Nebbiolo, the pearl of Piedmont. Facts and figures in and outside the production area

It is the jewel of Piedmont, but what most fascinates consumers, critics and producers is the ability to be so timid and so explosive, so sensitive and so understanding.

Nebbiolo is a medieval vine, already mentioned in 1272, the year in which Edward I, king of England and duke of Aquitaine, received it as a gift (from Rivoli and Alba). Then appreciated in 1575 (T. Berruti) by Charles V during a visit to Italy. Complex grapes that were studied on the tips of the toes by the ampelographs Fantini, Rovasenda and Croce, jewelers of the House of Savoy, and one cannot but mention the importation of Gatina (Gattinara) in 1806 by President Thomas Jefferson. Then, in 1835, with Carlo Alberto and his estate in Pollenzo, where it was the impulses of General Staglieno, the oenologist Oudart of the Castello di Neive, and Camillo Benso Conte di Cavour who gave birth to Barolo as we know it today: a myth, an important wine, clearly destined to become great in history. 

Due to its phenotypic variability (already found in the visual aspect of the plant), this grape takes on different names or synonyms, and can be found in many areas of northern Italy already mentioned in 800. And here are the Picoltener and Prunent in Valle d'Aosta, the Spanna, the Chiavennasca (Valtellina), the Melasca (in the Biellese area) and the Martesana (Brianza). 

For a total of 98 clones grouped into seven genotypes according to SNV analysis (Gambino et al., 2017). The Langhe area is dominated by the Lampia, Michet, Rosé and Bolla clones, which, together with Rossi, were among the most abundant in the Morra area, but then both excluded from the specification - because too productive - in favour of the others. 

So if we have on the one hand the variability within the microworld of the vine, and secondary to changes in the DNA, then there is on the other hand the variation between the different varieties. In the Long region we are interested in the first and therefore we focus on Michet and Lampia. But it is with the Rosé subvariety that the approach becomes much more interesting. Studies show that in reality it is a different variety from Nebbiolo, born from another plant called Chiavennaschino in Valtellina, which comes with larger berries and skin, more purple than blue. The leaf is larger, the grape is on average more vigorous and less prone to drought, and the mother of a wine less intense in color, early in maturation, intense in scents, including more than all the flowers, and noticeable alcohol content. 

What about areas planted with vines? If one analyses them, one discovers 850 hectares in Valtellina, 45 hectares in Aosta, 52 hectares in Sardinia (but as said it is Dolcetto) and 4500 hectares in Piedmont. So 5500 hectares in total, of which 75% in Piedmont. Outside national borders there are 180 hectares in Mexico, 100 in Australia, 70 in the USA, 25 in Uruguay, 10 in Chile and 115 in other areas for a total of 550 hectares (ISTAT data, 2010; Robinson et al., 2014; Anderson and Aryal, 2013). 

An absolute primacy, that of Piedmont, which must be the main reason for increasing protection and continuing research. All to the benefit of producers and consumers. To continue to commendable work, such as that of Dr. Anna Schneider (agronomist and specialist in viticulture and oenology, since 1982 researcher of the National Research Council (CNR) initially at the Centre for Genetic Improvement of the vine of Turin, was then a unit of the Institute of Plant Virology and now the Institute for the Sustainable Protection of Plants of Turin, the main and valuable source of information reported here.