Imagine that afternoon fog rolling over The City leaving just the peaks of the Sutro Tower, the TransAmerica Building and other high rises visible along with rows of Nebbiolo grapes. Well, you know it’s a dream since Nebbiolo isn’t grown in San Francisco or most of America for that matter. However, Nebbiolo is propagated in the Piedmont region of Italy and actually gets its name from the fog – or nebbia – in Northern Italy. What? You’ve never tried Nebbiolo? Well, have you heard of those mouthwatering Barolos or Barbarescos from Italy? Then you’ve heard of or tried Nebbiolo. That King (or Queen) of grapes from the land of white truffles, the last Winter Olympics and the Italian Alps.
The Nebbiolo Code
Whether its name is derived from the “foggy” appearance on its skin, or if it ripens during foggy weather or whether its name is a derivation of “Nobile” or noble origin, one thing is for certain, Nebbiolo is one of the MOST difficult grapes to propagate. Most will argue that Nebbiolo is harder to propagate than Pinot Noir – at least we know that good Pinot Noir can be made outside of Burgundy. And whereas a certain colorful Central Coast grower may have smuggled Pinot Noir clippings from La Tache in his underwear back to the states, no such smuggling has occurred thus far with Nebbiolo.
For starters, the Piedmontese growers are very secretive about their viticulture. Add this to a grape that only develops with enough warmth but hates warm ambient temperatures (hence growing with enough sun exposure just above the fog line) and a degree of genetic instability and you see why Barolo and Barbaresco have a lock on Nebbiolo.
King of the Piedmont
The acclaimed King of the Piedmont is Barolo which in its best years produces tannic red wines with essence of cherries, licorice, leather, truffles, violets, spice and mineral that can age until your newborn infant becomes a grandparent. In bad years, it simply produces an acidic, tannic wine that can remove nail polish and paint stains from your walls. In the last several years, a new generation of Piedmontese vintners are producing more fruit driven wines to meet international tastes (probably also due to high Parker scores given to concentrated fruit driven wines). Since I’m in the latter half of my years, I don’t disagree with this approach since I can’t wait 40 years for a wine to develop and I certainly can’t afford a 40 year old Barolo. What I fear is simply turning Barolo into another fruit bomb Aussie Shiraz or California Cab. Most my love of Barolo is for its complexity and layers of tastes and aromas with its fruit concentration as a secondary quality. Making Barolo drinkable younger is okay as long as you maintain the primary focus of the wine.
Queen of the Piedmont
If there’s a King then there must be a Queen and her name is Barbaresco. Located slightly north of Barolo on slightly lower and warmer terrain, Barbaresco used to sit in Barolo’s shadow until Angelo Gaja in his designer sweaters created his Sori Tilden, Sori San Lorenzo and Costa Russi labeled Barbarescos… well not exactly. Gaja was never one to shy away from controversy and used new winemaking techniques to produce his fabulous wines. In an act of defiance to the strict DOCG laws in Italy, he declassified his own wines and simply labeled them as Langhe Nebbiolo (kind of like Chateau Lafite Rothschild simply labeling itself as Bordeaux wine).
Like Barolo, Barbaresco has a good bit of tannin that takes several years of bottle aging to tame though if you do have the patience – say 10 years or so – you will be rewarded with a wine with several layers of aroma and taste sensations. Or if you’re lucky enough, your local wine purveyor or restaurant will carry a relatively affordable supply of aged wines.
The Rest of the Bunch
Nebbiolo based wine from the Piedmont also takes the form of Langhe Nebbiolo and Nebbiolo d’Alba which essentially are wines primarily based on the Nebbiolo grape with a touch of non-traditional red grapes like Cabernet or Merlot or they simply weren’t grown within the strict regions of Barolo or Barbaresco. These are still very good examples of the foggy grape with raspberry and cherry flavors with leather, tar, cedar, cigar or mushrooms and a hefty dose of tannins and while they are not the same as Barolo or Barbaresco, they do carry affordable price tags. Whereas the B & B wines cost anywhere from $50 to $150, declassified Nebbiolo based wines are usually in the $25 to $35 range. Perfect for your best barbecue faire or imported stinky cheeses.
Nebbiolo in the States?
This is one of the few grape varietals that doesn’t travel well outside of its native region. Heck, it doesn’t even travel well outside of the Piedmont. However, due to the cool coastal climate of the Central Coast in California, there are a few wineries experimenting with these difficult grape varietals. One wine that is relatively available is Palmina’s Sisquoc which is Nebbiolo grown in the Santa Ynez valley. It has a beautiful nose of concentrated sour cherries with a hint of earth and if drunk young, tannins that can clear your palate of pure manteca (lard). This is probably the one time where Eisch crystal stemware with its “oxidizing/softening” qualities actually makes a difference compared to other stemware – but that’s another column.
Where Should You Start?
