscany and most notably, Sardinia.  It’s a lightly colored, thin-skinned grape that produces wines that are mostly light-bodied.  They are refreshing wines with bright acidity and an aromatic floral nose with white flowers.  On the palate these wines display citrus and herbal notes and they tend to have a unique almond finish.  The Vermentino of Liguria also has great minerality or saltiness in the wine due to its proximity to the sea. 

There are two DOCs in Liguria where you can find the Vermentino grape, the Riviera Ligure di Ponente DOC on the western side and the Colli di Luni DOC on the eastern side. 

Copyright of Federdoc

 Pesto of Liguria 

Liguria is a region that is abundant in vegetables, herbs and fruits grown along its terraced hillsides.  Due to its proximity to the sea and the Gulf of Genoa, seafood-based dishes are very common.  One of Liguria’s claims to fame and the prime herb of the region is their basil, the main ingredient used in producing pesto. Along with basil, the primary components of pesto from the region include basil, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic and cheese (pecorino or parmigiano).  Pesto originated from the capital and port town of Genoa where it is also known as pesto genovese. 

Pesto stems from the Italian word, pestare, which means to pound.   The best way to mix these components is with a mortar and pestle to keep the components fresh.  I produce pesto regularly throughout the summer with basil from my garden and am guilty of using my food processor to be more efficient when mixing these ingredients.  This method is fine, but make sure to pulse the ingredients and not blend for too long.   

In Liguria pesto can be utilized several ways with the local pasta, trenette, or with lasagne or even minestrone.  This week I utilized my garden to the fullest. I sliced and sauteed some zucchini with cherry tomatoes. Once it was done cooking, I mixed in some homemade pesto, topped it with shrimp and grated some additional pecorino (which I love).  A beautiful summer evening dish!  Although I didn’t specifically have a Ligurian Vermentino on hand to pair with this dish I know it would make a lovely pairing from previous Vermentino I have tasted.   

What’s your favorite summer dish and wine pairing? 

Check out some other Vermentino I have written about in the past  

• Wines on the Island of Sardinia with Vigne Surrau 
•  Sardiniia’s Top white Grapes: Vermentino and Nuragus 
•  Antonella Corda: Mother of the Sardinian Vines 
•  Summertime Calls with this Val delle Rose Vermentino 
•  Vermentino of Toscana with Aia Vecchia
  

My fellow Italian wine and food lovers will be sharing some additional delights from Liguria or Emilia Romagna this weekend so be sure to check them out.

• Wendy from A Day of the Life on the Farm will feature “2 Treats from Emilia-Romagna; Gnocco Frito and Celita Sangiovese".  
•  Andrea at The Quirky Cork will share “A Love Affair with Lambrusco”
•  Camilla over at Culinary Cam will take you “From the Italian Riviera: Animated Sea Monsters, Linguine al Pesto, and Mataóssu"
•  Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles will be "Meditating on the Magic of the Cinque Terre with a Sciacchetrà"
•  Gwendolyn at the Wine Predator shares with us "How You Can Help After Devastating Floods in Emilia-Romagna: Drink Wine Made by Women"
•  Susannah at Avvinare is "Celebrating Summer with Ligurian Gems"

Don't miss an Italian wine blog ~ Subscribe

Preview into the Food and Wine of Liguria and Emilia Romagna

It’s hard to believe we’re already into August! Between my short visit to Italy a couple weeks ago and a family emergency upon my return, I delayed some of my Tuscan posts from July. I may incorporate them also into this month’s feature on Liguria and Emilia Romagna. 

Liguria is a region on the northwestern side of Italy that is a narrow stretch of land bordering the Ligurian Sea. It is not too large of a region and is Italy’s 3rd smallest region. Its rugged landscapes make it a viticultural challenge. With over 70% of the landscape dedicated to white grapes, Vermentino and Pigato are the major players along with the red grape Rossese and many other native varietals to explore. 

Emilia Romagna is to the east of Liguria in more of north central Italy. This region makes up a good percentage of Italy’s wine production volume but is also known for its rich culture dedicated to food. Prosciutto di Parma, parmigiano reggiano and the authentic balsamic vinegar from Modena. This region is a little more balanced when it comes to red wines versus whites with Sangiovese and Lambrusco leading the way for red grapes and white grapes to include Trebbiano Romagnolo, Albana and Pignoletto. 

On August 5th our Italian Food, Wine & Travel group of writers will be covering both the regions of Liguria and Emilia Romagna of northern Italy with some wine and food pairing suggestions.  If you’d like to join our group in writing a blog in reference to this month’s theme, please email me directly at vinotravels at hotmail dot com.  Hope to see you all there! 

Here is a preview of what is to come on Saturday August 5th. 

