Piemonte

Piemonte (Piedmont) occupies most of northwestern Italy, bordering Switzerland in the north and France in the west and almost reaching the Mediterranean coast. Its capital and largest city is Turin (Torino). Piemonte does not have the tourist draws that some other Italian regions do, but it is renowned for its bucolic scenery and fine dining. In the wine world, Piemonte is best known for the twin titans of Barolo and Barbaresco, along with other popular red wines made from Barbera and Dolcetto, the white Gavi, and sparkling Asti. It has more DOCGs (17) and DOCs (42) than any other region (see maps: Asti area, Langhe, Monferrato, and northern), but no IGPs. In 2017, Piemonte’s harvest was reduced by 20% due to poor weather conditions, and it produced only a little over 2 million hl (22.7 million cases) of wine, the majority of it (54%) red and an impressive 89% at the DOP level. The region’s primary grape varieties are Barbera (31%), Moscato (22%), Dolcetto (13%), and Nebbiolo (10%).