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Tasting Notes
Medium plus bodied with bright acidity, this Petite Arvine has complex aromas and flavors, featuring ripe pear, pineapple, and mango, with a drizzle of lime, followed by more subtle chamomile, mineral, and white pepper notes.
Body is the impression of a wines weight, density, or its ‘mouth-feel’. Some wines feel weighty, or full bodied, while others feel light bodied. Wine runs the gamut from light to full, with most falling somewhere in between.
ACIDITY
Low
Moderate
Balanced
Crisp
High
Acidity is a foundational component in wine. In fact, low acidity, or ‘flabby’ wine (as the term suggests) is a negative. You can sense acidity mainly on the sides of your tongue. Acidity generally ranges from balanced to high. Crisp acidity adds freshness, making your mouth water. Acidity is a necessary element and helps to balance other components.
SWEETNESS
Dry
Off Dry
Medium Dry
Medium Sweet
Very Sweet
Most wines are characterized as dry to off-dry, but there are some grape varietals, like Riesling, that run the gamut from dry to sweet. The tip of the tongue mainly detects sweetness, which is why it is often the primary characteristic detected. Sweetness is derived from residual sugar that did not ferment into alcohol.
ALCOHOL
14%
Alcohol is the by-product of fermentation. Differing grape varieties have differing potential alcohol levels, but regardless warmer areas result in riper grapes resulting in higher alcohol. Alcohol level is an objective number, but its affect on its palate impression is largely determined with how well integrated and balanced it is with other components.
Petite Arvine is unique to this part of Northern Italy. The flavor is uniquely its own.
GRAPE VARIETAL(S)
Petite Arvine
100%Pe-TEET Ar-VEEN
Petit Arvine is indigenous to the Valais in Switzerland, but is also grown at high elevations in northwest Italy in the Valle D’Aosta. The wine displays crisp acidity, citrus, sometimes with notes of grapefruit and an attractive mineral saltiness.
Originally from France, the Charreres family moved to the Aosta Valley in Northwest Italy in the 1700s. They started out as farmers before planting their first two hectares of grapes in 1955. In 1989 they expanded the estate and built the Les Crêtes winery.
The vineyards of Les Crêtes are the highest elevated vineyards in all of Europe. These high-mountain vineyards are made up of sand and calcareous soils and are sustainably farmed. Due to elevation, there is a very wide variation in temperatures between day and night, which elongates the growing season.
Les Crêtes grows both international and indiginous grape varieties. The wines have great energy and appealing texture with concentrated, layered flavors.
Pear
Chamomile
White Pepper
