Dolcetto

Piedmont's everyday-purple aperitif red.

Dolcetto — the name means little sweet one, referring to the grape itself, not the wine, which is dry — is Piedmont's third red after Nebbiolo and Barbera. It ripens early, yielding deeply colored, low-acid, modestly tannic wines meant for early drinking. Dolcetto d'Alba and Dogliani are the leading DOCs. The wines pair well with the antipasto and primi courses of a Piedmontese meal, before Barbera or Nebbiolo come out for the secondi.