Valle D’Aosta

Tiny, alpine, and semi-autonomous, the Valle d’Aosta is Italy's smallest and least populous region.  A speck squeezed into the country’s northwestern corner, it is dwarfed on all sides by more imposing neighbors. Piedmont, 8 times as large, surrounds the valley to the east and south, while its western and northern boundaries are shaded by a pair of  Europe's most majestic peaks: Mont Blanc, which marks the border with France, and the Matterhorn, where you can stare up at Switzerland. 

It is, as you might imagine, a stunningly beautiful place, composed of stream and waterfall stippled mountain frescoes, and hosts world-class ski resorts, medieval castles, and the well-preserved ruins of its various historical inhabitants. Though the Celts came first, the most important of these for our purposes are the Romans and the French. The latter founded the capital city of Aosta after conquering the territory from the Celtic Salassi tribe in 25 BCE and, though there is limited evidence of winemaking that predates their arrival, it was likely the Romans that established meaningful viticulture in the area. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Valle D’Aosta came under the control of the Frankish Burgundy, and while never officially part of France, it retains a significant Gallic accent to this day, starting with the fact that  it is officially bilingual. (In fact, it adopted French as its official language in 1536 - three years before France itself!) 

Though the Francophone influence runs through the region's culinary and viticultural traditions as well, the Valle D’Aosta ultimately seems like a world unto itself - or several in fact. For while it finishes dead last in most Italo-vino metrics - acreage under vine, volume produced per annum, # of DOCs (there is one to cover the whole region)  -  you could argue it leads the field in the kind of categories most likely to yield interesting wine. Take topography: starting from 345 meters above sea level at the border with Piedmont in the southeast, the Valley climbs steadily upward towards the west, cresting, wine-wise, with Europe's highest commercial vineyards, Morgex et de la Salle, at 1300 meters. This is the birthplace of our white selection this month, the indigenous varietal Prie Blanc, made from the rare ungrafted continental vines grown on their own rootstock, since even phylloxera struggles to breathe at this altitude.  

It's only a slightly different story lower in the valley, where the bulk of the wine, most of it red, is produced. Prior to phylloxera, the valley had around 3000 hectares under vine, supporting a surfeit of different varietals. Unfortunately the notorious pestilence that swept through Europe in the 1860s  felled most of these, wiping out much of the area’s wine heritage. Starting after World War II however, strenuous efforts have been made to recover and extend that tradition. Today there are some 24 varietals growing in the Valle D’Aosta, 13 of them indigenous, planted on only 436 hectares. The region’s unique oenological endowment has been recognized in the form of the Institut Agricole Regional (IAR), an agricultural school, research center, and working farm that studies, preserves, and vinifies native varietals. The farming conditions remain quite difficult -  grapes are grown on terraces, stair step-style levels cut or built into the sides of the slopes, with pergolas (overhead trellises) to support the vines, all of which must be harvested by hand - and the yields miniscule (there is no demand for bulk wine from the region). Winemaking in the Valle D’Aosta requires an extreme enough level of passion and dedication that it has become known as ‘heroic viticulture.’  The reward, certainly for the drinkers (and hopefully for the vignerons) is some of the most vivid juice you’re likely to encounter, each bottling a synecdoche for the cloudland from which it descends. 

Salut,

Alan Hicks - Wine Buyer, Noe Valley 

Seupa à la Vapelenentse

(Valpellinense soup)

Full Disclosure: This Is Elio’s recipe from IWC November 2020. I looked around for something else, but nothing seemed as good and this will go well with either wine. Simple, delicious, satisfying fare for the colder months. You can make it vegetarian by substituting vegetable stock for the meat broth.  

Ingredients (serves  4)

1 medium-sized cabbage, preferably Savoy

2 liters (8 cups) meat broth (brodo)

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

6 ounces Fontina cheese, sliced thin

1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

4 tablespoons butter

12 slices rustic heavy bread, rye or whole grain, lightly toasted

Instructions 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Cut the cabbage in quarters, remove and discard the core. Cook the cabbage quarters in boiling water for about 5 minutes, then drain thoroughly; cut the leaves into 1⁄2 inch long strips.
3. Bring the broth to a boil, add the cabbage and cook until tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes.
4. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a sauté pan and over medium heat, add the onions; cook until translucent, then add the garlic and cook it until it becomes soft (not browned). Combine the onion garlic mixture with the cooked cabbage in broth.
5. Line the bottom of a 3 quart ovenproof, oven to table baking dish, with a layer of bread slices. 
6. Remove the cabbage from the broth with a slotted spoon and cover the bread with half of the cabbage. Top the cabbage with half of the Fontina cheese and a good sprinkling of Parmigiano cheese. Repeat with a second layer of cabbage and Fontina.
7. Pour the broth that the cabbage was cooking in over the layers of cabbage, bread, and cheese, adding enough to barely cover the top. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmigiano and drizzle the top with the melted butter. ‘
8. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for about one hour or until the zuppa is bubbling and golden crusted.
9. Serve bubbling hot.