I would start with the Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d’Alba wines. If you find them interesting then your next step would be Barolo or Barbaresco – there are Barolos and Barbarescos in the $40 range. If you find these wines exciting then your next step would be to brown bag lunch for a month (to save enough $$$) then look for producers like Sandrone, La Spinetta, Conterno or Gaja and save it for your next big anniversary! Remember though that unless it’s an aged wine, it was meant for food… or to strip several layers of your buccal membranes.
The Nebbiolo Code
Whether its name is derived from the “foggy” appearance on its skin, or if it ripens during foggy weather or whether its name is a derivation of “Nobile” or noble origin, one thing is for certain, Nebbiolo is one of the MOST difficult grapes to propagate. Most will argue that Nebbiolo is harder to propagate than Pinot Noir – at least we know that good Pinot Noir can be made outside of Burgundy. And whereas a certain colorful Central Coast grower may have smuggled Pinot Noir clippings from La Tache in his underwear back to the states, no such smuggling has occurred thus far with Nebbiolo.
For starters, the Piedmontese growers are very secretive about their viticulture. Add this to a grape that only develops with enough warmth but hates warm ambient temperatures (hence growing with enough sun exposure just above the fog line) and a degree of genetic instability and you see why Barolo and Barbaresco have a lock on Nebbiolo.
King of the Piedmont
The acclaimed King of the Piedmont is Barolo which in its best years produces tannic red wines with essence of cherries, licorice, leather, truffles, violets, spice and mineral that can age until your newborn infant becomes a grandparent. In bad years, it simply produces an acidic, tannic wine that can remove nail polish and paint stains from your walls. In the last several years, a new generation of Piedmontese vintners are producing more fruit driven wines to meet international tastes (probably also due to high Parker scores given to concentrated fruit driven wines). Since I’m in the latter half of my years, I don’t disagree with this approach since I can’t wait 40 years for a wine to develop and I certainly can’t afford a 40 year old Barolo. What I fear is simply turning Barolo into another fruit bomb Aussie Shiraz or California Cab. Most my love of Barolo is for its complexity and layers of tastes and aromas with its fruit concentration as a secondary quality. Making Barolo drinkable younger is okay as long as you maintain the primary focus of the wine.
Queen of the Piedmont
If there’s a King then there must be a Queen and her name is Barbaresco. Located slightly north of Barolo on slightly lower and warmer terrain, Barbaresco used to sit in Barolo’s shadow until Angelo Gaja in his designer sweaters created his Sori Tilden, Sori San Lorenzo and Costa Russi labeled Barbarescos… well not exactly. Gaja was never one to shy away from controversy and used new winemaking techniques to produce his fabulous wines. In an act of defiance to the strict DOCG laws in Italy, he declassified his own wines and simply labeled them as Langhe Nebbiolo (kind of like Chateau Lafite Rothschild simply labeling itself as Bordeaux wine).
Like Barolo, Barbaresco has a good bit of tannin that takes several years of bottle aging to tame though if you do have the patience – say 10 years or so – you will be rewarded with a wine with several layers of aroma and taste sensations. Or if you’re lucky enough, your local wine purveyor or restaurant will carry a relatively affordable supply of aged wines.
The Rest of the Bunch
Nebbiolo based wine from the Piedmont also takes the form of Langhe Nebbiolo and Nebbiolo d’Alba which essentially are wines primarily based on the Nebbiolo grape with a touch of non-traditional red grapes like Cabernet or Merlot or they simply weren’t grown within the strict regions of Barolo or Barbaresco. These are still very good examples of the foggy grape with raspberry and cherry flavors with leather, tar, cedar, cigar or mushrooms and a hefty dose of tannins and while they are not the same as Barolo or Barbaresco, they do carry affordable price tags. Whereas the B & B wines cost anywhere from $50 to $150, declassified Nebbiolo based wines are usually in the $25 to $35 range. Perfect for your best barbecue faire or imported stinky cheeses.
Nebbiolo in the States?
This is one of the few grape varietals that doesn’t travel well outside of its native region. Heck, it doesn’t even travel well outside of the Piedmont. However, due to the cool coastal climate of the Central Coast in California, there are a few wineries experimenting with these difficult grape varietals. One wine that is relatively available is Palmina’s Sisquoc which is Nebbiolo grown in the Santa Ynez valley. It has a beautiful nose of concentrated sour cherries with a hint of earth and if drunk young, tannins that can clear your palate of pure manteca (lard). This is probably the one time where Eisch crystal stemware with its “oxidizing/softening” qualities actually makes a difference compared to other stemware – but that’s another column.
Where Should You Start?
I would start with the Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d’Alba wines. If you find them interesting then your next step would be Barolo or Barbaresco – there are Barolos and Barbarescos in the $40 range. If you find these wines exciting then your next step would be to brown bag lunch for a month (to save enough $$$) then look for producers like Sandrone, La Spinetta, Conterno or Gaja and save it for your next big anniversary! Remember though that unless it’s an aged wine, it was meant for food… or to strip several layers of your buccal membranes.
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