Do you know what Timorasso is?

While doubts remain about this grape’s origin, what is certain is that it existed in ancient times in the Curone, Grue and Ossona Valleys and the Val Borbera, in the province of Alessandria. Apparently, even Leonardo da Vinci was a fan if it and for the wedding of Isabella of Aragon paired an old local cheese, Montebore – which was made into the unusual shape of a three-level wedding cake – with an excellent white wine, Timorasso, which exalted the cheese’s flavors.

At the beginning of the 1990s, a group of young producers, led by Walter Massa and inspired by Franco Martinetti, a famous gastronomist and eleveur of wine in his own right, brought this ancient varietal back, having recognized its great potential, and created some well-made wines.

The grape’s bunch is of medium size, compact and long with small and large grapes with a green-yellow color and, sometimes, there are branches that have no grapes at all. The grape has a high sugar content and a nice acidity.

The wines made from this grape have a great intensity with fruity and floral scents of peach and acacia and a nice minerality. With aging, the mineral and hydrocarbon notes, which are similar to those of a Riesling, become more distinct and defined. The mouthfeel has body and structure and a good balance between soft and hard sensations.

Some of the best wines in circulation are the Colli Tortonesi Derthona Timorasso, a name that a group of producers, belonging to the association to protect and promote Colli Tortonesi, gave their varietal Timorasso wine and which is the old name of the city of Tortona. As Walter Massa loves to say, Timorasso should be drunk when its green color merges with the yellow to recreate the Brazilian flag.

Related Products