Italian Regions: Collina Torinese DOC In Piedmont

One is so used to thinking of important DOCGs from Piedmont that we often neglect to look at the other viticultural denominations from that splended region in Italy. While Nebbiolo may be King of the hill, other red grape varieties are fundamental blocks of Piemontese viticultural history.

Collina Torinese DOC is a wine made in different iterations:
Collina Torinese Rosso which must be 60% Barbera and 25% minimum of Freisa. The remaining 15% can be of other non-aromatic red grape varieties.

Wines are also made using the Collina Torinese DOC label with the name of a grape variety on it. In those wines, at least 85% of the grapes mentioned on the label must make up 85% of the wine. For example, a Collina Torinese Barbera DOC must contain 85% Barbera.

The most widely grown varieties include: Barbara, Bonarda, Malvasia di Schierano, and Pelaverga or Cari.

Torino is on my mind this week because of a lovely lunch on Monday at Eataly hosted by the Torino Promotion board. Torino is the original home of Eataly and according to the hosts, the place where everything began – Slow Food, Eataly, Fiat and many other things.

The lunch was delicious with cheeses that made my heart sing including one wrapped in grape skins and another – Robiola which some mistook for brie. I have always given Torino less of a chance to reveal itself than other cities. I am now beginning to see the error of my ways.