🍇 Dolcetto

Dolcetto is a red wine grape from Piedmont in north-western Italy. The VIVC catalogue records 7,450 ha in the country (2000). It is made into dry red wines; the best known is Dolcetto d'Alba from the Langhe hills, ruby with violet glints, fruity, with an almond note.

According to DNA markers in VIVC, Dolcetto's parents are Dolcetto bianco and Moissan. The catalogue lists 89 synonyms; in Liguria the grape is known as Ormeasco. The name is linked to the Italian word dolce, "sweet", yet its wines are dry.

The technical file of Dolcetto d'Alba requires at least 11.5 % vol. of alcohol (12.5 % for Superiore) and no more than 9,000 kg of grapes per hectare. The zone covers 35 communes of the province of Cuneo in the Langhe, where Miocene marls and sands form low, rounded hills. According to the file, clayey marls give a fresh, elegant wine: closer to Barolo it is more structured, and towards the Belbo valley it is finer and lighter.

The grape has also given its name to other Piedmontese wines: Dolcetto d'Asti, Dolcetto di Ovada, Dolcetto d'Acqui and Dolcetto di Diano d'Alba.

Why it matters to you. Despite the name, Dolcetto is not a sweet wine: the file describes it as dry. On a label, "Dolcetto d'Alba" gives both the grape and the place. If the grape is named on an EU wine, it makes up at least 85 % of it. Red wines are served at 15–18 °C and stored lying down, in the dark, at 10–16 °C.