Piedmont wine region

The Piedmont wine region is located east of Turin in Italy. It has an excellent reputation for wine growing. The region can look back on a long tradition of wine-growing, as the first vines for wine production were planted here back in Celtic times. To this day there is a great variety of grapes in Piedmont, which is mainly dominated by the wines of the Langhe and the Nebbiolo grape variety.

The location of the Piedmont wine region

“Piedmont” means “at the foot of the mountains”. The wine-growing region is bounded by the Alps to the north, south and west, is partly mountainous, partly hilly and relatively flat in the Po Valley area. Piedmont is the largest region in terms of area on the Italian mainland.

The climatic conditions in Piedmont

In Piedmont, the bordering mountains create the best conditions for an even, balanced climate. The temperatures never reach extremes. These conditions have a particularly positive effect on the hilly areas with the loamy-calcareous soils, some of which have sandy components. For the production of quality wines, the south-facing slopes, known as "Sori", are particularly popular. They are exposed to the intense midday sun.

Great variety: growing areas and vineyards

Piedmont consists of approximately 50,000 hectares of vineyards, of which over 90% is used for the cultivation of red vines. These include:

• Barbera

  The most famous Barbera wines include Barbera d'Alba, Barbera d'Asti and Barbera del Monferrato. The grape is characterized by its fruity taste with aromas reminiscent of wild cherries and plums. Typical of wines made from Barbera berries is their crisp and natural acidity.

• Nebbiolo

  The Nebbiolo berries are among the finest red grape varieties from Italy. Most DOCG wines are produced from it. In Piedmont, the Nebbiolo vine is the oldest variety still cultivated and is used to produce the slowest maturing wines in the world. Characteristic are the aromatic bouquet and the high tannin and acid content, which makes the red wines last for a long time.

Other varieties are also grown, such as Dolcetto, from which a light and fruity wine is made, and the Freisa, Grignolino and Malvasia grapes. The DOCG wines Barolo Barbaresco and Roero are produced purely from Nebbiolo grapes. However, the most widespread grape variety in terms of area in Piedmont is Barbera.

But white grape varieties can also be found on the slopes of Piedmont:

• Arneis
• Cortese
• Erbaluce
• Moscato Bianco

The Arneis white grape variety is an ancient grape variety native to Piedmont; in particular she comes from Roero. The vine grows on very calcareous soils and quartz sand and has been known since the 15th century. Arneis means something like “difficult” in the Piedmont dialect. A white wine made from the Arneis grape is reminiscent of the Sauvignon Blanc with aromas of almonds, pear, green apple and melon. In Piedmont, there has been a trend towards cultivating French varieties for a number of years. These include Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Nero.