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Carema: A Resurgent Heroic Viticulture

At the point where the mountainous norther region of Italy that is the Valle d’Aosta empties itself into the hills and flatter terrain of the Piedmont wine-making region, you find yourself in Carema, a small town with a long history of wine-making. Vittorio Garda is one of 10 wine-makers that makes wine in a DOC (1967) that has a very long history, but one that nearly disappeared. Today, the wine-making area comprises of about 25 hectares of planted area, or about 62 total acres of vines

Note: Carema is in the Piedmont region (tan color) in upper left, right at the end of the Aosta wine region (brownish color).

Blow up of Piedmont Region in northwest Italy. Note tiny spot that is Carema DOC, at end of Aosta Region.

The vineyards in Carema use a terraced system at the foot of the Valle d’Aosta using granite posts (now often switched to concrete), and wood beams. The rock terraces and mountainsides both reflect the rays of the sun, as well as store heat and help with maturation by extending the warmth of the day. Vittorio Garda, one of the young local wine-makers in this resurgent area, says that the terraces themselves go back for centuries, but they are constantly needing to be rebuilt. Storms and hard rains often wash the topsoil down into the valley, often destroying the terraces entirely. Vineyard owners then need to bring the soil back up the mountainsides after they have rebuilt the terrace walls – which seems to make this viticulture doubly heroic, given the already intrepid decision to grow grapes at the DOC required 300-600 meters in elevation (approx. 1000-2000 ft.) on the side of the Italian Alps.

Vittorio Garda of cantina Sorpasso

The grape here, as in so much of the Piedmont region, is Nebbiolo, but the clone used is Picotendro, sometimes referred to as Picutener. It is a version common in the Valle d’Aosta, which has to some degree adapted a bit more to the elevation, the cooler weather, and tends to takes its time ripening in the mountainous region. As distinct from the Nebbiolo grown in the Langhe and other Piedmont regions, Picotendro is higher acid, less robust, a bit more delicate, and takes a bit more time in the bottle to mature. Carema reds must comprise 85% of this Nebbiolo, the remainder of which may consist of a maximum 15% of other authorized Piedmont red grapes. Age requirements are at least 36 months, of which 24 must be in wood, while the riserva must spend an extra six months in barrel.

Many of the current winemakers are young, and returning to making family wines, which went into steep decline, post-World War II, as Italy industrialized. They have day jobs, and often choose to make wines for more artisanal and stress-free reasons. Wine Decanter says that historically:

“Although the wine is barely known internationally due to its limited production, wine lovers have held it in great esteem for centuries. Carema sat on a strategic point on the military road to old Gaul, and it’s believed the Romans encouraged settlement by terracing vineyards. Winemaking in Carema was famous as early as the 16th century. By the early 1900s, the area under vine was upwards of 120ha. But political and economic woes of the 20th century shifted Carema’s direction. (https://www.decanter.com/learn/what-is-carema-ask-decanter-475667/).”

While the Barolos from the more well known regions of Piedmont are amazing in and of themselves, getting to walk the vineyards of Carema in the shadow of the last mountains that form the Valle d’Aosta is a special treat. Vittorio suggests that they will keep adding vineyards here and there, and, hopefully, just enough to make these wines a bit more accessible to the world, as they are very hard to find.

I often think how I like to find interesting and lesser known wine regions, and the educational opportunities that come from them. Carema is the perfect example of the places I like to discover, and the wines I enjoy tasting.

Wines, Old and New, in the Valle d’Aosta

The descent from the Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard into the Valle d’Aosta is as precipitous as the climb. One starts at 2470m (about 8,000ft) and in two days you end up in the city of Aosta at 580m (1900ft) in elevation, and if you are walking, some amazingly stiff thigh andcalf muscles that make for a good opportunity to take a rest and drink some wine. The Aosta Valley has ancient Roman connections dating back to the 1^st century, in modern history was traded back and forth between France and Italy, and has deep connections to Switzerland, along it’s northern border.

Grosjean Vins

Wine in the Valle d’Aosta is thus a mix of wines that are French and Italian, and also an amazing mix of local and “international” varietals. Today, the Valle d’Aosta is made up of a grand total of 400 hectares of vineyards, or about 1,000 acres, down from a Medieval Era high of 4000ha or Just under 10,000 acres. Phylloxera in the late 19^th century, along with shifting economies, two world wars, and new agricultural enterprises have led to that decline, but what remains is a vigorous emphasis on making wines of high quality. This includes using grapes of the international varieties, but most importantly, refocusing on local varietals and bringing back older styles of making wine.

