Alta Langa is the traditional-method sparkling wine of Piedmont. The production area includes 149 municipalities in southern Piedmont, on the hills that give the appellation its name. Recognised as a DOC in 2002, it became a DOCG in 2011. Vineyards cover about 293 hectares, with an output of 12,650 hectolitres.
The rules
The Spumante and the Rosato Spumante require at least 90% Pinot Nero and Chardonnay, alone or together, with other non-aromatic grapes up to 10%. Minimum alcohol is 11.5%. The wine spends at least 30 months on the lees before disgorgement and is released around 1 April of the third year after the harvest; the Riserva ages for at least three years.
In the glass it has a fine, persistent perlage, a straw colour with golden glints, and aromas of bread crust, white-fleshed fruit, citrus and nuts; Pinot Nero gives structure, Chardonnay elegance and freshness. The Rosato adds notes of small red berries.
Two centuries of bubbles
In the early decades of the nineteenth century the Counts of Sambuy brought Pinot to Piedmont as an experiment. In the middle of the century the Marquis Leopoldo Incisa della Rocchetta added Pinot Nero, imported directly from Burgundy, to his grape collection. At first local growers showed little interest; the variety spread only at the end of the century thanks to two pioneers, Giovanni Boschiero and Carlo Gancia, who took it to the Asti area and to Canelli for their traditional-method sparkling wines. In Canelli, between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a thriving sparkling-wine industry grew up, with large cellars dug into the tuff to age the bottles: the Underground Cathedrals, which since 2014 have been part of Italy's 50th UNESCO World Heritage site, the Vineyard Landscapes of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato.
At the table
It is a natural aperitif and goes with a whole meal: raw fish, fried food, risottos, white meats, fresh cheeses; the Riserva also stands up to richer dishes and white truffle from Alba.
