Dogliani is one of the designated appellations for the production of wines from Dolcetto grape, one of the four major grapes of Piemonte . In part II of the series Subhash Arora writes about some of the producers he visited and their wines.
 In today's world of wine where big conglomerates are gobbling up the smaller ones and where brands are becoming more important than the sub-regions or even regions, the producers of Dogliani are too proud to fall in that mould.. As an outsider one wonders the need to have 7 doc appellations and 2 generics for such a small region, where Dolcetto Piemontese, the lowest in the current hierarchy could be a generic appellation that could be universally popular. But the producers here are too individualistic of the style of their wine because of their terroir and the history through which they have been connected with their fathers, grandfathers and beyond.
Chionetti
 As an illustration, let us take the example of Chionetti. Owned by 82 year old Quinto (a fifth child in the family in Italy) Chionetti, the wines win top honours in all the major ratings and tastings every year. If Angelo Gaja is named as Prince of Piemonte by Wine Spectator, Quinto certainly qualifies for that honour in Dogliani. He has perhaps done for Dogliani Dolcetto what Angelo did for Barbaresco Nebbiolo. Much more senior to Angelo in age, Quinto breathes Dolcetto. In fact, the day we visited his winery, he had gone to Rome for some award ceremony for one of his wines getting the top honours.
DOC Dolcetto di Dogliani 'Briccolero' and 'San Luigi' are the only Dolcetto produced by Quinto. He is entitled to label his wines DOCG Dogliani- a new appellation earned by the region a couple of years ago recognising superior wines in the appellation that meet the set norms. Since, this appellation does not allow 'Dolcetto' on the label he refuses to call his top level wines DOCG Dogliani and prefers sticking by his old label. Of course, he is revered by wine connoisseurs and producers alike, miles away.
San Fereolo
 Take the case of Nicoletta Bocca , the owner of a small winery named San Fereolo . Daughter of a well known and powerful political journalist, she chanced upon this area in the early nineties while on a visit. She fell in love with the place so much that she decided to set up a winery here. Initially partnering with her neighbour, she was so smitten with the concept of organic farming and bio-dynamic process of wine making that she studied the techniques on her own and has become a completely bio-dynamic producer, though not certified yet.
Not that she cares whether she gets it or not. She admits, 'Piemontese are very stubborn people and this shows in our wines too. I know the Italian authorities are very strict, chauvinistic and unwilling to give a certificate easily, especially when they know it is a woman.' She does not know or like to admit that this is a universal phenomenon; the bio-dynamic community is very close-clustered and suspicious of those wanting to join in. She has nevertheless, announced that she will continue making sure that everything she does in the vineyard or winery is biodynamic.
Stubborn that she may be in her own way, Nicoletta is also an example of the stuff Dogliani wine producers are made of. Not only is she is a farmer who runs her complete winery, including the marketing (it can get very frustrating at times, she admits, 'when people do not give the full respect our wines deserve'), she works on the computer, makes complete power point presentation on behalf of Bottega del vino Dolcetto di Dogliani, the association of producers from the region, and she also found time to help the Bottega organise a trip of foreign journalists to make the world take a note of its wines.
Going beyond the call of this extra duty, she even volunteered to take a well-known woman journalist from Calgary and me to a recently opened concept supermarket called Eataly, a designer chocolate factory owned by Guido Gubbino, followed by a cross-country drive via Alba to Roero area near Barolo, where after tasting of some Arneis wines from Malvirà we had dinner at a Michelin star restaurant; and she had to drive us back keeping the Italian laws on drunken driving in mind.
Abbona Anna Maria
 Bocca is not the only woman entrepreneur in Dogliani producing quality wines. Abbona Anna Maria is an internationally acclaimed winery owned by the woman of the same name. Anna Maria is a serious winemaker who with the help of her husband makes award winning wines. When I told her of the wine women's association called 'De Donne del Vino' and wondered if she was a part of it, her polite but firm reply was that she had no time for frivolous lunch meetings once or twice a month that they were known to have been conducting. She quickly added that she had heard they had become seriously recently and she won't mind looking at joining.
Poderi Luigi Einaudi
Ask any Italian if he has heard of Luigi Einaudi and he will laugh at you. With almost every big Italian city including Torino having a street named after him, how could he not know Luigi Einaudi, the first President of Italian Republic?
Einaudi was from Dogliani and his mounted statue decorates the big committee room in the Town Hall, where Mayor Gallo had welcomed a group of visiting journalists earlier this month at a wine tasting organised by the Bottega in the basement wine cellar of this historical building.
 Einaudi was a well known economist who had studied in England and had written hundreds of books and articles on Economics.
He was also the founder of the winery named after him. It is said that even when he was the President, he used to visit this winery often and was present at every harvest. His winery is one of the few Heritage wineries outside the Barolo appellation that is permitted to make Barolos here- an exception which has helped the grandson,
Matteo Sardagna
and his mother win several awards, not only for Dolcetto di Dogliani but also for Barolos. Several Tre Bicchieri, Five Grappoli (grape bunches) and many top awards do the late Einaudi proud.
The winery has a beautiful agriturismo which is quite modern and comfortable inside, while maintaining the looks of the old charm from outside. With a tariff of €93 a night for a single room, it promises to be an excellent base for a mini vacation in the region.
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