Have you ever heard about Acqui DOCG Rosé?
In the last article, I gave you more details about Brachetto d’Acqui, talking about the grape, the styles, and the food pairings.
Now it’s time to talk about Acqui DOCG Rosé, the last-born wine in Alto Monferrato and regulated by the Consortium of Brachetto d’Acqui.
You should know that it’s not really “last-born” because there was a dry style of Brachetto already in 1873! It has not been promoted over time and was reintroduced in 2017.
I’ll tell you more details about the winemaking techniques and the profile tasting.
Are you ready? Let’s start!
How to produce Acqui DOCG Rosé
Acqui DOCG Rosé is produced from the Brachetto grape.
Hand harvesting usually happens in the first ten days of September. The grapes are immediately taken into the cellar for destemming and soft pressing to preserve the fruity aromas.
The juice from the pressing is put into a stainless steel tank at 12/15° C and after a short time, a portion of the juice is bled off for the Saignée method.
Saignée is one of the methods of producing rosé wines. The others are direct pressing from black grapes, short maceration, and blending (law regulations in some countries). Usually, makers who use the Saignée method use it because they produce red wines, which will be more concentrated because of the first bleeding off for the rosé.
The juice for rosé goes through the first fermentation, then clarification and is put in storage at -1° C.
But we need a sparkling wine and it can be possible to obtain it by the Tank Method (Charmat/Martinotti).
The wine is poured into a sealed tank with yeast, sugar, yeast nutrients for the second fermentation, then bubbles are formed.
After the second fermentation, the wine is filtered to remove the yeast lees and then bottled under pressure.
60 days pass from the second fermentation to the ageing of Acqui DOCG Rosé.
Peculiar characteristics
Acqui DOCG Rosé has a pale pink color.
Its bouquet offers the fine aromas of violet, wild strawberry, rose, raspberry, and a hint of licorice.
The body is medium, just like the acidity. On the long finish comes back the aromas of rose petals and wild strawberry.
Food pairing
Acqui DOCG Rosé is ideal for an aperitif with some friends.
Other delicious pairings could be with fish crudités or fish soup.
Wine and cheese always make a great pairing, but cheeses are not all alike. My suggestion with Acqui DOCG Rosé is a soft and not too aged cheese. A cheese that combines well with the long finish of Acqui DOCG Rosé is Robiola di Roccaverano DOP, goat cheese from Langhe.
Are you curious to taste Acqui DOCG Rosé?
Now you know all the info about Brachetto d’Acqui and Acqui Rosé. I’m very curious to discover your favorite pairing with these interesting wines.
And if you’re going to Monferrato, don’t hesitate to contact me. We can taste some wines together!
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Cheers
Simone
