Demarie: Treasures of the Roero
- Written by Monika Nowak
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- Published in Bel Piemonte
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It’s Thursday afternoon. Heavy, dark clouds are gathering in the sky and a rumble announces coming thunder. This day I have an appointment in the Demarie Giovanni vineyard in the Roero area, on the left bank of the Tanaro river bordering with the Langhe in Piedmont.
A view from a modern building of Demarie Giovanni winery
In Alba I meet with Giulia Breveglieri from Well Com who arranged my tour and accompanied me to Vezza d’Alba. While we are driving, suddenly a cloudburst gets us on the way and instantly the main streets turn into fast-flowing creeks. Fortunately, when we arrive at the winery, the weather changes dramatically and only cannon salvos that protects grapes against grade remind me of the thunderstorm only a few minutes before that overpowered Piedmont's hills.
Demarie Giovanni wines
In Demarie Giovanni vineyard, we are welcomed by Monica Bizzini. Together with her husband – Paolo Demarie – they continue a three-generational family tradition of making wine. The winery is situated in a modern, windowed building, surrounded by curved hills of grapevines. We start the tour from the vinification room. The owners decided to continue a traditional method of maceration of submerged cap (cappello sommerso) at a controlled temperature. Looking at high inox tanks I listen to Paolo, who talks with enthusiasm about ecological projects already implemented or still in their planning stages. Solar panels, a biomass stove, special filters that enable them to reuse the same water for cleaning the winery rooms – everything to minimize impact on the environment during the wine making process. Even the fancy flooring in the barricaia (a special room dedicated to keeping barrels) has a double functionality. Despite keeping its original look, it now helps retain a good humidity level through natural methods, using a combination of two different materials: concrete boards and white stones.
Inox wine tanks
barricaia – a room dedicated to keeping barrels
In Demarie Giovanni vineyard, in addition to local wines like the Roero Arneis DOCG (a white wine made from the Arneis grape), which was awarded the Bronze Medal by Decanter for its 2013 vintage and Roero Riserva DOCG, the winner of the Bronze Medal by Decanter for its 2013 vintage, the owners produce liquors that are typical for the Langhe area – Barolo DOCG made of grapes cultivated on rented land in the La Morra commune and Barbaresco DOCG. In the company's portfolio, such popular and valued Piedmontese wines like Barbera d’Alba (amazing! with plum, blackberry and cherry flavor), Langhe Dolcetto, Nebbiolo d’Alba or refreshing Moscato d’Asti are available as well. However, two sparkling wines caught my attention: an extraordinary “For You” Roero Arneis DOCG Spumante and Birbet. The first one is produced in a traditional method (metodo classico) and the second one (sweet, red, perfect pairing for desserts) is obtained from the Brachetto variety, a grape that nearly disappeared between the 19th and 20th century and only in the 90s gained in popularity.
Demarie Giovanni wines
Excellent wines always taste amazing in good company and even better in a nice and interestingly furnished place with a charming view on a green hill. Sitting behind a long, beautiful wooden table, I listened about the owners' ambitious plans, their dreams, and innovative ideas to make the vineyard not only a place dedicated to the wine business but also as a space for events, meetings, and workshops not necessarily related to wines.
one of the rooms dedicated to tastings, workshops, and special events
You can find more about the Demarie vineyards and its wines on demarie.com.
Monika Nowak
I’m Polish blogger and freelance journalist tasting “la dolce vita” by traveling around Piedmont. As Italia is my passion since the childhood I’m happy having the chance to discover the kingdom of great cuisine and probably the best wines in the world, but also charming little towns and interesting history. My blog Bel Piemonte (available also in Polish and in Italian) was born to show the beauty of this region and to encourage others to discover this part of the Apennine Peninsula.
Website: www.belpiemonte.com/en/