The Vino Vino Situation presents Brachetto d'Acqui, a wonderful, sweet red sparkling wine from the Piedmont wine country

Today we’re going to talk about another typical Italian wine from Piedmont: Brachetto d’Acqui. There’s more to Piedmont than Barolo, as I have already mentioned: Barbaresco, Barbera…and Brachetto. Yes, another wine starting with a B. Curious, uh?

Brachetto d’Acqui is produced in the same area as Barbera, that is Alto Monferrato, between Asti and Alessandria, using Brachetto grapes. Despite its somewhat controversial origin, this grape variety has always been known for its sweet and aromatic quality.

RELATED: Lambrusco Grasparossa: Red Bubbles from Emilia

This is one of the four aromatic wine varieties of Italy, along with Malvasia, Gewurztraminer, and Moscato. It is principally produced as a bubbly dessert wine.

monferrato photo

The hills of Monferrato, where Brachetto d’Acqui is produced (Photo by angelocesare)

Brachetto d’Acqui Braida

The Braida winery is named after founder Giuseppe Bologna’s nickname, great-grandfather of the current owner. Famous all over Italy – and the world – for their excellent Barbera, Braida winery preserves the uniqueness of other native varieties, too: Moscato, Grignolino and, you guessed it, Brachetto!

Their Brachetto d’Acqui, as tradition dictates, is a sparkling red dessert wine that is obtained with a brief re-fermentation in a pressurized container (autoclave). It has a ruby red color with a purple hue, with a strong aroma of berries. On the palate, it’s smooth, fresh, and sweet.

Ideally, it should be paired with typical Piedmontese cookies (ever heard of baci di dama? Yum). Or chocolate, like the Recioto from Veneto that I presented a while back. Or even a juicy fruit salad, if you feel like experimenting a bit.

Brachetto d’Acqui Braida is a wonderful example of sweetness obtained in the most natural way. Unlike many wines, widely available in stores, that contain tons of added sugar. If you pay attention to the hint of berries, you’ll be able to notice the difference.

 

Enjoy your wine!

 

Wine maker: Braida
Name: Brachetto d’Acqui DOCG
Region: Piedmont
Type: Sparkling dessert wine
Grapes: Brachetto
Price: About $22

 

Working in wineries across Italy, I get to see how much passion goes into each bottle. With the Vino Vino Situation, every week I present recommend great Italian wines. These reviews are unsponsored and unsolicited. Salute!

 

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