At Grosjean Vins, high above the Aosta Valley floor, the vineyards total about 18 hectares, which make them one of the largest producers of wine in the region. We walked through the Rovettaz vineyard of Petite Arvine, which is nearing harvest time. Petite Arvine comes from Switzerland, but grows incredibly well in the lower compacted and well-draining soils of the south-facing slopes of the Grosjeans holdings (like most vineyards in the region, at high elevation, vineyards are planted on south-facing slopes, and looking across the valley, there are virtually none planted). The Petite Arvine grown here is a high acid, age-worthy wine.

Another favorite was a local blend called Torrette, which is a sub-region of the area that makes a red wine blend. Torrette must contain a minimum of 70 percent Petit Rouge, and then additional varieties of grapes. The Grosjean contained 75 percent Petit Rouge, and then included local varietals of Cornalin (10%), Fumin (10%), and Prëmeta (5%). It is harvested as a field blend, spends some time in oak, and has some pretty amazing leathery notes on the palate.

Lastly, we tried a their Clairet 2019, which is made of Nebbiolo (locally called Pico Tendro). This is an attempt by Grosjean Vins to re-stablish a wine-making style that was described in the medieval period. The wine style was lost for nearly 200 years, and thus has no appellation for it, but they hope to get that designation in the next couple of years. The wine-making uses a style similar to the drying done with Valpolicella, only rather than picking it first, the grapes are left on the vine for a period of time. It was, according to our hostess, Jessica, a style developed because of the sensitive tastes of royalty traveling back and forth through the Valle d’Aosta, who could not quite take the more rustic local styles that were then available. It spends 24 months in oak, has amazing structure, and uses grapes from their vineyard of Pico Tendro at 500-600 meters.

Tomorrow, the walk through the Valle d’Aosta continues!

Switzerland Francigena and Wine

I am walking the southern part of a walk called the Francigena; a path which originates from the 9th century, if not older. I am starting this portion from Martigny, Switzerland, crossing
the Swiss Alps through the Gran San Bernard Pass, and down into the city of Aosta, Italy. From Geneva, my friend and colleague Ron Mills and I took a train through Lausanne to Martigny, arriving in time to do a tasting at Cave la 5e Saison, a small producer of wines in the region.

High Elevation Petite Arvine

The you see at the very bottom of the map, Valais, is where the AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) lies in Switzerland. Politically, for good or ill, but certainly for good in the area of grapes, Switzerland lies as an intersecting point for influences from France, Germany, Austria, and Italy, as well as having developed its own varietals. One of the first grapes, attributed to the Valais Region of Switzerland, is Petit Arvine, a lovely aromatic, high acid white grape. It is considered possibly the best white grape of the region. We tried a Fendant white as well (called Chasselas everywhere but in this area), which is as close to the technical term, “summer porch pounder” that I use to describe a less complex wine. The Petit Arvine wines we tried were an excellent, and particularly the one that was a reserve from higher vineyards in the Martigny region.

There were some enjoyable other wines, but one that I would pick out as another amazing native wine is the Humagne Rouge. Once thought to have originated in Aosta Italy, it is now High Elevation Petit Arvine. attributed to the Valais region, and even thought to be extinct in Aosta (a fact pointed out with some pride at the winery we visited). It also seems to grow particularly well in Martigny – the slopes in Italy seem to have too much cold and rainy weather, and Swiss vineyards in neighboring villages seem to have a bit more wind than those on the slopes of Martigny.

As we walk through the valley on our way up from Martigny, you can’t help but note the ways in which climactic and topographic factors are maximized to make sure the grapes get ripe. South facing vineyards on small terraces maximize aspect, the intensity of the sun. Virtually no vineyards are on the north facing slopes, which get little sun, and almost nothing on the fertile valley floor. Closer to Geneva, grapes are also planted similarly, but additionally, close to the lake, as a way to maximize the winter heat sink of the lake, along with the cooling aspect of the summer waters.

Vineyards, stretching up from Martigny.

The Douro, Past as Present

Portugal, as a wine-making region, has an incredible diversity of native grapes that is virtually without equal. Estimates of the number

Douro Region, with Porto regions. Source: Wine Educators, 2016.

of grapes grown in the region range from at least 240 different kinds of vitis vinifera, and upward. Representative of that diversity is the Douro region, split into three major parts that grow up to 130 different grape varieties. Three things to help understand the Douro region of Portugal.

