Caluso, they want to conquer the identity of Erbaluce for part of their production. Favorable Iuculano: «An opportunity». Definitely perplexed the mayors. Meeting with the mayors
CALUSO
The wine war breaks out. After the battles of a few years ago, weapons were sharpened for that linked to the identity of the Erbaluce and, specifically, to the possibility of releasing the Erbaluce di Caluso docg brand which could, therefore, also be extended to other territories: the hills of Novarese and the entire Valle d’Aosta, so to speak, returning in force to the attack after the failed attempts in 2007 and 2010.
An option advocated by the president of the Consortium for the protection of Caluso and Doc Carema and Canavese wines, Antonino Iuculano, and by some members of the board of directors. Other members of the board, on the other hand, are decidedly opposed, including the Erbaluce di Caluso winery. The mayors of the 36 municipalities of the Erbaluce DOCG area are also perplexed. To clarify and hear the opinions of all, the Consortium and the Municipality of Caluso have organized a round table to be held before the assembly of the members of the wine protection body, scheduled for next Thursday 2 September, at 16, to the Erbaluce hotel.
Many winegrowers, after the release proposal, had gone to protest by the mayors of whom the first town of Caluso, Maria Rosa Cena, is the spokesman. «Given that historically the creation of this brand has been an initiative strongly desired by the mayors – emphasizes Cena -, as administrators we feel we can share the concern of the winemakers. In our opinion, the proposal could have significant economic and tourist effects. Believing that the mayors are one of the parties involved in the matter, we therefore asked to be able to participate in the assembly in order to be able to evaluate all together the possible consequences of this operation ». For Iuculano it is instead a development opportunity for Erbaluce “which would not lose its territorial identity at all, since the docg would remain exclusive to the Calusian area, while other producers would be given the opportunity to use the Erbaluce brand for the production of doc wines. In fact, the white grape grown in the Novara hills and in the Aosta Valley is in all respects an Erbaluce grape ».
In 2007 it was the Valle d’Aosta that tried to try to launch an Erbaluce produced in its territory in the Arnad and Donnas area on the market. For Mauro Chianale, then president of the regional wine cellar of the province of Turin, which he had contributed to founding, the initiative would have damaged and frustrated all the long research and promotion work carried out by the protection consortium. «A job – said Chianale – that allowed Erbaluce to become part of the Olympus of Italian white wines. What characterizes Erbaluce is precisely the fact that it is an indigenous grape variety. Another Erbaluce grown and then produced in a terroir that is not the original one would create confusion in an already difficult market. Consumers would also be disoriented, it is as if Caluso were making fontina cheese. The risk is di throw away all the work and studies done to improve the quality of Erbaluce ».
Lydia mass