Nebbiolo is an Italian red wine grape variety predominantly associated with its native Piedmont region, where it makes the Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) wines of Barolo, Barbaresco, Gattinara, Ghemme, and Roero, together with numerous DOC wines. Nebbiolo is thought to derive its name from the Italian nebbia or Piedmontese nebia, meaning 'fog'. During harvest, which generally takes place late in October, a deep, intense fog sets into the Langhe region where many Nebbiolo vineyards are located. Alternative explanations refer to the fog-like glaucous veil that forms over the berries as they reach maturity, or that perhaps the name is derived instead from the Italian word nobile, meaning 'noble'. Nebbiolo produces lightly-colored red wines which can be highly tannic in youth with scents of tar and roses. As they age, the wines take on a characteristic brick-orange hue at the rim of the glass and mature to reveal other aromas and flavours such as violets, tar, wild herbs, cherries, raspberries, truffles, tobacco, and prunes. Nebbiolo wines can require years of ageing to balance the tannins with other characteristics.
Barbera is a red Italian wine grape variety that, as of 2000, was the third most-planted red grape variety in Italy. It produces good yields and is known for deep color, full body, low tannins and high levels of acidity.
Dolcetto is a black Italian wine grape variety widely grown in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. The Italian word dolcetto means "little sweet one", but it is not certain that the name originally carried any reference to the grape’s sugar levels: it is possible that it derives from the name of the hills where the vine is cultivated. In any case the wines produced are nearly always dry. They can be tannic and fruity with moderate, or decidedly low, levels of acidity and are typically meant to be consumed within a few years after release.
Grignolino is a red Italian wine grape variety commonly grown in the Piedmont region. It makes light colored wines and rosés with very fruity aromas, strong acidity and tannins. The name Grignolino derives from the word grignole which means "many pips" in the local Piedmontese dialect of the Asti region. The abundance of pips, or seeds, contributes to the strong, bitter tannins associated with the wine. Modern winemakers try to avoid the excess tannins with gentle and slow pressings. Grignolino has three Denominazione di origine controllata (DOCs) that produce wine from it - Asti, Monferrato Casale, and Piemonte Grignolino.
Aglianico is a black grape grown in the southern regions of Italy, mostly Basilicata and Campania. It is considered with Sangiovese and Nebbiolo to be one of the three greatest Italian varieties. Aglianico is sometimes called "The Barolo of the South" due to its ability to produce highly refined, complex fine wines like the famous wine from Piedmont, Barolo.
Freisa is a red Italian wine grape variety grown in the Piedmont region of north-west Italy, primarily in Monferrato and in the Langhe, but also further north in the provinces of Turin and Biella. Freisa is a vigorous and productive vine whose round, blue-black grapes are harvested in early October. The three-lobed leaves are relatively small and the bunches are elongated in form. By the 1880s it had become one of the major Piedmontese grapes, and in that period its cultivation was stimulated by the vine’s resistance to the downy mildew caused by the Plasmopara viticola fungus. Wines made from the Freisa grape are red and usually somewhat sweet and lightly sparkling, or foaming. Still and fully sparkling versions are also produced, however, as are dry and more decidedly sweet styles. In the Canavese there is also a rosé which can be made primarily from Freisa according to Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) regulations.
Aleatico is a red Italian wine grape variety. It is notable for being the primary grape in the cult wine Aleatico di Portoferraio made in Elba. In Chile is known as Red Moscatel. The grape has also been cultivated at Mudgee in New South Wales and California.
Croatina is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Oltrepò Pavese region of Lombardy and in the Province of Piacenza within Emilia Romagna, but also in parts of Piedmont and the Veneto. In the Oltrepò Pavese, in the hills of Piacenza, in Cisterna d’Asti and San Damiano d’Asti, and in Roero this variety is called ‘Bonarda’. It should not, however be confused with the Bonarda piemontese, which is an unrelated vine. In the Piedmont region, it is sometimes blended with Nebbiolo in wines of Novara and Vercelli Hills.
Braquet is a red French wine grape variety grown predominantly in the Provence region of southeastern France, particularly in the Bellet Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) where it is as both a blending and varietal grape in still and rosé wines. Also known as Brachet, the vine produces naturally low yields and light bodied wines that are delicately perfumed. Recent thought among ampelographers is that Braquet is not related to the more aromatic Italian wine grape of the Piedmont region known as Brachetto.
