Barolo Chinato — Digestivo Wine of Piedmont

Canale, Cuneo province, Piedmont. Created by Giacomo Giulio Cappellano in 1875. The chinato tradition uses the Langhe's greatest wine as its base, reflecting the confidence of a region that chooses Barolo as the medium for a digestivo — an expression of Piedmontese culinary identity.

Barolo Chinato is the defining digestivo of the Langhe: Barolo DOCG wine infused with quinine bark (china — pronounced 'keena'), alpine herbs, spices, and sugar, then aged in small oak for several months. It was created by Giacomo Giulio Cappellano in 1875 as a medicinal tonic (the quinine was used for malaria treatment) and evolved into a prestigious after-dinner drink. Its flavour is complex, slightly bitter from the quinine, spiced with cinchona bark, gentian, rhubarb root, and alpine herbs, sweetened with sugar, and supported by the structure of Barolo. It is served at cellar temperature, in a tulip glass, after a meal, or over ice in summer. It is also used in dessert preparations — the Piedmontese combination of Barolo Chinato and dark chocolate is one of the great pairings.

Barolo Chinato in a tulip glass is dark garnet, slightly translucent — it smells of dried rose, quinine, dark berry, and bitter alpine herbs. The flavour is complex and resolves gradually: the initial sweetness gives way to the tannins of the Barolo, then the bitterness of the quinine, then the warmth of the botanical spices. It lingers for minutes. It is the flavor of the Langhe in autumn.