Piedmont

Piedmont sits at the foot of the Alps in northwest Italy and is built around Nebbiolo. Barolo and Barbaresco produce some of the world's most age-worthy reds — pale-colored but intensely tannic, with rose, tar, and dried-cherry signatures. Barbera and Dolcetto fill the everyday red slot; Moscato d'Asti supplies the lightly sparkling, low-alcohol dessert category. Fog (la nebbia) gives Nebbiolo its name.

Famous appellations

• Barolo
• Barbaresco
• Asti
• Gattinara

History

Nebbiolo references appear in 13th-century records. Modern Barolo emerged in the mid-19th century when the Marquis of Falletti and her French oenologist pushed the wine toward dry, age-worthy bottlings. The 1980s and 90s saw the so-called Barolo Wars between traditionalists (long aging in large Slavonian casks) and modernists (shorter maceration, French barriques); the field has since converged on a moderated middle.