Brachetto d'Acqui comes from the hills between the provinces of Alessandria and Asti, in Piedmont. The area includes the municipalities of Acqui Terme, Terzo, Bistagno, Alice Bel Colle, Strevi, Ricaldone, Cassine and Visone in the province of Alessandria, and some twenty municipalities in the province of Asti, from Vesime and Loazzolo to Mombaruzzo and Calamandrana, as far as the part of Nizza Monferrato on the right bank of the Belbo stream. A DOC since 1969, by the decree of 13 August, it has been a DOCG since 1996. It has about 781 hectares and an output of 20,250 hectolitres.
A celebrated wine
In 1817 the naturalist Gallesio called it a «celebrated» dessert wine, compared it to Port and reported that it was also sold in Latin America. In 1922 Garino Canina described it as grown mainly between Acqui Terme and Nizza Monferrato, but in small quantities, because of phylloxera. The revival came in the fifties of the twentieth century, when the producer Arturo Bersano achieved excellent results with the Martinotti method, the second fermentation in pressure tanks.
The styles
All versions are made from 97% Brachetto. The Rosso may be still or frizzante, dry or sweet; there is a Spumante, red or rosé, and a Passito, which may not be released before 1 October of the year after the harvest. A still, dry version was already made in the early twentieth century. Minimum alcohol is very low, 5%: in the sweet versions much of the grape's sugar stays in the wine.
Brachetto has a light ruby colour, sometimes verging on pink, and an intense scent of rose, strawberry and raspberry. The sweet and sparkling versions are light and fresh, with fine bubbles.
At the table
It is the wine for red berry tarts, strawberries, biscuits and chocolate; serve it cool. The same hills produce the Moscato of Canelli and the reds of Barbera d'Asti.