 

• Wendy from A Day of the Life on the Farm will feature “2 Treats from Emilia-Romagna; Gnocco Frito and Celita Sangiovese.  
• Andrea at The Quirky Cork will share “A Love Affair with Lambrusco” 
• Camilla over at Culinary Cam will take you “From the Italian Riviera: Animated Sea Monsters, Linguine al Pesto, and Mataóssu  
• Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles will be "Meditating on the Magic of the Cinque Terre with a Sciacchetrà"

• Gwendolyn at the Wine Predator shares with us "How You Can Help After Devastating Floods in Emilia-Romagna: Drink Wine Made by Women"
• Susannah at Avvinare is "Celebrating Summer with Ligurian Gems"
• I'll be hosting at Vino Travels with "Ligurian Vermentino and Pesto"

Don't miss an Italian wine blog ~ Subscribe

Native Grapes of Liguria

Liguria is one of the wine regions I don’t write about too often on here just due to the opportunity of not trying wines from there too often.  Earlier this summer I attended some tastings in Boston including the Gambero Rosso event and tried a variety of unique grapes from Liguria.  The grapes included pollera nera, cruvin, rossese di dolceacqua and good old vermentino and sangiovese.  Lets dig into the region and these Ligurian wines that await exploration. 

Lunae Bosoni 

Lunae Bosoni is only about a couple miles from Tuscany between the areas of Ortonovo and Castenuova Magra.  Five generations of the Bosoni family are currently operating the winery today.  Lunae Bosoni is one of the larger producers of Liguria.  What I loved discovering about this winery is their proximity to Massa Carrara in Tuscany.  This is where my mothers part of the family hails from and I had the opportunity to go there on my honeymoon.  If you aren’t familiar with this area they are known for their marble shipped all over the world.  As you drive closer the mountains look like they’re covered with snow, but its all marble.  We took a tour inside.  Amazing! 

Tour inside the marble caves of Massa Carrara

The Bosoni family owns 85 hectares with additional land that they partially lease as well as their work with other small growers.  The name Lunae Bosoni stems from the ancient Roman city “Portus Lunae” meaning “port of the moon”.  The winery takes pride in their vermentino as well as working with other local red grapes of the area including massareta, pollera nera and sangiovese.     

Pics sourced from Montcalm Imports

I tasted the 2018 Colli di Luni Vermentino Etichetta Nera and their 2015 Colli di Luni Rosso Niccolo.  The Etichetta Nera is made of 100% vermentino and goes through a cold maceration for 12 hours that lends to a richer wine with more complexities.  The grapes are sourced from 35+ year old vines.  This is considered the winery’s flagship wine.  The nose reminded me of gewurztraminer with its aromatics.  Round, soft, clean with apples flavors on the palate.  This wine is done in all stainless steel spending about 3 months on the lees.  Just beautiful.  13.5% ABV SRP $21 

The 2015 Colli di Luni Rosso Niccolo is made of 70% sangiovese with 15% pollera nera and 15% merlot.  The goal is to eventually replace the merlot and make it 30% pollera nera.  Pollera nera is an old vine from the 12th century that has been rediscovered.  You will find it only in Liguria that I am aware of.  I appreciate the work that wineries like Lunae Bosoni do to reinvigorate these ancient grapes and prevent them from extinction.  Pollera nera is a thin skinned grape like pinot nero.  This wine spends about 12 months in barrique with about 6 months in the bottle.  The wine is named after Pope Niccolo that was born in the nearby town of Sarzana.  I loved the structure of this wine, the ripe cherries with herbal notes and hints of pepper.  13.5% ABV SRP $19 

Punta Crena 

Two other producers that stood out mostly because of the uniqueness of the grapes.  This tasting was the first time I had a cruvin, or at least from what I can remember.  Punta Crena is owned by the Ruffino family that have been caring for the vineyards for 500 years.  It is today run by 4 siblings of the family.  The winery is located in the tiny village of Varigotti.  Located only about 1200 meters from the sea the breezes coming off the Ligurian Sea definitely moderate the climate here for the grapes.  Punta Crena works with some unique grapes very unfamiliar to myself including crovino, mataossu and barbarossa.   

Picture sourced from Kermit Lynch

Crovino is a grape that is rather difficult to work with and produces very small yields.  I believe that Punta Crena is the only winery that actually grows this grape.  In local dialect cruvin means to fall and these grapes are ones that basically fall off the vine once ripe.  The 2017 Punta Crena Cruvin is both unfiltered and unfined and spends all its time in stainless steel with about 4 months on the lees.  I immediately smelled earth and dirt upon smelling this wine.  Lots of dark fruit, some spice, lower in tannin with a smooth structure.  Quite interesting to say the least and worth seeking out.  SRP $34  

Azienda Agricola Danila Pisano 

Picture sourced from Louis Dressner

Danila Pisano is a winery located on the far west side of Liguria bordering France in the Val Verbonne Valley.  Danila, owner of the winery, restored the family vineyards in 1990 and has been making wine every since.  They became certified organic back in 1996.  Danila grows exclusively the Rossese grape, native to Liguria.  It is typically called Rossese di Dolceacqua named after the village from which it grows.  The 2017 Danila Pisano Rossese di Dolceacqua is a soft, delicate wine displaying red fruit.  Light in body with a hint of pepper, violets and currants.  For those that love red wines and are looking for something lighter to drink in the warm months you may want to check this out.  SRP $24
 

Don't miss an Italian wine blog ~ Subscribe