Varietal Report - Nebbiolo

As you can see the Piedmont region is the knee
protector area of the Italian boot.

            The Nebbiolo grape is native to the Langhe Hills of the Piedmont region of Italy and is the key component of Barolo and Barbaresco wines. The grape is known to be picky about where it will grow and hasn't traditionally been moved out of the small area in Italy from which it originates, but recently a few vineyards in northeast Australia, central California, and Washington State have adopted the grape and there are now 5,200 hectare worldwide. The Nebbiolo grape is thought to get its name from the Italian word for fog nebbia, a characteristic of the region in which it is grown. Traditional growers of this grape in the Piedmont region are even known to only plant this grape on south or south-west facing slopes of the Langhe Hills at high, sub-alpine altitudes. The reason this grape is particularly tricky to grow well is because it buds early and ripens late. Having such a long growing season in an area prone to fog makes this grape a challenge to grow, but it also allows for a larger variety of flavors to be found in the finished wine from season to season and vineyard to vineyard.

Cute little Nebbiolo grapes hanging on a vine.

            The grape skins are thin, but they are also known to be tough. To add to the difficulty of producing this wine the grapes cad vary vastly in size, shape, acidity, aromas, color, and flavor. Some other characteristics of this grape that have made it a wine with great variety are its tendency to adopt flavors of the terroir from the area that it is planted in and its ability to mutate readily. The dominant soil-type that Nebbiolo seems to grow well in is marl, a calcium carbonate-rich mudstone that has a clay-like texture. Another soil-type that has seen some success growing Nebbiolo grapes is sandy soil, but the wines made in environments like this have been descried as less aromatic than those grown in marl soil.

            The color of Nebbiolo wine is a defining property that has been described as ruby red hue to an almost orange color at its edges. Another property that is usually attributed to Nebbiolo is its strong aromatics that included floral scents of roses and violet in combination with a tar-like flavor. Nebbiolo is typically high in acid and tannins allowing it to age for quite a few years to allow it to soften up on the palate. Barolos are known to be one of the longest lasting wines in the world often taking over 10 years to age properly.  Before modern technology allowed for more sanitary fermentation it was not uncommon to decant Nebbiolo wines for 24 hours to clear up faults in the wine.

            Modern winemakers have started removing the skins from the must earlier to alleviate some of the harshness the high acids and tannins the grape can produce to make the wine more accessible to drink immediately, or at least before 10 years has gone by. Another way that modern winemakers have changed up the process for making Nebbiolo wines is they have started to use smaller barrels for the aging process called barrique a French word for small barrel. This allows more wine to be in contact with the oak to add softer vanilla and caramel flavors to the wine.

Big boy wine for high rollers. ~$500 a bottle what, what.

            The Nebbiolo grape is a classic old world grape that hasn't until recently moved out of its home country in the Piedmont region of Italy. It stays true to its distinctive flavors of tar and roses no matter where it is planted even though new world vineyards do tend to make Nebbiolo wines with less exaggerated flavors and tannins that are typically associated with wines like Barolo. I am looking forward to tasting a Nebbiolo and hope to find one that I can afford and that is made to drink sooner rather than later so that I can add my tasting notes to this report.