01/27/09 Nebbiolo

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. Today we are going to talk about one of the best known of all Italian grape varieties Nebbiolo. Although many wine regions such as Argentina, California and Washington are growing Nebbiolo it is a grape variety best known for the wines made in the Piedemonte region of Italy  but you will almost never see the grape name listed on the label. The winemaking style is what transforms Nebbiolo into Barbaresco and Barolo. The focus is upon creating rich elegant wines that go with food. Taming Nebbiolo is no simple task as the grapes possess extraordinary amounts of tannin and acid making them difficult to work with. However, once it is mastered it makes wines with incredible depth and flavor that can also be extremely long lived. Barolo is the richer and more complex while Barbaresco is similar but softer and lighter. Both will need at least 5 years to mature and can last up to 20. Gattinara and Spanna which are also made from Nebbiolo have been known to last up to 30 years. Many producers are making single vineyard wines such as Gaja's Barbaresco sori San Lorenzo. In the local dialect sori means south facing slope. So ask around at your favorite wine shop and see if you can find yourself a nice big Nebbiolo! Remember to send your wine questions to linda at vine to wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.