This week we’ll be trying fine wines from the north of Italy, while many great wines are made in the north, one region stands apart from the rest, Piedmont. Piedmont, or Piemonte in Italian, is arguably one of the two most respected wine regions in all of Italy along with Tuscany. The wines here demand some of the highest prices and some most cult like followings in the wine world but what makes the wines so special?

First, uniqueness. Piedmont is the home to grapes that are successfully grown anywhere else in the world in any kind of widespread basis. Piedmont’s most famous grape, Nebbiolo, has about 15,000 acres planted globally, 14,000 of those acres are found in Piedmont. This is mainly because it simply doesn’t grow well anywhere else. A unique combination of soil, exposure and fog make the hills of Piedmont the perfect place to grow the grape. Nebbiolo is most famous in the communes of Barolo and Barbaresco where it makes wines that are famous for their power and grace along with ageability that rivals even the best made French or American wines.
Piedmont is also famous for wines made of the grapes Barbera and Dolcetto. While these grapes may not get people quite as excited as those made from Nebbiolo they make for excellent table wines. Typically, they are a bit more fruit forward with lighter tannins than Nebbiolo typically has; Barbera works great as a red that can take a chill on it.

The last grape to really know from Piedmont is fairly famous, Moscato. Yes, that Moscato. Sometimes referred to as Muscat Blanc, it is one of the oldest grapes in the world! While some don’t take the wines too seriously, in Piedmont it is a different story. The region is home to Moscato d’Asti, literally Moscato from Asti, which is widely considered to be the best version of the grape out there, and it isn’t that expensive! They take it so seriously that Moscato d’Asti has its own DOCG, Italy’s highest designation for wine quality.

Next time you are looking for a great wine, in a range of prices, in nearly any style, look for Piedmont, it is hard to go wrong with the many delightful bottles coming out of the region!Insert your text here