Valle d’Aosta: Micro Productions, Mega Quality

BY IAN D'AGATA | JANUARY 21, 2020

There is good and bad news about Valle d’Aosta and its wines. The good news is that, as I have said and written before, when it comes to Italian wine, the Valle d’Aosta is Lilliputian in size and quantities made, but veritably Brobdingnagian in terms of quality. The region is a treasure trove of cool-climate, high-acid, food-friendly wines made mostly from rare local grape varieties that boast a plethora of unique aroma and taste profiles. And as if that weren’t enough, Valle d’Aosta also features a number of very good Italian wines made with international varieties; the whites, especially, rank with the country’s best. For example, no region in Italy makes better Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio (called Pinot Gris in Valle d’Aosta in honor of the region’s French roots); certainly, Italy’s most interesting Chardonnay wines are not the generally bland, dilute versions churned out in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, or the over-oaked bombs of Alto Adige. And don’t miss the many other standout whites made in the region with Gewürztraminer, Pinot Grigio, Müller-Thurgau, Petite Arvine and Moscato Bianco, all of which also rank with the best made in Italy and the world. In fact, the Valle d’Aosta produces some of the country’s most delicious Pinot Noirs too, easy-drinking charmers aged in stainless steel (as elsewhere in Italy, local oaked versions of Pinot Noir rely too much on spicy vanillin nuances to impress, offering very little in the way of fruit).

The scenic view from Les Granges

Before you start getting too excited, though, here’s the bad news. Unfortunately, as Valle d’Aosta is a small region (at 3,261 km2, it is Italy’s smallest; the next smallest region, Molise, is 4,461 km2) with limited vineyard land, its wine production is small too; consequently, most of the better wines are quickly scooped up locally. But don’t let scarcity discourage you from trying to get a taste of what are by far Italy’s most interesting and fun wines, and quite unlike those made anywhere else.

Valle d’Aosta is also one of Italy’s most beautiful places and great restaurants and trattorias abound – and that’s saying something, given that the country is not exactly short of either of those things. However, if you can’t visit the region and its wine estates on a vacation or work trip, make a point of searching out the best wines at home, as many are exported as well.