How the Douro varies, by region. The three regions, all of which are shielded by the mountain range, Baixo Corgo, Cima Corgo and Douro Superior. Although all three are considered the Douro, the regions have extremely different characteristics, one of which is very different average rainfall. Baixo Corgo, the closest to the Portuguese Coast, gets

North-facing vineyards in Cima Corgo of the Douro

around 800 mm of rain, or nearly 31.5 inches, on average. Cima Corgo gets about 500 mm, or just under 20 inches, while Douro Superior is an arid region that gets 300 mm per year, or a mere 11 inches of rain. This is an incredible variation, which calls for very different viticultural practices. Vineyards in Baixo Corgo battle fungi and powdery mildew in ways similar to other, fairly wet regions, whereas a few miles inland, these are the least of their problems.
The north vs. the south. Vineyard managers in the Cima and Baixo Corgo regions point out the oddity of “upper“ and “lower” regions of the Corgo river having nothing to do with the use of the Corgo River as a boundary for those parts. Instead, they point out that the north and south facing slopes along the Douro are what create the differences in the vineyards. South-facing vineyards get a lot of sun all year round, and the schist rock reflects more heat during the summer waves of heat. Right around solstice, in June, is when the Queima do Sao Joao (Saint John’s Burn) often hits, either burning grapes, or burning leaf stems so severely, that nutrition can no longer get to the leaf itself. As you look at the north-facing side of the Douro, the tendency is to have an almost lunar-scape of browns, when the vines are in dormancy. The steep north-facing slopes may be cooler in the summer, but they get very little sun in the winter – sometimes only 3 to 5 hours a day, depending on the aspect and orientation of the slope.
Terraces and the interspersing of varieties, historically, for Port wine. The Douro is an interesting region, also, because in essence, there is a wine region within a wine region – i.e. the area from which port wines come, within the greater wine region of the Douro. Historically, this meant planting many varietals within the

Block varietals in Baixo Corgo, of the Douro

same vineyards, because that was what was required for port wines. As matter of quality and quantity control, however, a limited amount of grapes could be used for port, which is a problem for growers. What do you do with the rest of the grapes and their juice?

In some cases, the response has been to make

Quinta do Carvalhas – A vino tinto with grapes from 42 grape varietals.

high quality wines, while embracing all of the varietals that go into a bottle. Some modern vineyards, which are planted in blocks, will have several of the more prominent Portuguese varietals, such as Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cão. Other varietals, such as Tinta Francisca and Tinta Amarela (or Trincadeira) are grapes that are coming back into favor, after having waned in popularity, some even now being bottled as a single varietal.

The Douro, continues to explore its past, through a variety of planting formats on it’s steep inclines, even as it confronts its climatological future. More on the latter in my next post!

Moratinos, Phylloxera, and Hobbit Dwellings

As you walk into the small village if Moratinos in the Spanish province of León, you see a small hill to one side, with a series of small doors at the bottom, that ring it, and small chimneys closer to the top. Although they do look like

Hobbit dwellings, they are old caves that were dug out as wine cellars, with some estimates dating them back over 500 years. Currently only four families make wine in their caves, several others use them for storing meats and cheeses, and about half of them have caved in and are in disrepair.

The Hobbit hill of Moratinos

Segundino is one of seven brothers, and they were making the family wine as I walked around the bottom of the hill. They had harvested their grapes from a few kilometers away, and I was invited in to see how they were pressing off the grapes, and getting ready to start the fermentation process. The press is done using an old horizontal wine press, and the juice is then transferred into the cave for fermentation. I tried a bit of the freshly pressed Mencia.

Horizontal wood press

Two major changes have affected wine making on this hill in Moratinos. Segundino said that the whole area, including the entirety of the hill itself, were once planted in grapes, and families made their wine together, until deadly phylloxera wiped all of the grapes out. Many could not afford to replant, and coupled with significant out-migration, the vineyards of Moratinos never recovered. There are few people who want to take the trouble to bring grapes from a distance, to make wine at this point.

Currently, they bring in grapes from about 20 kilometers away, in vineyards planted closer to one of the brothers. The vineyard that Segundino planted and cares for has black grape

Segundino in the family cave

varieties of Tempranillo and Mencia, and they make a bit of Godello, a white varietal they brought in from Galicia. “This is all just for family, and even though there are seven of us, we’re all getting old, so we really don’t drink all that much. Well, most of the time,” he said with a bit of a smile.

The Caves of the Rioja

As you walk the Camino Francés, you strategically take a day off here and there – mine are usually in larger cities, where there is amazing food and wine to enjoy. In the case of Logroño, that is an easy stop to make. First of all, there is Calle Laurel, which is a whole street dedicated to tapas bars, where the tradition is to go in, order ONE tapa and a glass of wine, sore moving on to the next one, and doing the same, and the next, and the next.

