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Red Grape · Piedmont
Nebbiolo (Nay-bee-OH-lo) is a native Italian variety cultivated in the northern regions, whose name derives from the word “Nebbia” which is Italian for fog. This grape type creates exceptional wines, characterised by great finesse and extraordinary ageing capacity. It reaches its best expressions in the southern part of Piedmont, where it produces some of the finest and most prestigious Italian wines: Barolo and Barbaresco.
Taste · Where it sits
Forget scores out of five. Here’s Nebbiolo described against grapes you already know.
Key flavours
The map
Nebbiolo is full-bodied, firm tannin, mapped against other red grapes you can buy. The closer a grape sits, the more its weight and grip resemble Nebbiolo.
Serving guide
Serve at
14-15°C
Decant
1 hours
Glass
Burgundy Glass
Drink within
3-5 days
Cellar
Up to 10 years
On the table
Start with the home-table matches that made the grape, then browse the full cuisine library.
Browse every pairing
Buy it · three to start with
A curated trio across the price range, then every Nebbiolo on sale in the UK right now.
12 of 242 bottles
4 retailers
Barolo
4 retailers
£34.15
4 retailers
Barolo
4 retailers
£36.91
£43.06
3 retailers
Barbaresco
3 retailers
£19.80
3 retailers
Langhe
3 retailers
£20.62
3 retailers
Gattinara
3 retailers
£25.53
£30.95
3 retailers
Barbaresco
3 retailers
£34.44
£38.73
3 retailers
Barolo
3 retailers
£36.28
£37.90
3 retailers
Barbaresco
3 retailers
£30.92
£37.52
3 retailers
Barolo
3 retailers
£44.00
3 retailers
Langhe
3 retailers
£50.54
3 retailers
Barbaresco
3 retailers
£53.67
£56.08
3 retailers
Barolo
3 retailers
£55.00
Denominations
The appellations where Nebbiolo plays a starring role.
Where it grows
From Barolo's tannic spine to Asti's gentle fizz, Piedmont turns Nebbiolo, Barbera, Moscato, and Cortese into Italy's most cru-mapped wine country. Read more
From Franciacorta classic-method bubbles to Valtellina mountain Nebbiolo and Lugana lake-cool whites, Lombardy spans 5 DOCGs across roughly 25,000 hectares of Read more
Italy's smallest wine region clings to terraces between 500 and 1,200 metres, where Prie Blanc, Petit Rouge and Picotener (Nebbiolo) catch the alpine sun. Read more
Editorial
Nebbiolo is a very sensitive grape that can create different types of wine depending on the specific terroir.
Probably the most approachable and immediate nebbiolo wine, characterised by fresh fruity scents of raspberry, wild strawberry and delicate spicy notes of cinnamon and vanilla.
The “King of wines and wine for Kings” is produced on the hills surrounding the homonymous village in Piedmont. It is harmonious and elegant, with an ethereal bouquet of red fruits that evolves into spices, leather and licorice with time. It can age almost forever!
Slightly less popular and refined than Barolo but somehow more gentle and feminine. Full bodied with a dry finish of mature tannins. It ages brilliantly, but not as long as Barolo!
Its name derives from the traditional practice of ‘forcing’ (prolonging) the ripening of selected grapes by letting them dry on racks in well ventilated rooms, immediately after harvesting.
Nebbiolo has been recognised as a noble vine variety since the 16th century and has always been one of the main references for the Italian oenological scene.
In the last decades, two schools of thought have developed in regards to wood ageing.
Traditionalists claim that Nebbiolo wines should be produced according to the traditional long fermentation followed by three or four years of maturation in large Slavonian oak or chestnut barrels.
Modernists, instead, prefer to age these wines in French oak barrels to round off their sharp edges and to obtain a more approachable wine that retains its fruity character.
Nebbiolo produces incredibly good wines that stand out for the elegance of their color, the finesse of their aromas, their structure and tannic texture and an outstanding ability to withstand long periods of ageing.
Good to know
Nebbiolo wines are strong and characterful reds with good structure and tannins. They can be a bit difficult and rough to unfamiliar mouths, but surprisingly seductive and capable of ageing for decades.
It is extremely difficult to generalise the taste of all Nebbiolo based wines. This grape can create wines of incomparable character with complex notes of leather, tobacco and earth such as the Barolo or Barbaresco, as well as more approachable and fruity ones such as the Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d’Alba or the Roero.
Nebbiolo wines are generally dry. There is one exception though, that is the Barolo Chinato, a flavored wine, such as vermouth, obtained by mixing Barolo with a solution of sugar in ethyl alcohol, to which various spices were previously put in slow maceration.
Nebbiolo is widespread all over Piedmont producing plenty of both DOCG and DOC wines. In Lombardy, it produces excellent red wines entering for a 90% in the blend of the red Valtellina Rosso DOC, Superiore and Sfursat DOCG.
Nebbiolo wines are perfect in combination with dishes based on beef and game. They are also excellent with cold cuts and aged cheeses, but also with delicate first courses such as mushrooms risotto or rich ones such as lasagna.
Explore by style
Jump to the editorial guide for each style this grape turns up in.
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