#7 The langhe
Some background on the Langhe
Let’s bring Langhe to the foreground. I realise I haven’t given you a proper overview of where we’re going! I’m hoping this provides a bit of context and background to the region.
It’s a classic Italian rolling hill wine region tucked into southern Piedmont (Cuneo & Asti provinces) and a UNESCO World Heritage site for a reason. Centuries of winegrowing, stubbornly sustainable traditions, and a scenic postcard-y landscape.
Everyone knows Langhe for its crown jewel grape, Nebbiolo — the source of Barolo, the “King of Wines,” and Barbaresco. There’s other grapes, of course. I've written about Barbera and Dolcetto in another blog, but now you’ve voted for Nebbiolo, the only Barbera that matters comes from South Africa (arriving soon). Apparently they make whites too but I’m deliberately ignoring those because we’re not making one.
Langhe whites often get overlooked inlcuding by Gianluca and me; Moscato d’Asti, Cortese, Arneis. Arneis in particular (nicknamed the “little rascal” members Huw-R-D and Morgan R prefer the less PC-version) was almost extinct in the 1970s before a revival. Crisp, aromatic, refreshing — though, for the sake of this piece, I’ll go back to selfishly blowing the red trumpet.
Alba
The central hub of the region is Alba. Once protected by sturdy Roman walls, it survived medieval chaos and earned the nickname “the city of a hundred towers.” Today, only a few remain, but the skyline still tells that story. Once the Romans left, the Burgundians invaded, and pretending that that influences anything is a poetic lie I’m happy to peddle. Alba is also famous now for its truffles, hazelnuts, and as a cultural anchor for the whole Langhe.
It was also here, after World War II, that Ferrero transformed scarce supplies of cocoa and hazelnuts into Nutella, an epic invention that helped pull the region out of poverty.
Climate & Terroir
You’ll need to know the terroir if you’re backing a pied de cuve. Nestled between the Alps and the Apennines, Langhe has a continental climate: hot summers, cold winters, and, thanks to the tug-of-war between the ice-cold Alps and warm Mediterranean, plenty of morning fog. That fog burns off during the day, creating the famous nebbia (fog) conditions that gave Nebbiolo its name.
Part of what makes the region so complex is its geology. The appellation is a patchwork, its map more chaotic than Burgundy’s neat cru system. The hills themselves emerged from the sea in two separate eras, creating two distinct soil types:
Tortonian soils (calcareous marl), found in La Morra and western villages, yield slightly softer wines with tannins that resolve more quickly.
Helvetian soils (sandstone), typical of Serralunga and the eastern zones, give more structured, powerful wines.
Between them lie pockets of vigneti ad alta vocazione—high-vocation vineyards—producing some of the region’s greatest expressions. There’s no official hierarchy, but certain crus, like, ahem, Roddi, are widely revered, especially by NYN members.
A vineyard walk here, as Nelson Pari puts it, is Mosel-like—breathtaking and unforgettable. In fact I took all of my geology understanding of the region from a talk he did with Jamie Goode here.
Langhe DOC
Beyond Barolo and Barbaresco DOCGs, there’s the Langhe DOC which was established in 1994 and is the appellation playground that we’ll be frollicking in. It gives winemakers the freedom to experiment: blends, international grapes but for us, perhaps, non-traditional Nebbiolo expressions.
This flexibility has been a lifeline for younger or smaller producers who want to innovate outside the rigid DOCG rules and gives the region a bit of dynamism and making it ripe, without loss of acidity, for a Not Yet Named vintage.
Conclusion
I can’t wait.
