Lessona Doc THE wine of Italy

Lessona Doc Label

This week we're talking about Lessona the smallest DOC which is produced solely in the Lessona area. Lessona is a tiny village near Biella, where Ermenegildo Zegna is based and it is about 1h driving north from Turin.

Biella coat of arms

Lessona is also known as the wine of Italy because back in 1870, the minister Quintino Sella chose it over champagne to celebrate the national unification of Italy.

It is an elusive wine cultivated only in the Lessona municipality in a pre-Alpine climate similar to where the Gattinara, Ghemme, Erbaluce di Caluso and Carema are made.

The soil is mainly an ancient marine sand, high in acids that provides excellent drainage.

The harvest is usually in mid-October and it is totally manual!

The grapes are destemmed and the fermentation process is rather long. The wine is aged for in large and medium-sized barrels. By law, Lessona must be aged for at least one year in wood and then another year in bottle before release.

Lessona Doc Production area in N. Piedmont

Lessona facts:

Lessona pairings

- color: garnet red

- scent: intense, aromatic, you can feel the violets and wild berries

- flavor: on the palate it is juicy, very fresh, limpid, and intriguing, interwoven by a solid tannic weave and by a sapid mineral wake

- because of its production area it is the most northerly produced wine in Piedmont 

- it is usually made mostly out Nebbiolo grapes

- alcohol content: 13.5%

It is ideally paired with braised meats, game, aged cheeses and polenta!

We conclude with this very interesting article (with a great wine map) about the history of Lessona and why it is such a rare and precious wine!

What a better reason to come over to try it do you need?

Lessona Doc label