Nebbiolo Chinato, “In Chino”

Wines

In Serralunga d’Alba around 1870, a druggist, Giuseppe Cappellano, developed a vermouth using the local Nebbiolo wine. He called it Chinato (Cinchona Officinalis (quinine) was one of his main ingredients). This Vino Aromatizzato was endorsed by the House of Savoy and soon became famous as a digestif. You can also chill it for an apéritif, use it as a substitute for Vermouth in any cocktail, or it can be mixed with a Prosecco and soda to make a spritz.

In Chino is made according to an old recipe from the Langhe region of Piemonte featuring Cinchona root (Cinchona Officinalis), Cinchona calisaya bark, quassia, and a special blend of herbs and spices.

Type: Vino Aromatizzato, red, botanically infused, aromatized, fortified wine.

Varietal: 100% Langhe Nebbiolo

Wine Details:

Tasting Notes:

Color: Deep, dense red-brown.

Bouquet: Intense, bitter and honey notes with hints of toasted clove, eucalyptus, cinnamon and coriander.

Taste: These flavors evolve on the palate into a yin-and-yang of bitter and sweet that coats the tongue; rhubarb, date, sultana, cloves, five spice and orange bitters are all present and there is a lovely, warm mouth-feel. An incredibly long, intense finish that is both dry and sweet.

Alcohol: Approx. 16.5% Vol.

Serving temperature: 15-16° C (59-62º F), or chilled 10°C (50°F)

Pairing: Try it with chocolate. With a meal, it is kind of its own course, either the first or the last, tutti e due.

Vinyard Notes:

Production zone: Rodello.

Vineyard area: The grapes come from a vineyard extends over an area of one hectare.

Exposure: The vineyard is on a plateau.

Altitude: 420 m Meters a.s.l.

Vine density: Approximately 5,000 vines per hectare

Soil: A composition of sand 27%, silt 51%, and clay 22%..

Training Method: Guyot. The vineyard is manged using balanced dry pruning, a careful cure in the moment of greater vegetative development and a radical thinning before and after the beginning of the ripening. This is all manually executed for quality control. The only treatments are as needed applications of copper sulphate and pit sulfur, as well as control of the vine growth.

Winemaking Notes:

Mossio's "In Chino" is made with their own 100% Langhe Nebbiolo wine infused with cinchona calisaya bark, quassia, and a special blend of herbs and spices before resting for a prolonged aging process.