Definition: Nebbiolo

A late-ripening variety of red grape and grape variety used to produce, for example, the famous Italian wines Barolo and Barbaresco.

Identification/Origin: a very old grape variety grown in the Italian Piedmont region.

It is directly related to Freisa, which also originates from the same region. Among the various mass selections made in Italy were Lampia, Michet and Rosé, now replaced by approved clones.

It is found in Mexico, the United States (California), Australia, etc. In France, it is little known and is not cultivated, probably because it is delicate and demanding, with a fairly long phenological cycle and requiring a specific type of terroir and climate.

Synonyms: raisin de la nebbia (this word evokes fog in Italy), Span(n)a (in Alto Piemonte), Picotener or Picutener (in Val d'Aosta), Chiavennasca (in Valtellina).

Its name (from the Italian nebbia, meaning 'mist' or 'fog') refers to the bloom on ripe grapes, or to the morning fog during the harvest period, according to local winegrowers.

It is the most important grape variety in Piedmont, also widely grown in Lombardy and Valtellina, where it reigns supreme on large granite terroirs.

It produces wines with a high alcohol content, dry, robust, with an intense ethereal aroma that require long ageing: Barolo and Barbaresco, for example.

We should also mention neighbouring vineyards, including Roero, which produces very fine, fragrant wines on steep, sandy soils, and the wines ofAlto Piemonte, in the north-east of the region, which were once as renowned as those of Barolo and Barbaresco. Among the most prominent appellations are Gattinara (DOCG) and Lessona (DOCG), as well as Ghemme (DOCG). Here, the wines are generally less "warm" than in the Langhe, but also more delicate, and they age just as well.

Nebbiolo produces some of the world's greatest wines, and this high-quality grape variety is truly underrated.