What do you remember about the hit 1985 film “Back to the Future”? Doc? Marty? The “Chuck Berry” scene? How could you forget that time-traveling DeLorean sports car?
I don’t know if anyone thinks much about the film’s deeper messages anymore, but the idea that the future is somehow buried in the past is a theme that has long been of interest. It shows up in wine in various guises. Here are two “Back to the Future” stories from the Piemonte region of Northern Italy.
The Return of Cerrati in the Land of Barolo
The Rossi Cairo family has been making wine, especially Gavi DOCG, at their biodynamic farm, La Raia, since 2002. They began a “Back to the Future” journey in 2015 when they expanded their vision to Tenuta Cucco in the prime Serralunga region where the Nebbiolo grape and Barolo wine are firmly rooted.
Tenuta Cucco presented the Rossi Cairo family an opportunity and a challenge in the form of the Cerrati vineyard. Cru Cerrati was well known and respected in the past, receiving special note in Renato Ratti’s Map of Barolo in 1971, for example, and even in the 1990 Slow Food wine atlas of the Langhe, but its glory faded over the years until Piero Rossi Cairo, working with La Raia winemaker Clara Milani, determined to convert the project to organic viticulture and to revive the vineyard and the reputation of the Cerrati zone.
Sue and I enjoyed the opportunity to taste the wines and participate in a Zoom call with Piero Rossi Cairo and Clara Milani. About 80 percent of Tenuta Cucco’s production is exported; the United States is the biggest single market.
The two estate vineyards total about 20 hectares and total production is about 70,000 bottles (6000 cases) each year including white wines (Chardonnay), a traditional method sparkling Pinot Nero, Rosé, and, of course, the reds. The Barolo DOCG Serralunga d’Alba, a blend of grapes from the two vineyards, is the main focus with production of 25,000 to 40,000 bottles depending on the year. Only about 2400 bottles of single-vineyard Barolo wines from Cerrati and Bricco Voghera are produced each year. And 5000 to 8000 bottles of a fresh and fruity Langhe DOCG Nebbiolo are made.
The “no wood” Langhe Nebbiolo was simply delicious, with beautiful color, light body, soft tannins, intense aroma, and complex fruit flavors. If you are looking for a “Baby Barolo,” this isn’t it. But who wouldn’t enjoy a wine like this with cheese and salami or a light pasta? And the Serralunga d’Alba was delicious, too, a great culinary wine because of its medium body and nice acidity. The single-vineyard products are philosopher wines, to be appreciated at a relaxed pace. We haven’t decided which one we like best, but are very much enjoying the opportunity to study them.
Ruchè Renaissance
Wines made from the Ruchè grape variety are full of contradictions. Wine Grapes tells us that “Varietal wines tend to be headily scented, often with aromas of roses. They can be spicy and the tannins so marked that the wines can sometimes leave a bitter aftertaste.” Roses, spicy, bitter — not something you find every day.
Sue and I first stumbled on Ruchè back in 2011 when we attended a food and wine festival in Moncalvo, near Asti. As I wrote then, “I had never heard of Ruchè and honestly didn’t know what it might be until I happened upon the stand of the Castagnole Monferrato group. They were cooking with Ruchè, marinating fruit in Ruchè and selling it by the glass — they were obviously very proud of their local wine. I had to try it and it was great. Suddenly I saw Ruchè everywhere (a common experience with a new discovery) and enjoyed a bottle at dinner in Asti that night.”
Ruchè very nearly disappeared at one point as attention focused on market-friendly grapes such as Barbera and Nebbiolo. As Ian D’Agata explains in the chapter on Ruchè Italy’s Native Wine Grape Terroirs, Don Giacomo Cauda, Castagnole Monferato’s town priest, was obsessed with Ruchè, studied it, collected specimens from scattered small plots, and promoted Ruchè as the region’s signature wine. Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato received DOC recognition in 1987 and was elevated to DOCG in 2010, putting it up among the elite of the Italian wine world. A long climb from near-extinction to the summit in just 50 years.
But DOCG recognition does not automatically translate into sales. Almost everyone around Castagnole Monferrato probably drinks Ruché, but almost no one does anywhere else. Selling an unfamiliar wine like Ruché requires creativity and determination. So we were intrigued to learn that a local importer, Mallard Libations in Woodinville, Washington) has taken up the challenge so that those who know Ruché will have an opportunity to enjoy it and hopefully help spread the word.
We’ve started our new Ruchè research with the Ferraris Agricola Ruchè di Castagnoble Monferrato Riserva DOCG, which featured medium body, a memorable nose, and more depth than I remember from the wines we enjoyed in Italy. This single-vineyard wine deserves its “Riserva” designation. It is one of five different Ruchè wines that Ferraris produces. We are especially looking forward to trying the flagship Opera Prima Riserva.
Ferraris Agricola takes Ruchè and its history very seriously. Luca Ferraris, a.k.a. “Mr. Ruchè,” has created a Ruchè Museum that chronicles Ruchè’s history and celebrates its rebirth. We have added it to our “must-see” list for our next trip to Piemonte.
Discovering new wines or wine regions is always interesting. Re-discovering (and perhaps even rescuing) over-looked wines and regions is even more satisfying. Innovation, we are told, is especially important in today’s wine market environment. Back to the future can be part of that process.