2013 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Langhe Freisa

Borgogno was established in 1761 in Barolo, in Italy’s Piedmont region. It enjoyed an excellent reputation in the 19th century and was the official wine supplier for the dinner in 1861 celebrating Italy’s unification. In the early 20th century Cesare Borgogno exported to North and South America and in the 1960s the family changed the name of the company from Borgogno to Giacomo Borgogno e Figli to reflect the newer generations coming into the business. In 2008 the company was bought by the Farinetti family and the new owners made significant improvements to the cellars. Today the estate includes 60 acres in Barolo and the estate’s flagship wines are its Barolos, though it also makes Dolcetto d’Alba, Barbera d’Alba and Langhe Nebbiolo.

Piedmont’s name means “foot of the mountain” and it aptly describes Piedmont’s location near the Alps, just east of France and south of Switzerland. For admirers of Nebbiolo wines, Piedmont is Italy’s most exalted region, since it is home to Barolo and Barbaresco. Barolo and Barbaresco are names of towns as well as names of the two most prestigious Piedmont DOCGs. Piedmont, with 142,000 vineyard acres, has seven DOCGs and fifty DOCs, the highest number of DOCS in any Italian wine zone. Despite its relatively northern location, its sometimes cool and frequently foggy weather, Piedmont produces mostly red wines. The Nebbiolo grape thrives in this climate and in fact takes its name from the Italian word for fog, “nebbia.” With its rich buttery food, majestic red wines and complicated vineyard system, Piedmont is often thought of as the Burgundy of Italy. As in Burgundy, Piedmont vineyards generally have well-established boundaries, and the vineyards are often divided into smaller parcels owned by several families. Though Nebbiolo is considered the most “noble” Piedmont grape, Barbera is actually the most widely planted grape. Dolcetto is the third most common red grape. White wines in Piedmont are made from Arneis, Cortese, Erbaluce and Moscato. Though Barolo and Barbaresco are the stars of the region, the easy-to-drink, sparkling “spumante” and “frizzante” wines of the Asti DOCG are the most widely produced. There are also Piedmont Indicazione Geographica Tipica (IGT) wines that are often an innovative blend of traditional and non-traditional grapes. This relatively new appellation status was started in 1992 as an attempt to give an official classification to Italy’s newer blends that do fit the strict requirements of DOC and DOCG classifications. IGT wines may use the name of the region and varietal on their label or in their name.