The first thing you notice about Luca Bosio is how young he looks. Of course, I thought it was owning mostly to how old I am – at my age, everyone looks young. But Luca looks too young to be a third generation winemaker, until I found out that he attended one of five “wine high schools” in Italy that trains and educates children from winemaking families, beginning at a very young age.
Luca spent six years at Wine High before going on to University where he majored in, what else, oenology. Following graduation from University, he started in the family business, Bosio Vineyards, at a very young age. Which would explain my initial impression (and thank goodness I don’t need glasses, except to drink wine out of).
Luca Bosio Vineyards, now in its third generation, was established in 1967 by farmers Egidio and Angela. Their son, Valter Bosio married Rosella and along with their son Luca, a graduate winemaker, work tirelessly to keep up the family tradition. Luca has brought a wave of fresh new ideas and techniques to improve the winemaking in both production and marketing areas of the business. After the success of his innovations, and under the constant support of his family, the company has decided to take the name of Luca Bosio Vineyards.
Luca Bosio Vineyards winery is located in the center of the Langhe region of Piedmont, which literally straddles two distinct appellations. The company has 60 acres of vineyards and sources additional grapes from other high-end vineyards in Piedmont.
You can literally taste Luca’s freshness in his delicious, approachable wines. Here are a few to hunt down in our area.
There is not a lot of wines in our market that are made from the Arneis grape, and that’s a shame, because they are delicious. The 2013 Luca Bosio Vineyards Roero Arneis DOCG is a beautiful white wine with a clean, floral nose, and a crisp palate featuring notes of pineapple, apricot and peach that flow over the palate and ends with a refreshing finish. $20
Leda has been a faithful companion to the Bosio family for 14 years and is legendary for her ability to hunt truffles. The family named this wine in her honor so her legacy and story will live on each time a bottle is opened and a glass is toasted. The 2013 Luca Bosio Vineyards Leda, The Truffle Hunter Barbera d’Asti DOCG is made from 100% Barbera. It is ruby red in color and displays ample red fruit on the nose. Its silky tannins support lovely flavors of cherry, red berry and plum and provides a smooth mouthfeel. This “easy-to-drink” wine has a freshness and approachability that makes it a great wine to enjoy with pasta, chicken and pork. $15
The Nebbiolo grape is one of the red-wine stars of the Piedmont region, and gets star treatment in the 2011 Luca Bosio Vineyards Barbaresco DOCG. This 100% Nebbiolo wine shows floral aromas of toast, baking spices and earth tones, thanks to the 24 months it spends in oak. It has great structure that supports dark raspberry, black plum and cassis flavors and an underpinning of chocolaty notes on the smooth finish. The tannins are refined and they will continue to mellow throughout the aging process and become more round and well-structured. $37
Barolo is also made from the Nebbiolo grape, but takes on a different style thanks to the soils found in the Barolo region. The 2009 Luca Bosio Vineyards Barolo DOCG is a big wine carried by substantial tannins. It starts out with a variety of aromas, including dark fruit, dried herbs and leather. Flavors of dark cherries, black plums, prunes and cocoa play out on a grand canvas of tannins and will definitely continue to evolve and smooth out over time. $44
Just for fun, and delicious fun at that, end your evening with a slightly sparkling bottle of 2013 Luca Bosio Moscato d’Asti DOCG. This straw-yellow Moscato is made from the Moscato Bianco grape and has one of the highest levels of complex aromas of any Piedmont grape, with vivid aromas and flavors of white peach, ripe nectarine and apricot on a light body with a delicate, fizzy finish. A beautiful accompaniment with fresh berries at the end of the meal. $18
