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Legends and virtues of the “Colli Tortonesi Timorasso DOC”
Vitinerario is an invention, an abstract concept, a neologism born from the blend of the two words “Vite” (Vine) and “Itinerario” (Itinerary). Vitinerario represents the need, the urgency, the desire to travel emotionally through the world of wine and more generally of food and wine. Therefore, we will travel together and stop at real or ideal places, telling stories, myths, and legends linked to the world of good food and good wine.
In this stage of the Vitinerario, we try to move away from the “comfort zone” that is our Basilicata and head to Piedmont, to the Colli Tortonesi, to discover a wine that is not among the most well-known. We are talking about Timorasso.
Legend has it that towards the end of the 1200s, there lived on a mountain between the Republic of Genoa and the Grand Duchy of Milan, a grumpy and dangerous goatherd named Gioacchino di Tonio.
As the years went by, Gioacchino’s rough and violent ways became increasingly known in all the surrounding towns and his bad reputation grew so much that he earned the nickname “Burbero” (the Gruff One). Due to an exceptionally harsh winter, Gioacchino was forced to descend into the valley, approaching the inhabited centers and in particular an area that, precisely because of his passage, took the name “Val del Burbero” (today’s Val Borbera).
During his passage, Gioacchino noticed a young and beautiful girl named Donna Elisia della Colomba and, driven by his wild nature, he attacked her with unheard-of violence, so much so that only the intervention of one Claudiano di Mario, one of the noblewoman’s suitors, managed to restrain Gioacchino’s fury. The screams were so loud that they spread throughout the area and were heard by the noble Ser Valterio dei Massi, who immediately intervened, striking and immobilizing the Burbero with large stones.
From that day on, Gioacchino changed his life and, in the service of Valterio, devoted himself completely to the activities of his new master’s vineyard. The same pleasant fate befell Elisia and Claudiano, who also dedicated themselves to caring for their own vineyards. The typical white wine of the Colli Tortonesi was thus given the name “Timor del Sasso” which later evolved into today’s “Timorasso”.
Returning to the present, when I first tasted this wine I was moved and enchanted by its freshness and its floral and fruity aromas to the point of adding this gem to the list of my favorite wines. Timorasso is, before being a wine, a native white grape variety of the Colli Tortonesi in the province of Alessandria. Today it is a niche product but it absolutely deserves to be tried, perhaps paired with some light appetizers, seafood first courses, fish main courses, or even aged cheeses.
Trust me, you won’t be able to do without it anymore!
Luigi Chiera
You can also find this article in the PopZone magazine!
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