Nebbiolo is, without doubt, one of the world's great grape varieties. Like Pinot Noir it is capable, as a mono-varietal (i.e. unblended), of producing wines that express with great clarity the soil and sub-soil of the vineyard in which it is grown. At the pinnacle of its achievements - in the wines of Barolo and Barbaresco in Piedmont in northern Italy - it produces among the world's finest and longest-lived wines. It ripens late in the season, hence its name which comes from the fog (“nebbia”) that covers the Piedmontese vineyards in October.
