Demarie Roero Arneis DOCG 2012

In the traditional culture of Roero, the name Arneis is given to someone who is extroverted and charismatic, but also a bit rebellious. Not surprisingly, this description of Arneis aptly fits Demarie’s full-bodied 2012 Roero Arneis. There’s nothing delicate about Demarie’s Arneis, although it never comes across as brash or crass. It does, however, offer up a rather pronounced nose reminiscent of apricots and wild white peaches steeped with broom and chamomile. And on the palate, this Roero Arneis reveals full, robust fruit flavors tempered by subtle floral tones, a deft hint of fennel and a hint of almond as it slips down the throat. Dry, persistent and mouth filling, Demarie’s Roero Arneis provides the ideal companion to Piedmont’s complex cuisine. For optimal enjoyment we suggest serving this wine between 40°-50° F.

Demarie’s full-bodied 2012 Roero Arneis makes an excellent aperitif, especially for those searching for more than a delicate quaff. Yet, it is in the company of food that Arneis makes its greatest case. It pairs admirably with hors d’oeuvres, light first courses and all kinds of vegetables, even vegetables such asparagus and artichokes that are typically hard to pair with wine. Demarie’s Arneis also offers an ideal accompaniment to fish and poultry, including salmon baked with fennel, orange and herbs and chicken fricassee. Country pâtés and foie gras provide exceptional companions, too, as the extroverted nature of Arneis complements the rich flavors inherent in most pâtés, but feel free to experiment with this substantial white wine. Enjoy!

Three generations of the Demarie Giovanni family oversee the domain’s 35 acres of vineyards amid the rolling hills of Piedmont’s picturesque Roero DOCG. Located in the heart of Italy’s Piedmont, halfway between Asti and Cuneo, Roero takes its name from a noble family from nearby Asti who ruled the region during the fiefdom’s centuries’ long domination by the Counts of Savoy. Roero has been called “a tiny paradise” for its beautiful landscape, a contrasting series of steep and low undulating hills, upon which many of Piedmont’s finest wines emanate, most notably the noble Arneis. On the region’s prized slopes, the vines grow using the ancient guyot system of planting and alternate with the area’s abundant fruit orchards. Hazel nut groves and thick green woods populate the land, too, punctuated by clusters of ochre and yellow stone structures that lend a soft peaceful patina to Roero.

Amid the gentle hills of Roero, the Demarie Giovanni family sustainably cultivates the region’s traditional Piedmontese grape varieties, but none more exciting than the estate’s captivating Arneis. All of the estate’s grapes are handpicked and processed in Demarie’s brand new green A+ rated energy efficient winery that opened in October 2013. In addition to producing world class Arneis, Demarie fashions excellent Roero Nebbiolo and dry Spumante as well as Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera, Moscato, and more.

In the north of Italy, nestled just beneath the great Alpine wall as it tumbles out of Switzerland and the gleaming Mediterranean Sea, lies Italy’s Piedmont (Piemonte). It is a region of myriad beauty. It is also the region of Italy closest to France in proximity as well as in the sheer quality and variety of exceptional wines it produces. For centuries, Italy’s Piedmont remained a prize to be won among warring European powers, no doubt at least in part on account of the province’s world famous cuisine that still draws happily on the abundance and quality of local truffles. Yet today, it is the superbly made wines of Italy’s Piedmont that garner the most international recognition: complex, hedonistic red wines such as Barolo and Barbaresco, complex, still white wines such as Arneis, and sweet, haunting Moscatos. With such exquisite fare, should anyone question why the hearty robust delights of the Piedmontese table remain the region’s most famous ambassadors to a hungry and thirsty world?