Nebbiolo and beyond: Piedmont’s diverse grape offerings

It’s hard not to love Piedmont, both for the vineyard experience and the wines themselves. Located in the Alpine foothills, bordering France and Switzerland, vineyards here span altitudes from 150 to 600 meters. Less than 5% of vineyards are flat, and with every slope facing different directions, grapes of vineyards in close proximity express wonderfully nuanced flavours. This makes Piedmont an intriguing region to explore.

Piedmont is renowned for its prestigious wines, particularly Barolo and Barbaresco, celebrated for their quality, complexity, and aging potential. Beyond these exceptional wines, a wide array of grape varieties awaits exploration. Here's a brief overview of a few intriguing options worth delving into.

Red Wines

Nebbiolo

Piedmont’s prestigious grape, produces pale garnet wines with notes of red cherries, raspberries, leather, and roses. It’s elegant, yet a powerful, full-bodied wine with grippy tannins.

Barolo and Barbaresco offer subtle taste distinctions of the Nebbiolo grape. Barolo wines have stronger tannins and extended barrel aging, while Barbaresco tends to be softer in tannins and lighter in taste. Both deliver exceptional quality and have long aging potential.

You’ll also find excellent Nebbiolo expressions in other regions, like Langhe and Roero for example, offering more budget-friendly options. If you're Nebbiolo curious, embarking on a regional exploration to uncover its diverse nuances is truly worthwhile.

Barbera

The most widely planted grape in Piedmont, it's darker with red cherry, plum, and black pepper aromas, high acidity, and lower tannins than Nebbiolo. Produced 2 ways: youthful and fruity without any oak or with some barrel aging for added spice notes. Enjoy now or age for a few years.

Dolcetto 

Deeper purple, featuring black plum, red cherry, and herbal notes, Dolcetto exhibits medium to high tannins. Enjoy now or age for a few years.

Freisa 

Ruby in colour and a relative to Nebbiolo, Freisa is more fruit forward with tart cherries, strawberries, and spice aromas. It comes in a variety of styles, from dry to sweet, still or with fizz. With high acidity and tannins, it ages exceptionally well, approaching Nebbiolo's qualities after 10-12 years, as noted by Ian D'Agata, author of "Italy's Native Wine Grape Terroirs."

White Wines

Moscato (Muscat)

Piedmont’s iconic sweet white wine, is golden yellow and low in alcohol. Still, sparkling, or gently effervescent, it offers complex flavours of peach, lemon, and orange with floral notes. It’s a super easy drinking wine and versatile as an aperitif or a delicious dessert wine. Best enjoyed in its youth.

Arneis

A yellow straw colour, Arneis is an aromatic, fresh, dry wine of medium acidity and body. It has peach, pear and apple notes and a subtle nutty finish. Best enjoyed in its youth.

Piedmont epitomises excellence in winemaking and is a treasure trove of exceptional flavour experiences. Embark on your own adventure to explore the diversity and taste the nuances. Click here to discover our range of Piedmont wines.