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Jennifer Docherty, Regione Vianoce, 1, Montegrosso d'Asti (2026)

23/07/2026

Scenes from Georgia part two. I was elated to see so many people out and about drinking past 22:30. The film and wine festival was hosted Château Mukhrani , and it was giving off great vibes. A team of us judged a mini wine competition, and I tasted 87 wines from various producers, giving me a snapshot of Georgian wines. There are some gems made from white varieties such as Rkatsiteli, Mtsvane and reds Saperavi and Shavkapito. On our final day, we were hosted by Beka Gotsadze at his winery and home, sending us off with a supra feast cooked by his mother-in-law. The last stop before the airport was a soak and a scrub at the natural sulfur baths.

31/12/2025

A relatively new wine endeavour (est. 2015), is the creation of Guido and Federico, who made their fortune in premium gelato using only the finest ingredients and have now carried this philosophy into grape growing and winemaking. Mura Mura means “live slow and wise” in Malagasy.

I brought a bottle of their Barbaresco Roncaglie 2021 during my spring visit to London on Nicholas’ recommendation from , their UK importer. It was a hit at our indulgent Chez Bruce lunch, so I was thrilled to visit them in person for the first time.

Gaja was the inspiration behind the quality of fruit used in both their former gelato enterprise and their current winemaking, which explains the polish and purity found in Mura Mura’s wines. I was impressed by the luminous, wild aromatics of Nebbiolo that only appear when the fruit is in pristine condition. The concentration of the wines was also notable, achieved through the costly practice of bleeding the must. As a result, the quality-to-price ratio and low production volume makes these wines outstanding value. As an acid freak, I found the Garibaldi Grignolino d’Asti 2022 exhilarating, with aromas of fresh strawberries and white pepper. The tannins weren’t shy, yet they were fine—a glou-glou wine, Italian style. Their Mercuzio Langhe Nebbiolo 2023, made from young Barolo and Barbaresco vines, is flirtatious, with fresh cherry fruit and subtle hints of rose. The Lago Barbaresco 2023 dazzles with its bright hue, offering cherries and strawberries balanced by sage, racy acidity, and a floral finish. The Starderi Barbaresco 2021 has an irresistibly moreish quality that makes your mouth water. This wine is structured and I would love to revisit it with some more time in bottle. Finally, the Roncaglie Barbaresco 2021 is arresting, with a fragrant blue-fruited nose, velvety tannins, and lively acidity. This wine is a rocket ship that takes me to the moon 🚀. Hong Kong importers, bring these wines here please!

31/12/2025

We had the pleasure of having Valter spend a couple of hours sharing with us the history and passion behind this fourth-generation producer. tipped me off and I had a bottle of Cogno Ravera 2017 during my 2023 trip to Piemonte, and part of me wanted to keep them a secret, but great producers deserve to be celebrated.

Valter, with a glint in his eye, wowed me with their Nascetta del Comune di Novello, a serious, ageable white treated to 50% oak and 50% stainless steel. He said Nascetta needs 5–8 years to show its best, something to keep in mind when browsing whites on a wine list. We tasted several vintages, all fresh and lively with charming aromatics and a savoury finish. The 2023 had a flinty note on the nose, which I loved, followed by sage and rosemary on the palate,
a theme also found in the 2021, which was rounder on the palate.

Cogno are meticulous about protecting their wines from oxidation, and it was the first time I learned that malolactic conversion takes place before primary fermentation on their reds. I also learned that Dolcetto used to be prescribed by doctors, like I need another reason to drink Piemontese reds. Their Langhe Nebbiolo was pale, made by carbonic maceration and whole-cluster fermentation; it was crunchy with raspberry fruit, and I could drink this chilled all summer while lounging by their pool.

Their Barbera d’Alba Pre-Phylloxera, made from ungrafted 130-year-old vines grown on sandy soils, showed oceanic depth and impressive concentration. They only make 1,800 bottles per year. Cogno were the first to put Ravera on the map, and on the label in 1991. The 2021 was stunning, complex and concentrated with seductive fruit.

