Wines from Valle D’Aosta (Italy)
As you turn North from Torino you leave behind the rolling foothills of the Langhe and start to climb towards Europe’s highest peak and border with France: Monte Bianco. Once a colony of Piedmont, the Valle D’Aosta was ruled by the House of Savoy for over a century. The heights of Gran Paradiso Nature Reserve collide with the often swollen banks of the Dora Baltea River where vines, grasping to the steep mountain pistes, thrive. The soils are predominantly glacial moraine so grape choices and wine styles are primarily determined by altitude (300 - 800m). This is Italy’s smallest wine region and many of the wines never make it outside the Valle D’Aosta, never mind overseas. These wines are fresh and bright and would be perfect for a summer picnic, but they are also beautiful with rich game and charcuterie, fitting for the cold New England winter.
