Dolcetto is a red wine grape from Piemonte in Italy.
Dolcetto means "little sweet one", probably because the grapes ripen (become sweet = dolce) before other varieties. Or maybe Dolcetto derives from the local dialect "Dosset" or "hills", typical of Piedmontese wine landscape.
The people of Piemonte have always enjoyed their famous red wines (Barolo, Barbaresco, and Barbera), but their traditional everyday wine has been Dolcetto.
Dolcetto is light and soft and can be drunk young, due to low acidity and soft tannins.
Traditionally, Dolcetto is served in the middle of a meal, after the whites and before the heavier reds.
Dolcetto was the everyday wine (Vino da tavola) in Piemonte after World War II. Today, Barbera is beginning to overtake the everyday wine role in Piemonte. Barbera produces more fruit and the price of Barbera is now lower than the price of Dolcetto.
"Traditionally we pair Dolcetto with spicy features such as garlic or pepper.
Outside Piemonte the wine is perfect with a classic pizza."
—Alfio Cavallotto, Cavallotto Winery.