Their Barolo Bricco Pernice Ravera 2020, an unlabelled riserva made from the Lampia Nebbiolo clone, was layered with baked cherries, wet stones, and rose petals swirling around, cinched by bracing acidity. The Ravera Vigna Elena 2019 was aromatic and lifted, with balanced acidity. The tannins were neatly gift-wrapped with rose and cherry on the finish. These wines took me to the moon 🚀🚀🚀🚀 and have joined my ever-expanding rotation.

29/12/2025

If you ever need to restore your faith in wine and humanity, I recommend visiting , they are pure gold. The tasting room is Zen, and I am immediately unwound and present to taste their range of beautiful wines. Mama Milena came to greet us, radiating positivity despite the dismal global conditions, and renewed my love of wine. If the world were ending, I would want to be transported here with my loved ones to drink, eat, and gorge on hazelnut chocolates for the rest of my days. The Vajra family sends a big box of Baci di Cherasco to ’ offices for Christmas, which is how I first came to love them.

All their wines are perfumed and serve as my benchmark when describing the style of Piemontese wines that bring me joy. The elegance and finesse in their wines are unmatched and run through the entire range, including their Luigi Baudana wines from Serralunga.

We tasted their Monterustico Dogliani Dolcetto 2024 from a winery they acquired in 2015. The grapes are pressed by hand rather than by foot. It was pale ruby, with lifted berry fruit on the nose, smooth tannins, and a charming creaminess on the palate. I longed for tajarin pasta with butter to go with this wine. Their Barbera always makes my recommended list for Vancouver friends and family from the BC monopoly, it is universally appealing and still great value. Their Barolo Le Albe is in regular rotation at home. I drink less these days, but I aim to drink better. The Ravera is regal, with structure and concentration. Bricco della Viole steals my heart; it’s a wine I would happily drink forevermore on a desert island 🏝️. It’s so seductive on the nose—stylish, with blue fruit aromas and savoury notes of elusive rose petals in spades. It’s leather and velvet, and the 2022 is as beautiful as ever. Another favourite is their Luigi Baudana Ceretta. The 2022 is concentrated, with mouthwatering acidity and cherry fragrance on the finish. They gifted Katie and me chocolates and a beautiful artwork of Ophrys insectifera, the fly orchid, which will be framed and hung prominently in my tiny HK flat.

29/12/2025

Our third visit to Aldo Conterno, the first time was in 2015, then in 2017, the year of the big snow. Snow is welcomed in winter to give water to the vines. Repeat visits of my favourite wineries are such a pleasure because you can see the wines and owners evolve. Giacomo was so generous to open so many bottles and gave us a sneak peak of the dry and hot 2022 vintage. Because 2021 was already dry, the vines adapted in 2022 by producing smaller berries, resulting in a concentrated and ripe vintage that drinks well earlier, but yields are way down. There were 3000 bottles produced of their Cicala, down from the usual 26,000 😱. I was reminded that the producers live amongst the vines and they practice organic farming because they want a pristine environment. I was also reminded that Piemonte was a poor region in the past, which is why they used chestnut instead of oak.

I love these wines, they are rich and powerful but still wonderfully balanced by the acidity and always so enticing on the nose. Their Barbera d’AlbaConca Tre Pile and Il Favot, which means pigeon house due to the pigeons that used to roost on the roof, Langhe Nebbiolo, is a treat for everyday drinking. Their Langhe Nebbiolo is made from younger vines that could be used in their Baroli, but because they are maniacal about quality, they wait 10-15 years before the vines are deemed suitable for their Baroli. My favourite is their Romirasco Barolo from their most historical site, with a map in the winery showing the plot from the 1500s. Romirasco always has the most sexy scented with spice and a mouth filling quality, and a lingering black tea finish. This is a wine I want on my desert island 🏝️. All of their wines are rocket ship wines that takes me to the moon 🚀🚀🚀.

