It feels fitting that after a long absence on this blog, since May 1, 2024, I would start writing again and it would be about Piedmont, Italy’s renowned wine region. It’s thanks to the blogging groups that I am part of, to a selection of samples offered to us from Coppo Winery and their PR agency Colangelo & Partners, and to that nagging desire to get back into it, that today is a new beginning. My absence is due to a huge personal loss and the desire to also go in a new direction. That said, I have missed Avvinare and will continue to keep it alive while launching something new. More on that another time. For now, I want to dive right into these beautiful wines that speak to the diversity of Piedmont’s offering in terms of what grapes and wines are grown there.

Coppo is an historic winery that comes from Canelli and was started in 1892. Their 132 years have included four generations. I visited Canelli some years ago and found the area stunning. Canelli is in the Alto Monferrato was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. Canelli has a long history as an area of wines of note dating back to the Roman era. This is thanks to the soils and microclimate found here. The soils have a lot of limestone and the soft hills garner much needed sun to ripen the grapes while the wines that are produced can then age in cellars dug into the Canelli hills.

This is certainly the case for Coppo which has cellars that are deep caverns in the tufo soils in the Canelli hills where their wines can age and retain their aromas and flavors. The Coppo cellars are over five thousand square meters and have a maximum depth of forty meters.

I received two samples, one made from Cortese grapes in the Gavi DOCG denominated wine and one from Barbera from the Nizza DOCG denomination. I will start with the Gavi which comes from their Tenuta la Rocca vineyards in Monterotondo. Gavi made from the versatile Cortese grape is perhaps the first white wine from Piedmont I ever tried. Cortese di Gavi has been a DOC since 1974. It’s got great acidity, minerality, and a freshness on the palate with white floral notes and stone fruit. It can also age but much of it is drunk in its freshest version. I love the nutty characteristics I find in this wine which reminds me of all the hazelnuts grown in Piedmont which become that classic spread now famous even in the USA – Nutella.  About 14 million bottles of Gavi are made a year. Coppo makes this beautiful version which they produce using extended lees contact. In fact, the texture of this wine is glorious and paired beautifully with the salmon dish I had. The wine retails for $19 and would be an easy one to introduce to new consumers of this grape – those who drink Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, or Vermentino would all find many communalities with this wine be it freshness, structure, minerality and/or salinity. I think there would be many new converts to Cortese as a grape and Gavi as a wine.

The second wine I was sent hails instead from Nizza DOCG. It’s a 2021 called Pomorosso and is a more structured wine which needs a bigger dish and more time in the glass. This lively Barbera is a classic in Coppo’s portfolio of wines. Nizza received DOCG status in 2014 in order to showcase the quality Barbera made around Nizza Monferrato. The Nizza D.O.C.G. project was separated from the larger Barbera d’Asti DOCG, and is considered one of the best area for the Barbera grape variety. The area of Monferrato is just 18 municipalities. The vineyards, positions with great exposures (from southeast to southwest), have very low yields (less than 70 quintals per hectare) and lie on soils designated “Astian sand”. The period of refinement for the Nizza D.O.C.G is at least 18 months and at least 30 months for the Nizza D.O.C.G Riserva. Coppo was one of those pushing for Nizza to receive its own DOCG back in the day and their version of this wine comes from grapes grown in Nizza, Agliano, and Castelnuovo Calcea.

Pomorosso is a wine that shows its layers as it opens in the glass, starting with its black and red fruit, then floral and spicy, followed by oak and balsamic, leather, dried fruit tones. The wine can also age and is released after spending 14 months in barriques and at least 6 months in the bottle. I enjoyed this beauty with a grilled steak and I could see it with a roast as well or a meaty lasagna during the holidays. It would find fans among both Cabernet/Merlot drinkers as well as those who love Italian wines primarily. While its a big wine on the Italian red wine scale, the acidity and food friendly nature of Barbera comes through too making it approachable. This wine retails for $69 and is certainly one to consider for a family date night or a special occasion.

Check out all the posts by fellow bloggers:

World Wine Travel Writers Explore Coppo Wine Cellars
Our writers are sampling the wines, pairing with food and will be reporting on their discoveries on and around October 26. Look for the following posts!

• Camilla from Culinary Cam says “Let’s Talk About Cortese and Barbera Grapes: Two Wines from the Historical Underground Wine Cellars of Coppo + Pairings”
• David from Cooking Chat shares “Pairings for Coppo Barbera and Moscato d’Asti “
• Payal from Keep the Peas shares “Coppo Winery 2023 Chardonnay ‘Costebianche’ x Vegetarian Punjabi Food”
• Linda from My Full Wine Glass shares “Two Piedmont classics: Nizza Barbera and Moscato d’Asti “
• Jennifer from Vino Travels shares “The Historic Coppo winery of Piedmont and their UNESCO underground wine cellars”
• Robin from Crushed Grape Chronicles reports on “Tunnels and Tufa – The Underground Cathedrals and Coppo Cellars”
• Terri at Our Good Life shares “Pairings with Nizza Barbera and Coppo Monteriolo Chardonnay”
• Martin at Enofylz Wine Blog shares “Historic Wines, Timeless Pairings: Coppo’s Nizza Barbera and Barolo with Wild Mushroom Risotto”
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator shares “From Coppo’s UNESCO Cellars: Nizza and Gavi Paired with Shrimp Ceasar and Duck with Winter Squash Gratin”
• Lynn at Savor the Harvest shares “Chardonnay From One of the Oldest Family-Run Wineries in Italy – Coppo”
• Jeff at Food Wine Click! shares “Dinner with Coppo Wine Cellars Flagship ‘Pomorosso’ Nizza Barbera”