A winemaking tradition

A winemaking tradition

Around Alassio, winemaking is an art which combines nature, ancient wisdom and modern technology. We recommend learning all about it not just by tasting a glass or two but also by taking a tour of one of the wineries in the area.

You will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the beautiful surroundings with a visit to the vines in the company of the families who have been in the business for generations.

In Alassio, you can take a tour of a number of wine cellars which open their doors to wine lovers, offering tastings which are incredible experiences that involve all of the senses.

Let us introduce some of the wines which you may come across during your time in Alassio.

Let’s start with the white wines of the Riviera di Ponente region of Liguria:

Pigato is a dry white wine, produced in the area around Albenga from Pigato grapes. Its colour can range from a pale straw to medium straw with golden tinges. It has a fruity and intense bouquet, with a full, fragrant and persistent aroma, notes of ripe peach and honey, fresh wild flowers and clary sage, and hints of musk and resin. Its taste is slightly warm, flavoursome, full-bodied, making it soft and balanced on the palate.
Serve at 10°C in medium sized goblet glasses with a long stem. Store lying down in the lowest part of the cellar, keeping the temperature a constant 11°-14°C. Remember that this wine reaches the peak of its taste and bouquet within its first year.
It pairs perfectly with traditional Ligurian food, such as trofie pasta with pesto, potatoes and beans, pansotto filled pasta, stuffed courgette flowers, cima alla genovese meat loaf and the local rabbit stew, coniglio alla ligure. It also brings out the flavour in fish dishes, such as salted anchovies, fried seafood, baked dorado and salted seabass.

Alcohol content: 11 – 13.5%
Total acidity: 5 – 5.5‰

Vermentino is a straw coloured white wine. It is produced in some parts of the Riviera di Ponente using Vermentino grapes, which are also known as Malvasia Grossa, Carbesso or Carbes. It has a delicate bouquet, characterised by notes of herbs and wild flowers, honey, resin, and peach. Its taste is dry but delicate and smooth, flavoursome, with good structure, sometimes slightly warm, persistent, with pleasing slightly bitter background notes.
Serve at 10°C in long-stemmed goblet glasses. Store lying down in the lowest part of the cellar at a constant temperature of between 10 and 14°C. This wine is also best drunk during its first year.
It pairs perfectly with traditional Ligurian cuisine and with fish dishes, and seafood starters and main courses: stuffed sardines, seafood salad, brandacujun a dish made from salt fish and potatoes, cappon magro salad, fish ravioli or soup, squid ink risotto, baccala, baby squid or octopus in tomato sauce, and baked seabass. You can also try out some interesting pairings with stuffed vegetables, pesto lasagne, pansotti pasta with walnut salsa, Easter cake, focaccia, Ligurian rabbit stew, fritters and fresh cheese.

Alcohol content: 11 – 13%;
Total acidity: 5 – 7‰

Lumassina is a dry white wine produced in Savona province, using at least 85% Lumassina (Buzzetto or Mataosso) grapes. For the remaining 15%, grapes with a similar coloured skin can be used, as authorised and/or recommended for Savona province. It is straw coloured, tending towards golden (traditional type, fermented with the skins). The bouquet is delicate and persistent, with notes of herbs and wild flowers, and it is possible to catch notes of burned wood. The taste is dry and delicate but with a pleasant flavour.
Serve at 10°C in long-stemmed goblet glasses to savour it at its best. It should be stored lying down in the lowest part of the cellar, at a constant temperature of between 10° and 14°C. This wine reaches the peak of its taste and bouquet within its first year.
This light wine perfectly balances more full-bodied meals such as frisceu fried dough, baccala fritters, mugnarelle fried vegetables, fried anchovies, and panissa, a rice dish similar to risotto. It also really brings out the rustic aromas of vegetables, so it is ideal with stuffed vegetables, farinata chickpea flat bread, Olivier salad, vegetable minestrone, anchovies in green sauce, and many other dishes from both land and sea.

