variety. Its name is derived from the word
nebbia which means "fog". They have two
beliefs about the meaning behind this
naming. One is that in late October, an
intense fog sets in the Langhe region where
lots of Nebbiolo vineyards are located or
they say that there is a milky fog-like
substance that forms on the skin of the
berries when they are ripened and ready to
be picked. It has been cultivated since the
14th century in Valtellina, an east-west
valley in the Lombardy region, at the foot of the Alps. This is a very full bodied grape that has a deep
color. When it is made into wine it actually portrays a lighter color and as it ages has orange hues
around the edges. This grape variety is resistant to botrytis, but has little to no resistance to
phylloxera which ran rampid in 1860, reducing the crop of this particular grape variety.
Nebbiolo is a difficult grape to grow. It is only grown well in one particular part of the world, and
that is, in the Piedmont region in Italy. There have been attempts to reproduce this luscious grape
variety in many places, but none have been successful. This grape is very sensitive in that its body,
color, tannin, acidity, aroma, and flavor complexity can change due to a change in climate or
geography that is why nobody has been able to reproduce a high quality Nebbiolo, but Argentina has
come the closest out of Australia, California, New Zealand, South America, and South Africa. They
say that this grape is harder to reproduce than a fine Pinot Noir.
The flavors of the grape have been concluded to be, plum, raspberry, truffle, and acidity. After it is
made into wine it gives off the flavors of strong tea, nutmeg, and gamey, which are a little
unexpected, "different" type flavors.
Nebbiolo, in the Piedmont region, is made into the "heavyweight" wine. They are Denominazione di
Origine Controllata e Garatita (DOCG). These DOCG wines are Barolo, Barbaresco, Gattinara, and
Ghemme. Barolo and Barbaresco are considered to be the best wines produced in this region with the
Nebbiolo grape. Both have a minimum alcohol content of 12.5%. Barolo has more body and is more
complex in flavor, and it must be aged at least three years (one in wood). Riserva is five years of
aging. Barbaresco is lighter and sometimes has less body than Barolo. It is seen as fine and elegant.
It requires two years of aging (one in wood). Riserva is four years of aging. After the harvest has
been in Barbaresco they may send it over to Roero, which is an area across the Tanaro river. There
they add white Arneis to it to soften its tannic edges, which indeed leads to the Arneis variety.
There are many food pairings for this particular grape when made into wine. They consist of in
Europe, they like to pair them with linguine topped with shaved white truffle and also braised lamb
with truffles. This has explanation behind the fact that one of the dominant flavors of Nebbiolo as
wine is truffle. These pairings would be complimentary of one another. In Asia they like to pair this
with mushroom balinese smoked duck. This would also be complimentary of the truffle essence. In
the Americas they sometimes pair this wine delicately with chilean beef and sweetcorn casserole, and
ham hock and black-eyed peas. There are also much more "normal" pairings as well. It is interesting
thinking about the meals of seperate countries being able to be paired with this type of grape varietal
as a wine.
This grape may not be the most planted grape due to its fragileness, but it has made some of the most
age-worthy and distinctive wines of the region. The lower side of the Alps are the preferred area
in which this variety chooses to grow. It is a rare variety, but it distinguishes itself well.
This wine is more on the pricey side. Nebbiolo blends do not seem to have many wines under $30. I
was searching on wine.com and many of the Nebbiolo wines were on sale, but they still were not
under $30. By shopping for this wine you can tell it grows mainly or most successfully in Piedmont,
Italy. On wine.com every wine they were selling was from Piedmont. The prices ranged from $33 to
$245 on this site. They had more wine in the hundred dollar price range than any other wine I have
researched so far. I do no know whether to tell you if you find a cheap Nebbiolo to buy it or
not. Sometimes cheap is a really good thing because you get a really good wine for hardly
nothing, but then there is also the chance, "there is a reason it is cheap". Good luck and fantastic
tastings!
References
Nebbiolo. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wineaccess website: http://www.wineaccess.com/wine/grape/nebbiolo
Nebbiolo Wine. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2013, from Wine-Searcher website:http://www.wine-searcher.com/grape-316-nebbioloZraly, K. (2011). Windows on the world: Complete wine course. New York, NY: Sterling Epicure.
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