A second reason to stop is because Logroño is in the heart of Rioja wine country, and there are plenty of bodegas to visit, and wine to drink. One of the bodegas I went to with a guide named Roberto, was to Bodegas Lecea in San Asensio ok. San Asensio is an interesting town of hundreds of homes, almost all of which have a cave dug underneath them for winemaking purposes. This was done for hundreds of years, up until recently, and now Lecea is the lone remaining bodega that does that. As you walk around you you

can see homes, and then next to them, mounds of dirt and rock, from the digging of the caves, and then chimneys and vents that allow the bad air and gasses to escape.

A cave vent from underground.

Underground, you see greatly varying caves – some massive, and some small. Where you see a barrel, it is one that has been hauled underground and assembled and sealed once in place. But the favored fermentation tank for later caves were concrete

Oak barrel assembled in cave.

tanks. Think about the work that that would take… digging out the cave, providing venting, and then getting the materials underground to build set of fermentation tanks several meters underneath the house.

Concrete tank built underground in cave

We often talk about things like Protected Denomination of Origin as a way to make sure that quality is assured, and Rioja and Priorat have done that well, in Spain. But a hidden side of that improved quality through requiring standards and having regulation, is that some of the old ways of doing things become impossible, and such is the case in San Asensio. As Rioja DOCa regulations came in, quantity requirements were made, and oak barrel regulations came in. Wine had to be moved in and out of tanks and barrels, and this just proved to be too much, if you wanted to make and sell wine in this new Rioja reality.

Now, commercially, only one remains, and that is Bodegas Lecea. All of the other growers of wine now belong to a cooperative that allows for the scale, movement, and time in oak, but above ground. The family of Bodegas Lecea continue to use not only their own cave, but have now bought others as well. They buy a property and the house, and with that home ownership, comes the rights to the cave underneath. Under the

ground, they punch a hole into the next cave, complete repairs that are usually needed after decades of lack of use, and then expand their wine-making into the next cave. They now have four joined caves in which they make wine, which is incredible to think about.

This almost feels like an afterthought to write… but the wine is pretty damned good, too!

The Camino Aragonés and Garnacha

Camino 2022 Beginnings

I started walking the Camino Aragonés, and then will join up with the Camino Francés, my second time walking the Camino de Santiago. As I walk, I will also be doing an occasional wine blog, as I stop and talk with people in wine regions. I hope to finish the Camino in mid-October, and then explore more wine regions in Portugal and other parts of Spain. There are many paths to the Camino, but the

most traditional is the Francés, which starts in southern France, and then stretches across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela. There is a rich history of the Camino, dating back to the 9th century, and possibly even before that, which you may find here https://makespain.com/camino-de-santiago/

Camino Aragonés and Garnacha

In 2019, after spending time in South America visiting bodegas, I walked the Camino Francés, from St. Jean Pier de Port to Santiago de Compostela. In 2022, I started in the northern part of Aragón, in part, to learn a bit about wines from that region. I actually started in the Pyrenees, at Canfranc Station, which is known most historically for being an escape route used by resistance leaders who were helping Jews escape Hitler´s labor camps during World War Two. As I headed south of Canfranc, dropping out of the Pyrenees, I came to the City of Jaca, and as I explored, I found some incredible wines.

Garnacha is common in this region of Spain, and some would argue that this is where it actually comes from – The Kingdom of Aragón. There are different was to try and determine where grapes come from, and one of them is by looking at where they were established in the relatively modern era. If we follow this method, then it may not be Aragón that is the provenance of Garnacha or Grenache, it might be from regions in France. However, with DNA testing, another method is to look at the earliest and most numerous sub-variants of a grape are present, historically speaking. And if that is the case, then Aragón certainly has a very good case for being the originator of present day Garnacha.

I started the Camino Aragonés in Estación Canfranc, and dropped down into Jaca, Spain in a couple of days. In Jaca I tried a flight of wines from Aragon at Langa Vinoteca, two of which were Garnachas and two of which were blends. The 2018 Campo de Borja from Fagus de Coto de Hayas had dark cherry notes, medium tanninsand a very nice finish. The Secastilla 2017

Garnacha was a high altitude, limited production wine that had rip your face off tannins and a smoking 15% ABV. Nice peppery and savory notes that I like a lot, once I got over all that had happened in my mouth just prior to that.

