Michele Chiarlo is best known in the United States for two enormously successful products, Barbera d’Asti and Moscato d’Asti. These two are the most common of the traditional wines of his home region, the Piedmont (Piemonte) of Northwestern Italy. Red wine from Barbera grapes has been the everyday table wine of Piedmontese homes for many generations, consumed regularly, abundantly, and usually uncritically. Sweet wines from the Moscato di Canelli grape are equally traditional. In the U.S. Asti Spumante is the best known. However, in the region of production, Moscato d’Asti is the dessert wine of choice. Young, fresh and ever so slightly bubbly, good Moscato is bursting with fresh fruit aroma, and finishes with a wonderful balance of sweetness and natural acidity.

Chiarlo’s Barbera d’Asti consistently appears on “Best Buy” lists, justifiably so. It is a modern expression of the age-old everyday red wine. This is Barbera softened by modern winemaking techniques. The grapes are gently macerated and fermented on the skins for a moderate time, in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. Modern, efficient handling of the fruit also eliminates unwanted strains of yeast and bacteria, yielding “juice” more true to the character of the grape. Chiarlo also induces malolactic fermentation. This bacterial action converts malic acid (green apple) to the much softer tasting lactic acid (milk). The result of all these efforts is a Barbera full of fresh fruit aroma and taste, but less astringent and one dimensional than the wines of old. When Michele Chiarlo began his enterprise in 1956 Barbera was his first wine. Over the years he has helped to elevate it to world-class status. His regular release is comparatively abundant. It is almost always available in our area at $10 to $12 a bottle. Ready to drink on arrival, it is a wine for everyday. Serve it with any casual red meat dinner. It is great for cookouts and picnics. A glass (or two) of good Barbera d’Asti can elevate a ham sandwich to gourmet fare.

Chiarlo’s Moscato is labeled “Nivole”. The stunning label pictures a brilliant sun emerging from clouds. This wonderful dessert wine has been a growth phenomenon. No doubt the distinctive packaging (brilliant label, long slender bottle) has been a big part of Nivole’s success, but the wine inside is a real winner. Low in alcohol and tasting of fresh fruit rather than heavy syrup, this Moscato is the most recommended dessert wine in Italian Restaurants. This one is even light enough to serve as an aperitif on a warm summer afternoon. It is a great match for fruit tarts, light cakes, and any dessert featuring peaches or apricots. Adding to the winning combination is the price. A 375ml bottle of Nivole (the right amount for four people) is about $10!

Nivole and the Barbera d’Asti are the most widely available products of the winery, but they are far from the whole story. Chiarlo has acquired important parcels of some of the finest vineyard sites in Italy. Three facilities have been established to make an array of premium products. Important sites in the region of Asti have led to the production of “Super Barberas”. The first of these to reach the U.S. is “La Court”, coming from the top produce of one of Chiarlo’s own vineyards. This wine will further reshape the world opinion of the Barbera grape. La Court is a noble wine deep in texture, delicious in its youth and destined to age for a decade or more. At around $35, it is certainly no everyday wine, but it is nevertheless a bargain, a wine for serious collectors (or for anyone who wants a really great red for a fine steak dinner).

From the districts Barolo and Barbaresco, Chiarlo has proved his hand at two of Italy’s established “Gran Crus”. Regular releases from each of these prominent villages sell for under $40 and rival wines at twice the price. And, if you are ready to pay twice the price, Chiarlo has single vineyards in Barolo that have few peers. Wines labeled “Brunate”, “Cannubi”, and “Cerequio” reach the U.S. in very limited quantities. The recently released 1999 vintage of these three will be some of the greatest Italian red to reach our shores, ever.

As if all that were not enough, Chiarlo is producing fine Gavi, and Rovereto Gavi di Gavi, dry whites from the region’s famous Cortese grape. And then there are the Grappas, distilled from the same grapes used to make the various wines, -but perhaps another day.
Learn more at Michele Chiarlo’s excellent web site: www.chiarlo.it

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