19/12/2025

Straight off the red-eye to where I was immediately reminded of Piemonte’s sheer beauty and farming history. Oddero is a historical producer that has been farming since the 1700s and producing wines since 1878, beginning with Dolcetto. Nebbiolo and bottled wines came later. The winery museum felt like a review of my life, they used to grow mulberry trees for silkworms, we have two trees from Central Park that attracts neighbourhood mulberry pickers every year. Their antique sewing machines made me yearn for my missing appendage that has been with me from New York—>Vancouver —>London and is now waiting for me back in Vancouver. I have a huge hole from not being able to sew in HK, but it’s a space issue. Then they have an extensive collection of mushroom plates, which I covet badly because I am obsessed with them now that I am studying the magic kind for end-of-life distress.

The tasting started with their youthful venture Derthona, Monlina Timorasso, Colli Tortonesi 2023, made from the group’s own grapes, grown in a vineyard purchased in 2017. A complex white with exotic fruits, flowers and toast. It has all the checkmarks for a sought after wine 🤫, tiny yields/production, ability to develop in bottle due to its concentration, brisk acidity, lees stirring, and 1/3 oak fermentation, adding texture. A baller wine 🪩.

I thought their Langhe Nebbiolo 2023 was particularly appealing made from younger vines destined to be Barolo. It had a wild strawberry fragrance (that I LOVE) that lingered and why a joy it would be to have this on a casual Tuesday 🏠. The Barolo 2021 was open and fleshy with fine yet attention seeking tannins. It possesses a depth on the nose that I seek in all wines. Can drink this now with pleasure 🪩. We ended the tasting with their 2017 Vigna Rionda Riserva. What a sexy vineyard that produces sexy wines with moreish mouth-filling spice and fruit, wrapped up by black tea tannins on the finish 🚀🚀🚀🚀

18/12/2025

2025 marks ten years since Katie and I started going to Piemonte in the autumn to visit wineries and eat Tuber magnatum, the white truffle. We are missing Tezza, but we gained Tom and Nicholas from Liberty Wines, who let us tag along on some of their visits. This trip affirmed that these couple of days fills my soul with joy that can only be re-charged in Piemonte every year. We have a circuit of places we visit that are non-negotiable, one of them is Pasticceria Barbero in the cutest town called Cherasco. They have been going since 1881. Our suitcases on our return are always bursting with wine, hazelnuts and i baci di Cherasco. The scenery is stunning with the Alps in the background. The photos never does it justice nor conveys the atmospheric scent, which defines autumn for me.

26/11/2025

Half day in Barcelona spent having seafood then collecting wine and . Croquetas are my favourite and they are found all over Spain, that is how awesome they are, they cross regional boundaries.

26/11/2025

A behemoth fat cat of .do is the oldest winery in Spain, est. 1551 and one of the largest. Traditional method sparkling wine made as a hommage to Champagne by Josep Raventós in 1872, and was marketed as champaña. Cava was a term adopted in 1970. This winery sits on a massive site and in the past had its own electricity generator. The underground cellar is so large there is a train to tour its 30km in total. Some of their top bottles were opened, my favourite was their Ars Collecta Josep Raventós Gran Reserva 2015, made from Chardonnay, Macabeo, Pinot Noir, Parellado and Xarel•lo and three plots of paraje calificado but when you blend them, they lose their apex classification. Although I had visited many wineries, large historical ones are impressive. It reminds me that wine has been enjoyed for hundreds of years, and has been and will continue to be a successful commercial agricultural product.

23/11/2025

visit was a vineyard tour. They are a family winery and one of the 15 Elaborador Integral producers making wine from biodynamic farmed estate grown grapes. Marta is the winemaker and her brother in law Joan is the general manager. Their history dates back to 1790 and their lands even older with an archeological site (Hortes de Cal Pons) dating 500-400 BC of kilns making amphora vessels. They had vineyards planted as high up as 750m and have adopted a stake trained grape vine system that respects the flow of the sap in their namesake vineyard. They make a wide range of wines including still wines. We had the Blanca Cusiné 2019 on the first night and it stood out among the procession of Cavas. I noted its layers and complexity, made from Xarel•lo, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Jennifer Docherty

23/07/2026

31/12/2025

31/12/2025

29/12/2025

29/12/2025

19/12/2025

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26/11/2025

26/11/2025

23/11/2025

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