Alcohol content: 10 – 11%;
Total acidity: 6 – 8‰

Moscato is one of the wine types which benefits from the Riviera Ligure di Ponente DOC status in Liguria, including its sparkling, late harvest, and resinated versions. It is made using 100% Moscato Bianco grapes and has a straw colour which may vary from pale to dark. Its characteristic bouquet features fragrant, aromatic and musky notes, whilst the taste is dry and balanced.
Serve between 8° and 9°C in long-stemmed goblet glasses. Store lying down, on the shelves of the cellar used for sparkling wines. It is recommended to drink this wine within one year of the grape harvest to fully appreciate its taste and bouquet.
Try it with a dessert at the end of a meal, particularly with biscuits with chocolate or hazelnut crème, such as the famous Baci di Alassio. It pairs well with leavened desserts containing pine nuts and raisins such as pane del marinaio fruit bread, Genoa cake and home-made cakes.

Alcohol content: 10.5%;
Total acidity: 5‰

Next we come to the red wines from the Riviera di Ponente:

Rossese is pale ruby coloured red wine. It has an intense, ample, persistent, keen and fruity bouquet with notes of rose, strawberry and raspberry combined with a slight vinosity. The taste is dry and flavoursome but smooth, persistent, with pleasant warmth, a balanced structure and typically slightly bitter background notes. It is made using Rossese grapes (95%) and a maximum of 5% red grapes provided the variety is authorised for the Liguria region. Rossese Riviera Ligure di Ponente DOC (also known as “di Campochiesa”) is not to be confused with Rossese di Dolceacqua, which in 1972 became the first wine to received DOC status in Liguria.
It should be served between 16° and 17°C in medium-stemmed goblet glasses. Store lying down in a cellar on the red wine shelves. The best time to drink it is between one and two years from the grape harvest, depending on the year.
It pairs perfectly with pasta dishes, including meat ravioli, trenette, meat risottos, as well as dishes with white or red meat, such as cima alla genovese meat loaf and stewed meats. In addition, it pairs well with squid soup, farinata chickpea flat bread and savoury pies in general.

Alcohol content: minimum 11%;
Total acidity: minimum 5‰

Granaccia is a dry red wine originally from Savona and the surrounding area. It is made using 85% grapes from the Alicante vine (known locally as Granaccia), whilst for the remaining 15% grapes with a similar skin colour can be used, provided they are not aromatic and are recommended and/or authorised for Savona province. The wine has a bright red colour with violet rims when it is young. It turns a deep ruby colour with shades tending towards garnet when aged for 3-4 years. If it ages further (6-8 years) it acquires a pale ruby colour with orangey rims. The bouquet, winy and fragrant when young, becomes more full-bodied and persistent over time, with notes of forest fruits and resin. The taste is dry, warm, soft and smooth, extraordinarily well-balanced and with a very strong character when at its best.
Serve between 16-18°C in long-stemmed balloon glasses to fully appreciate its intense bouquet. The best time to drink it is between 3 and 5 years after the grape harvest, however for very good years it can be aged for longer, improving the properties of the wine. In any case, store lying down in the lowest part of the cellar at a constant temperature of between 10 and 14°C.
Its intense aroma brings out the complex flavours of game and white meat dishes such as Ligurian rabbit stew, partridge, hare and guinea fowl. However, it also pairs very well with medium-ripe cheese, the traditional cima alla genovese meat loaf or a bowl of tagliatelle with mushrooms.

Alcohol content: minimum 12.00%
Total acidity: 4.5 – 6‰

Ormeasco is a Riviera Ligure di Ponente wine, most common to Pornassio and Pieve di Teco in Imperia province. It is produced using 95% Ormeasco grapes and with red grapes which are non-aromatic, authorised and/or recommended in Imperia province, up to a maximum of 5%. It is bright right in colour with violet rims when young but over time it becomes a deep ruby colour with garnet rims. The bouquet is winy and fragrant when young but it may become full-bodied and persistent, with notes of ripe cherries, blackberries and violet. When it ages, aromas of resin and freshly cut chestnut wood prevail. The taste is dry and tannic when young; if aged correctly it becomes warmer, more flavoursome but pleasantly smooth, well-bodied and with pleasing slightly bitter background notes.
Serve at 16-17°C if young, 18-19°C if aged, in a medium-stemmed goblet glass. Store lying down in the red wine part of the cellar at a constant temperature of between 10 and 14°C, because it is at its best when aged for two or three years.
Its character and well-balanced structure mean that it pairs very well with meaty filled pasta and polenta with sausage or meat stew. It really brings out the flavours and aromas of rabbit stew, meat kebabs, mushrooms and soft cheeses.

Alcohol content: minimum 11– 13.5%
Total acidity: 5‰