Wine of the Week: Erbaluce di Caluso DOCG from the Cieck Winery

Ciao Tutti!

This weekend at Piazza Italian Market, we will taste the Erbaluce di Caluso DOCG ($19.50, 12.5% ABV) from the Cieck winery in San Giorgio Canavese, near Turin in Piemonte.  “Erbaluce” translates as “dawn light” for the grape’s pale yellow-green color that resembles dawn’s early light. “Cieck” was the name of an old farmhouse on the site where the winery was founded in 1985, on land where at the end of the 19th century, one of the owner’s great-great-grandfather grew his grapes. The embossed profile of a falcon on the label is a sly reference to the last name of two of the three winemakers, “Falconieri”. The design also includes a swirl of the “k” in Cieck that becomes a stem above a triangle of circles that symbolize grapes.

Erbaluce is an ancient grape that was Piemonte’s first white wine DOC and now enjoys its DOCG designation. Initially, winemaker Remo Falconieri intended to grow grapes to become a small producer of sparkling wines. He left his job at Olivetti as a typewriter designer to spend time in France learning about the production of sparking wines. His first harvest of Erbaluce Metodo Classico was released in 1987. Fate intervened and now Cieck is a trio who produce three sparkling wines, one rose’, two white wines, three red wines and one dessert wine. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The winery has five vineyards and Erbaluce is grown in the 1.8 hectare Misobolo vineyard. It is the oldest vineyard that still has an original, ungrafted vine that is almost 100 years old. The vine was planted before the attack of phylloxera that decimated Europe’s vineyards. Cieck uses the “pergola” system to train their vines to spread out and form canopies in neat rows throughout the vineyard. At harvest time, workers must reach up instead of down to harvest  the grapes. 

I enjoy Erbaluce for its fresh bouquet, minerality, and bright acidity; it is a perfect paring with one of Piazza’s cheeses, which we will taste this weekend. It is also pairs well with oysters, any fresh fish or light creamy entrees. Erbaluce has earned a following with customers but if you have not yet tasted it, come join me Friday from noon to 5:45 or Saturday from noon to 4:45.

Cin Cin!

Jenn

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Piazza Italian Market is located in the Talbot Town Shopping Center, suite 23, in Easton, MD.

Contributor Jennifer Martella has pursued dual careers in architecture and real estate since she moved to the Eastern Shore in 2004. She has reestablished her architectural practice for residential and commercial projects and is a real estate agent for Meredith Fine Properties. She especially enjoys using her architectural expertise to help buyers envision how they could modify a potential property. Her Italian heritage led her to Piazza Italian Market, where she hosts wine tastings every Friday and Saturday afternoons.