“The King is here! And I’m not talking about Elvis!” – John Boyer, Drink This Now!
Nebbiolo is a grape variety grown primarily in the Piedmont area of northwestern Italy. Nebbiolo is a key grape in the production of Barolo and Barbaresco wines. In appearance, this grape has been described as “black as night” in terms of its grape skin color. Also, this grape variety is known for creating a “tar and roses” scent in Barolo wines and producing age-worthy wines.
Historically, Nebbiolo has been cultivated since the 14th century in a valley running east to west in the Lombardy region at the root of the Alps in Valtellina. The grape derives its name from the Italian word “nebia,” which means fog. This is indicative of the affinity of the foothills of the Piedmont region to be covered in fall during the harvest season. Accordingly, this fog creates a unique growing environment and terroir in the Piedmont region. Currently, the Nebbiolo grape is used to produce some of the biggest, best, and most age-able red wines in the world.
Strains of Nebbiolo are resistant to botrytis. Unfortunately for wine growers however, Nebbiolo vines showed little to no resistance to phylloxera when the critter spread across Europe in the 1860s. Due to its lack of resiliency, the higher-yielding Barbera lines became the preferred variety from the Piedmont area. This geographical limitation also limits large-scale production of these wines to the Piedmont region.
Nebbiolo is also sensitive to the effects of terroir. The environment of the Piedmont region itself is hard to duplicate, and therefore the grape is limited primarily to this region. The plant itself is problematic for vineyardists and winemakers. Nebbiolo has been less adaptable to various climates and soil types, compared with other grapes like Pinot Noir and Riesling. Instead, Nebbiolo is more picky about where it is grown and requires good drainage and a long growing season.
In the Piedmont area, Nebbiolo I often one of the first wine grape vines to flower, but tends to be the last to ripen. A dry autumn season is essential to a successful vintage.
Nebbiolo grapes are central to the four Piedmontese DOCG’s and eight DOC’s, of which Barolo is the most famous. Barolo wines are known for their power and intensity. Nebbiolo is also made into Barbaresco, a more elegant, purfume-style wine, which gained popularity in the latter half of the 20th century. Additionally, in Roero, Nebbiolo is blended with white Arneis to soften the tannins. This combination has created an Arnei variety known as the Barolo Bianco.
In terms of taste, wines made from Nebbiolo tend to be overly tannic and acidic when drank young. As the wines age, however, the descriptors tend to take on a more velvety rose petal flavor profile. Aging these wines brings out a more elegant, velvety smooth, complex wine. Distinct Nebbiolo descriptors include blackberry, licorice, tar, tobacco, and cherry. Other general descriptors include violets, roses, potpourri, raspberries, and spicy. Because of this wine’s need to age, Nebbiolo wines are similar to its Bordeaux and Burgundy counterparts, requiring time to allow the wine to achieve its best forms of expression and enjoyment.
Food matches for Nebbiolo include Linguine trooped with shaved white truffles in Europe, Mushroom yakitori in Asia, Chilean beef and sweet-corn casserole in the Americas, and wild mushroom and eggplant filo in Australasia.
Outside of Italy, Nebbiolo is popular in Australia, Argentina, and California. These warmer climates, however, are too warm for Nebbiolo. Experimenting wine growers are still eager to find places in the New World where Nebbiolo can thrive and be used to replicate the Nebbiolo wines of Piedmont. Because of this, Nebbiolo has become known as an honored red grape of Northern Italy due to its lack of success in the New World. Due to is popularity and pricing, other producers still try to cultivate this grape and produce Nebbiolo wines. Nonetheless, the Italians in the Piedmont region are the only groups capable of producing wines made from this grape in any volume.
Sources – Information:
Boyer, John. Drink this Now! Step by step lessons for the aspiring wine connoisseur. Lesson 13. eBook
http://www.wine-searcher.com/grape-316-nebbiolo
http://www.wine.com/v6/Nebbiolo/wine/list.aspx?N=7155+124+170&state=CA
http://www.winepros.org/wine101/grape_profiles/nebbiolo.htm
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