I then did two blends, and the Grillo y Luna 2014 was another 15% abv, but a Syrah/Cabernet Sauvignon/Garnacha/Merlot blend. The palate started with plum and herbaceous qualities, and finished off spicy and peppery, with some pretty

strong tannins, even after 8 years. The final wine
was a 2011 Blecua from the Somontano region of Huesca, Aragon, and a Cabernet Sauvignon/Tempranillo/Syrah/Merlot blend, and a reasonable 14% abv that didn’t quite smoke the back of my throat like the previous two wines had done. Dark plum and burnt rubber on the nose, plum and savory notes on the palate. The tannins were significant, but softer and rounder, given the vintage.

Next, I will be on my way across Aragon to Navarra, starting in Pamplona, as I join the Camino Francés. I will post occasional blog posts, as time and energy permit, while on the Camino. If you’d like to see day to day pics of the Camino, follow me on Instagram at Jeff D. Peterson (injeffinitely) and for occasional short wine posts, follow me on Instagram at Vinum Docet (vinumdocet).

Langa Vinoteca

La Rioja and Ribera del Duero

There’s something about coming into the Rioja region of Spain on the Camino Francés and seeing all of the vineyards. Differing systems of trellising, but everything from vast acreages planted in Tempranillo, to small pockets of vines in areas protected from winds that fly across the region in the spring. The adjoining regions of Navarra and Rioja, to the west of Logroño, makes for an incredible view of vineyards, that slowly turn into wheat fields as you keep walking.

A protected vineyard in Rioja

As I worked my way through Rioja I sampled amazing Crianzas, or wines that have been in oak for at least a year, as opposed to Reservas which have been aged for two years, at least one of which reds to have been in oak, Gran Reservas have been aged for two years in oak, and three in a bottle.to be honest, at the places you are eating and drinking as a “peregrino,” or pilgrim of the Camino, I haven’t seen a lot of Gran Reserva action.

Finally, in Burgos, which lies west of the Rioja region, I started sampling wines from the Ribera del Duero. Ribera del Duero is one of my favorite wine regions of Spain, and lies directly south of Burgos. The wines have some amazing dark cherry aromas, good acidity and medium tannins, with dark fruits and leather on the palate.

Not a bad way to walk across Spain!

Navarra and the First Copas

The first leg of the Camino takes you over the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles, after which you descend into Pamplona and the Navarro region of Spain. One of my favorite sites coming out of Pamplona was seeing some of the first “copa” style vineyards of Tempranillo. They are shaped in a copa, or “glass/cup” style with four branches low to the ground. After that, every year the vines are trimmed back, so that new growth produces low-lying crops they must be handpicked. You see many new vineyards being trellised and machine picked, but I appreciate the beauty and care put into the old vines.

Copa style viticulture

I left Pamplona on the Camino Francés, which takes you over the Alto de Perdón, and into the beginnings of Navarra wine region. Mostly Tempranillo and Garnache are to be found, and most of the region is planted in red wine varietals. The wines I tried were not overly tannic, but with some earthy flavors to them, and mostly Crianzas. And one of my favorite parts of the Camino is being able to eat and drink across Spain and experience the incredible synergy between the wines and the food.

Wine and The Way

For many, walking the Camino Francés is a pilgrimage of discovery and reflection, and a reward unto itself. I am walking the Camino for the next 35 days or so to combine two loves, a love of chances for reflection, and my love of wine. As I walk, I will be taking the time to think about things, but also I will be on the lookout for good wine, and opportunities to share those wines with people in the future, on one of my tours.

Seant-Jean Pied-de-Port

The Camino Francés starts in Saint-Jean Pied-de-Port, in the south of France, It is also home to one of the smallest of AOCs of France, Irouleguy (pronounced Ee-Ru-La-Ghee) comes from the Northern Basque Region, and includes the town of Irouléguy and St.-Jean, in its entirety. About 70 percent of the wines are red wines, some 20 or so are whites, and the rest are rosés.

Irouléguy and local cheese and sausage from Basque Country in southern France

I start the Camino tomorrow, but found time to buy a lovely Katttalingorri 2105, organic (biologique) red. Plum and ripe fruit on the nose, and medium tannins, the wine opened up nicely after about an hour. This particular red was a blend of 65 percent Tannat, and 35 percent Cab Franc, which are the two typical varietals used in red wines from this region and Irouléguy. It also paired fantastically with a local Basque sheep cheese and a meat and cheese sausage from the region. One of my favorite things about traveling to these different regions is not only trying the new wines, but finding how intertwined the wines are with local foods. Cheers to northern Basque Country and Southern France, and Buen Camino!!

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