Flight School

Back when I had just started to study wine, the opportunity to help at a large scale distributor/ importer tasting came up. I figured, "What the heck? It should be a great way to brush up on my wine presentation skills AND perhaps find some time to taste through some wines myself." So I would stand behind a table of wines that were assigned for me to pour and talk about important details that stand out in each product...for four consecutive hours.

It was no easy task at first, where I managed to break a cork while opening a bottle of Abbazia di Novacella Praepositus Pinot Nero, but I didn't let a little thing like that stop me. I continued on, keeping up the illusion of being completely unfazed about the fact that I may have ruined a $50 bottle of wine. Over time, I would repeatedly go back to pour for Vias Imports, and each subsequent tasting I got better at keeping things flowing smoothly.

Of course, I also got to taste an increasing amount of Italian wines (that was about 90% of Vias Imports portfolio at the time). One that I encountered was nothing that I ever tasted before: an Anas-cetta from the Piedmont producer Elvio Cogno. It was like Thanksgiving in a glass. There were savory flavors and aromas like rosemary, sage, and thyme. It was a little floral and lemony on the nose. It finished dry and refreshing with a stones and minerals on the palate. So cool!

If dropping $25-$30 on a bottle of nearly extinct wine isn't your thing, $14 for this one will give you a great introduction to Nascetta!

Then I learn that the Anas-cetta (a.k.a. "nascetta," pronounced nah-SHET-uh) is a white grape that was rescued from extinction in its native town of Novello, near Barolo. Nascetta had been a headache for growers since crop sizes tended to be irregular (and more frequently than not, very small yielding). However, the upside to working with the grape was full-bodied, concentrated, aromatic wines that can work in stainless steel fermentation tanks (to preserve fruitiness and aromatics), or wooden ones (with gentle oxidation taking place leading to mouth-filling wines). Once World War II came along, Piedmont and many other regions had to focus on higher-yielding grapes like Cortese to quickly rebuild the wine industry and Nascetta was all but doomed.

Then in the 1990s, renewed interest in the variety came from Giacomo Bologna and Elvio Cogno, the latter tasting some wines that were bottled in the 1980s and being captivated by the complexity of the wine. It was time to get to work in restoring Nascetta's place among the great wines Piedmont. By 2002, "Langhe Nascetta" became a recognized appellation and its fortunes were reversed. Today, there are some who think Nascetta has a chance to go from great to special, and I can understand why when I tasted Cogno's example back in 2010.

Now, let it be known that wines made from Nascetta will be on the pricier side, but they are worth it when you can find them. Fortunately, if you have access to the wines of 90+ Cellars, you can try a Nascetta for about $14. The floral notes come through as well as a lemon curd flavor on the palate that I really liked. The Cogno example hits $25 or more. Either way, both are terrific. If you want to track down the Cogno wine, feel free to ask your retailers if they have access to the Wilson Daniels portfolio of products; they should be able to order the wine for you.

So give it a shot! If you like to try and pick out layers of flavors from a complex wine, Nascetta is definitely for you. If you are looking to branch out from Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc, you can lean on Nascetta as an outstanding alternative that is worth your time and money.