The village of Carema lies in a natural amphitheatre of terraced vineyards on the west side of the Dora Baltea valley, on the Piedmontese side of the regional border with the Val d’Aosta.
Below is the motorway which climbs up the valley to the Mont Blanc tunnel; above are the first high peaks of the Alps.
Ten years ago the wines of Carema and its unique terraces were in a state of decline, which seemed destined to relegate them to obscurity.
But recent years have seen a rejuvenation of the village, and so I visited the area to meet some of the producers bringing winemaking back to life.
Eight Nebbiolo from Carema listed below
Carema is made from a biotype of Nebbiolo known locally as Picotendre (the name reveals the influence of the French-speaking Val d’Aosta) or alternatively as Picotener or Picotendro.
If the wines of the Langhe are all about power and depth, Carema shows the more subtle, refined face of Nebbiolo. The combination of sandy soils and sub-Alpine climate bring out the complex aromas of the variety in wines with the classic pale shades of the variety, along with fine-knit tannins, vibrant energy, and alcohol levels hovering between 13-13.5%.
The wines of Carema tend to drink earlier than those of Barolo or Barbaresco, and one suspects they have the prerequisites to age – although the scarcity of older bottles makes that hard to confirm.
Carema’s terraces
The remarkable terraced vineyards of Carema are the epitome of heroic mountain viticulture. Supported by drystone walls which follow the contours of the hillside, they rise from around 300 metres above sea level to over 600 metres, with stamina-sapping gradients.
The terraces are completely covered by a roof of vines trained on an ingenious pergola system. Every three metres, a chestnut beam reaches from the back wall of the terrace to the wall of the one in front, where it is supported by a stone pillar.
Smaller lateral beams cross from left to right, forming a grid over which the vines extend in a tangle of vegetation above head height.
In the past, the system served to optimise space by allowing for the planting of vegetables under the pergolas – but it also has viticultural functions.
The rigid structures protect the vines from the fierce winds which blow down the valley, and the stones of the walls and pillars absorb heat during the day and release it during the night and early morning, protecting against frost.
Dying art
Pergola training also has an important influence on the character of the wines. Local enologist and producer, Vittorio Garda says that compared to wire-trained systems, pergola-grown wines have slightly lower alcohol and slightly higher acidity, which in times of ongoing climate change is a significant advantage.
There are, however, disincentives. Yields are low (an average of 40 quintals/ha) and the cost of maintaining the pergolas is high. Pruning the canopy is also a highly specialised task, which as the Cantina Produttori Nebbiolo di Carema cooperative’s agronomist, Alessio Maneglia, explains risks becoming a dying art.
For these reasons, many of the new growers are experimenting with guyot training and the simpler Veronese pergola of Soave and Valpolicella. Some of the older producers I spoke to find the trend disturbing, and they fear for the loss of Carema’s unique identity if the pergolas disappear.
The debate is destined to intensify in the coming years, as tradition and innovation inevitably come into stark contrast.
Rejuvenation
In 1967, the year Carema obtained DOC status, there were apparently 40 hectares in production in the village, and eight producers. By 2012, official data shows that the surface area was down to just 12ha and there were only two producers left: the admirable Cantina Produttori, which continues to play a vital role in sustaining production, and one independent bottler.
The reversal of this trend came in subsequent 12 years, with the arrival of six new winemakers, all of whom are now bottling wines.
‘In 10 years, we have managed to double the area under vine, from 12 hectares to 25 hectares, with at least another five hectares to come into production,’ says Gianmarco Viano, recent past president of the Giovanni Viticoltori Canavese association.
Many of the association’s members are among the new investors in Carema.
Thanks to the influx, production has gradually increased over the past four years to the equivalent of just under 80,000 bottles in 2022, and is destined to continue to grow.
Rosier future
The challenges new producers face are not insignificant. Finding vineyard to rent or buy to create a viable property is arduous in a context of highly fragmented ownership.
Many of the members of the Cantina Produttori cooperative, who could potentially supply the market, work less than a hectare of vines each.
Access to most of the terraces is solely on foot – mechanisation is a non-starter – and the logistics of winemaking are complicated in the cramped cellar spaces of the traditional stone-built houses in the village, and few have the opportunity to build new.
Despite these difficulties, I found enthusiasm and a palpable sense of momentum in the village. It is unlikely that production will ever return to the levels of 40 years ago, but there is no doubt that Carema has a future again.
And to judge by the exciting, hand-crafted wines coming out now, it will be a rosy one.
Carema: Eight wines to know
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