The UnCorker

Weird Wine of the Week: 2006 Gugiarolo Pinot Nero Vercesi Del Castellazzo

Weird? Maybe not, when you think about it, lots of white wines come from red grapes- a blanc de noir from champagne is 100% Pinot Noir, as are plenty of white sparklers from around the world. Still wines like this are pretty rare, so it makes you wonder, why take Pinot Noir and vinify it white? Often, as in the case of lots of those sparklers, its that that Pinot adds aromatic complexity and loads of acid despite(or because of) the fact that it often doesn’ t fully ripen in northern zones. The 2006 Gugiarolo from Vercesi del Castellazzo is a case in point; straw yellow with green highlights,  delicate floral aromatic complexity that includes a bit of lime skin, lemon and a bitter almond skin like finish and a ton of acidity-  the Gugiarolo a wine thats gonna blow your hair back? Probably not, itsclean, its bright and easy to drink, but to us at The UnCorker, its instructive- from this bottle, we learn that red wine gets its color from its skin, not its flesh, that its fun to say Oltrepo Pavase,  the DOC, which clearly allows almost anything if it allows for this unusual wine.