Believe it or not one of the best selling wines we stock is a semi-sweet, frizzante red wine from an obscure grape grown in the Langhe hills of the Piedmont region of Italy. Simply put, we are in love with this wine! Every member of the team has bought it to take home, and we love the reaction when people first taste it.
We have had it on our sweet wine flight forever, and wrapped up many a wine dinner pairing its delightfully delicate effervescence, sweet yet crisp focus, and lively bright red berry fruits with all kinds of desserts. It's more like biting into a bunch of macerated fresh seasonal raspberries and strawberries, with some tropical fruits mixed in for complexity, than a sweet jammy or cloying sweet style of wine.
It's made from the Brachetto grape, grown in the hills of Piedmont in vineyards around Acqui (known for Dolcetto). It's also made as light dry red wine that you don't see much in the US, but is fun to drink when you are there. But its sweet sparking version is is best known by far. The grapes are farmed sustainbly, hand harvested, gently fermented in small, custom stainless steel tanks, with the CO2 captured and fermentation stopped when the wine is just 5% alcohol, resulting in this delightfully sweet and refreshing rosé wine.
It's perfect after a great meal, with all kinds of chocolates and desserts - fruit tarts, crème brûlée, custards, mousse, flans, panna cotta, and much more. It's also great all on its own on a warm spring or summer afternoon as an aperitif. I have been known to crack one before noon on special occasions, by the pool, and on the beach or boat. It's only 5% alcohol so it won't rock your world, and it is completely irresistible.