Piedmont wine is the range of Italian wines made in the region of Piedmont, in the northwestern corner of Italy. The best-known wines from the region include Barolo and Barbaresco. They are made from the Nebbiolo grape. These wines are ideal for storage and a well-aged Barolo for instance may leave a feeling of drinking velvet because the tannins are polished and integrated more and more into the wine. As the wine matures the colour becomes more brownish and rust-red.
Lombardy wine is the Italian wine produced in the Lombardy region of north central Italy. The region is known particularly for its sparkling wines made in the Franciacorta and Oltrepò Pavese areas. Lombardy also produces still red, white and rosé wines made from a variety of local and international grapes, including Nebbiolo wines in the Valtellina region and Trebbiano di Lugana white wines produced with the Chiaretto style rosé along the shores of Lake Garda. The wine region currently has 22 denominazione di origine controllata (DOC), 5 denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) and at least 13 indicazione geografica tipica (IGT) designations. The main cities of the region are Milan, Bergamo and Brescia. The region annually produces around 1.3 million hectolitres of wine, more than the regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Marche, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Umbria.
Erbaluce or Erbaluce bianca is a white Italian wine grape grown primarily in the Piedmont region around Caluso, in Canavese. In addition to dry table wines, it is used to make sweet wines with deep golden coloring, such as passito. The grape has a long history in the Piedmont region, with the first written record dating to 1606, and most likely originated in the alpine hills of northern Piedmont.
Favorita is a white Italian wine grape grown primarily in the Piedmont region. It is most widely planted on the left bank of the Tanaro river in the Roero district near Alba, though some plantings exist on the right bank of the Tanaro in the Langhe hills. Recent DNA profiling shows that Favorita is related to the Liguria grapes Pigato and Vermentino, which may support the theory that the grape originated there. Since the late 20th century, plantings of Favorita have been on the decline as Chardonnay and Arneis have increased in popularity among producers on the right and left bank of the Tanaro respectively. Featuring larger berry sizes than most wine grapes, Favorita has been a popular table grape in Piedmont.
Uva Rara is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Piedmont and Lombardy wine regions of northern Italy. The grape is a permitted blending variety along with Nebbiolo in the Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) wines of Ghemme. In the Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) wine region of Oltrepò Pavese the grape is often blended with Barbera and Croatina. While Uva Rara's name means "rare grape" in Italian, the variety is actually widely planted with 608 hectares of the vine recorded in Italy in 2000.
Vespolina is a red Italian wine grape variety that is planted in Piedmont around Gattinara and Ghemme. Ampelographer believe that the grape is most likely indigenous to this area of Piedmont and recent DNA profiling identified a parent-offspring relationship with Nebbiolo. Outside Piedmont it is found in the Lombardy region of Oltrepò Pavese where the grape is known as Ughetta. In Gattinara, Vespolina is sometimes blended with Nebbiolo and Bonarda Piemontese. Unlike the white Italian grape Vespaiolo, the root of the name Vespolina does not have a direct connection with vespe or wasp. However the true origins of the name are still unclear.
Timorasso is a white Italian wine grape variety grown primarily in the Piedmont wine region of northwest Italy. There it is used to make aromatic wine with some aging potential as well as the pomace brandy specialty of grappa. Timorasso owes its modern-day existence to Walter Massa, a farmer of Monleale, a village in Piedmont, as the thick-skinned native variety was almost extinct in the early 1980s in the area of Tortona. Thanks to Massa pioneering efforts, by the late 1990s, other local producers began planting the grape variety themselves and there are now more than 20 firms growing and producing Timorasso.
Douce noir is a red Savoyard wine grape variety that has historically been grown in the Savoy region, but today is more widely planted in Argentina.
Avanà is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Piedmont wine region of northwest Italy. Historically, the grape has also been grown in the Dauphiné and Savoie wine region of eastern France where it was known as Hibou noir and in the Valais region of Switzerland. The grape is most often used as a blending variety in the Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) zones of Pinerolese, with Barbera, Persan, Freisa and Neretta Cuneese, and Valsusa, with Barbera, Dolcetto, Neretta Cuneese and other local red Piemontese varieties.
Avarengo is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Piedmont wine region of northwest Italy where it is a permitted blending component in the Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) wines of Pinerolese. Here the grape is usually blended with Avanà, Neretta Cuneese and other local red Piemontese varieties.
Baratuciat is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Piedmont wine region of northwest Italy. For most of its history, Baratuciat was used mainly as a table grape with some limited use for wine production with sweet late-harvest dessert wines. On 23 June 2008 the grape was officially added to the Italian registry of wine grape varieties.
