Piedmont litterally means "Land at the foot of the mountain". It is one of the most important Italy's wine producing regions and offer to the wine lover an exquisite choice of top quality wines. Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera, Dolcetto, Gavi and Moscato come from this land. Grapes are grown everywhere in the Region but especially in the hilly southern part in the provinces of Asti, Cuneo and Alessandria. The most popular grapes of Piedmont are Barbera and Nebbiolo. Barbera gives the name also to the world-famous wine and Nebbiolo, even though is possible to find wines which are called Nebbiolo D'Alba, is famous because produces the top wines Barolo and Barbaresco. Barbera produces excellent red wines: it can be vinified as a monovarietal or can be part of a blend together with Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo. The resulting wine is rich, tannic, smooth and deeply coloured. Barolo is considered the king of Italian wines: the small town of Barolo is located south-west of the truffle-capital Alba. Barolo wines are incredible in bouquet and with the time can offer to the wine taster unique experiences for the palate and the nose. When the wine reaches its peak the terroir comes out in all its richness: notes of truffle and leather complete a round structure and a velvety sensation in the mouth. Always close to Alba, but this time north-east of the town, comes the wine Barbaresco. The small town of Barbaresco produces a wine similar to Barolo which is considered less structured but more elegant. This wine in the past was more famous than its counterpart Barolo, but probably because of a lack of attention from producers, this wonderful wine has been forgotten for a short period of time. Nowdays Barbaresco is on the top rank once again and is considered the wine which pairs perfectly with all the truffle-based dishes.
Several other wines come from this region: Dolcetto which is a fruity, peppery medium/full-bodied red wine but never sweet as the translation of its Italian name can suggest; Grignolino which is a lighter red wine with scents of red flowers and red and black berries; Gattinara and Ghemme which are two wines which recently gained the top Italian appelation DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) and several others such as Freisa, Langhe, Roero, Monferrato. Bramaterra and Boca.  The last red wine which deserve a personal description is Brachetto d'Acqui. The grape Brachetto produces a wine which is simply amazing. Is a semi-sweet, Rose', sparkling wine: it is excellent with dessert or as a convivial wine. Tasting a good Brachetto is always a pleasant experience and every wine lover, once have tried Brachetto, wants to have it again and again. It seems the red counterpart of the aromatic and excellent Moscato d'Asti (Muscat). But the popularity of Piedmont wines is not only about red wines. Among wines it is important to list the DOCG Gavi or Cortese di Gavi: it is a wine made with the grape Cortese in the area of the town Gavi around the province of Alessandria. It has a fresh pleasant taste together with notes of white flowers, grass, and white fruit. The other very important white wine is Moscato d'Asti. This wine is the semi-sweet, fruity version of the Asti Spumante and is made with the grape Moscato di Canelli. It is almost impossible to forget the taste of Moscato: it reminds pears and other white fruits together with fresh flowers. It is slightly sweet and sparkling, aromatic and fresh. The amazing characteristics of Moscato d'Asti are achieved in part with a particular fermentation process: this is interrupted several times by filtering and then is started again until the wine reaches the right amount of sugars and carbonic acid. Moscato d'Asti and Brachetto d'Aqui pairs perfectly with fresh fruit, light desserts and pastries.