Nebbiolo Grapes

Nebbiolo is the wine of the Piemonte hills. It has been cultivated here since ancient times, a fact well supported by finds of fossils of grape seeds from as far back as the 7th century B.C.

In historic times, before the 19th century, the quality was poor - wines were often not fermented properly and left with a residual sweetness.

During the 19th century there was a fundamental improvement of production methods and a range of very high quality wines was the result.

Nebbiolo is the base of the Barolo's, the Barbaresco and several other Italian super quality wines.

The Nebbiolo grape is black-violet and one of its characteristics is that the acinus are coated with a thick stratum of bloom, a kind of wax that covers many fruits as well. The gray surface that results looks like fog condensing on the grapes. This is one of several explanations for the name (Nebbiolo means "from the fog").

It has been tried with very little success to grow Nebbiolo in other parts of the world but Piemonte is the home of it and this seems to be the only place it will grow.

The wine will reach a deep and intense ruby red colour. This is a full bodied wine, with flavours of raspberry and violet and even liquorice.

It will often have an alcohol content over 14%, good total acidities and a high tannin content. This means compulsory aging for at least 3-4 years and its lifespan can be up to 20-30 years. During the aging period, the wine is kept in oak barrels for further complexity of flavours.

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