Italy - North West Flashcards
What is the breakdown of Vino, IGT and DOC wines in Piemonte?
There is no IGT, only vino or within DOC(G)s.
Piemonte DOC has a wide range of provisions for local and international varieties.
What is the breakdown of vineyard holdings?
For historical reasons, the Langhe and Piemonte have remained a region with small family owned farms.
By comparison with other leading Italian regions, especially Tuscany, there has been little consolidation of vineyard holdings.
Are grapes often sold on?
In the past, growers sold their grapes to larger producers, eg Fontanafredda.
Today, with much higher prices for Nebbiolo wines, many small estates bottle and market their own wines.
What is the breakdown of exports for Barolo and Barbaresco?
It’s a very high proportion, 85 and 75% respectively.
Top markets are USA, Germany, UK and Scandinavia.
Why have prices of Nebbiolo wines increased recently? What else has this rise caused?
As prices for top quality Bordeaux and Burgundy have risen rapidly since 2010, merchants, collectors and buyers have been looking for alternative wines to age and collect.
Nebbiolo has attracted interest due to capacity to develop tertiary flavours in bottle.
The new focus on named sub-zones within Barolo and Barbaresco is beginning to have traction in the market, at least for better known sub-zones (comparison can be made with vineyard names in Burgundy).
It has also caused attention to turn to less expensive Nebbiolos from other DOCGs.
