Almost extinct Prünent from Valli Ossolane, surprising 2022 Barolo and 2023 Barbaresco releases and a whole new, terroir-driven side of Roero - plus a new generation of Nebbiolo nerds producing exciting wines in Alto Piemonte– this is Nebbiolo Day 2026. Where else can you truly discover and better understand Prünent, an ancient Nebbiolo clone from Valli Ossolane in alpine Domodossola?
When we held the first Nebbiolo Day in 2017, Nebbiolo was still very much associated with Barolo and did not yet enjoy a wide following in the UK. That changed when wine lovers and wine merchants began to have a closer look at Nebbiolo not least helped by the exorbitant prices for Burgundy, and the parallels that were easy to see: a single grape variety and a host of different vineyard plots.
The comparison ends there, because unlike Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo is a reluctant traveller and sticks mostly to the far northern areas of Italy, where it results in very different expressions on myriad soils here, from calcareous clay to porphyry and the rare volcanic sands of Lessona.
While the price point was and still is more modest compared with Burgundy, it did create acceptance for fine Italian wines at higher prices. Its ageing capability also makes it an excellent investment -although it should focus on future drinking rather than as a future per se.
Market focus
There is a special focus during Nebbiolo Day on Valli Ossolane, where Prünent, a local clone of Nebbiolo, is cultivated
While in the current climate selling fine wine has become a challenge, the relevance of Nebbiolo Day is clear: staying away from the UK, the world’s most important fine wine market, is just not an option for producers, while it is equally important to educate a younger generation on Nebbiolo and from the very best producers they wouldn’t normally have easy access to.
Even now that the grape variety has established itself, there are still far-flung corners in Italy where it has been produced for centuries, but that are still off the international wine radar.
Nebbiolo Day presents the world famous, the still-unknown and wines from a whole new generation.
The focus on this edition is Valli Ossolane, where Prünent, a local clone of Nebbiolo, has been cultivated in an alpine, marginal environment where the grape just managed to ripen and trained on Toppia, a type of pergola with posts hewn out of alpine rock that forms the support for the wires keeping an intricate net of centenary vines together.
Valli Ossolane, near Domodossola, is the last refuge of Prünent and if it wasn’t for a handful of producers, these vineyards would have long disappeared. Five of these last Mohicans are present at Nebbiolo Day to introduce these incredible, almost ephemeral wines in a special seminar (3.30pm-4.15pm - see below for details).
Alessandro Masnaghetti, Nebbiolo expert, will be presenting two specialist seminars on Barolo and Barbaresco
Alessandro Masnaghetti, the undisputed global Nebbiolo expert will conduct two seminars in which he will highlight the specifics of the Barolo and the Barbaresco terroirs using his ENOGEA360 platform (see below for timings). ENOGEA360 is a specialised, interactive digital platform that provides in-depth, 360-degree panoramic views of the Barolo and Barbaresco wine regions.
Roero is in the spotlight, too, with five young producers who scrutinise the Roero terroir to transform it into transparent wines, rather than turning out masses of anonymous Nebbiolo d’Alba or Langhe Nebbiolo (see details of a specialist Roero masterclass on the day below). They have banded together to create the first geological map of Roero, which they use to explain the different terroirs and styles of wines.
Their wines are radically different form a Roero that tries to compete with the neighbours across the Tanaro river. No more, I would say.
Cooler climates
But the real surprise is Alto Piemonte, a string of tiny denominations north of Barolo and which over the last half decade has seen a huge increase of quality and new growers who would have been priced out of Barolo and Barbaresco, but not just that.
They embraced these much more elegant Nebbiolos sometimes blended in with local varieties such as Vespolina. Their elegance defies their immediate pleasure and most can age over a decade and more.
Global warming has certainly helped to put the spotlight on this much cooler area with Paitin, from Barbaresco, now having acquired the historic Bianchi estate in Gattinara and immediately snapped up by Berry Bros.
What makes this edition so fascinating is that a string of vintages, thought to be some of the most challenging in the last two decades now come onto the market: 2022 Barolo and 2023 Barbaresco with even some 2024 Langhe Nebbiolo.
The hall mark heat and draught of 2022 is hardly, if at all, perceptible, while the 2023 Barbarescos show an elegance and concentration you wouldn’t have expected in this vintage.
This is evidence for two things: Nebbiolo, like many late ripening, high acid indigenous Italian varieties, might have an advantage over others, while Italian producers have gone through a steep learning curve.
This makes me more optimistic for the future than I used to be.
Nebbiolo Day: The Details
- For full details and how to sign up to Nebbiolo Day on March 3 click here.
- You can download and access the full list of 91 producers here.
- It takes place at The Lindley Hall, 80 Vincent Square, London, SW1P 2PB between 11am and 6.30pm.
- It will include two seminars from Alessandro Masnaghetti - Enogea - and Walter Speller who is also Italian editor for www.jancisrobinson.com.
- For full details and how to sign up to Nebbiolo Day on March 3 click here.
- You can download and access the full list of 91 producers here.
- It takes place at The Lindley Hall, 80 Vincent Square, London, SW1P 2PB between 11am and 6.30pm.
Seminars at Nebbiolo Day
The day will feature four in-depth seminars with the first two presented by Nebbiolo expert Alessandro Masnaghetti:
- Seminar 1: Barbaresco 360 - 11:30am-12.15.pm.
- Seminar 2: Barolo 360: 1pm-1.45pm.
- Seminar 3: 2.15pm-3pm - New Generation Roero with five young producers who are all taking Roero terrier seriously: Valfaccenda; Cascina Fornace; Alberto Oggero;Hilberg Pasquero; and Stefano Occhetti. Co-hosted with Walter Speller.
- Seminar 4: 3.30pm-4.15pm. Prünent, historic Nebbiolo from Valli Osssolane with Cantine Garrone, DEA, Ca' da L'Era & Cantina di Tapia. Co-hosted with Walter Speller
- To book a place on a masterclass email walter@walterpseller.com and state which seminar you would like to go to.
- Walter Speller is Italian editor for www.jancisrobinson.com and you can see his library of articles on the site here.
