Nebbiolo is a famous Italian wine that can be quite pricey as it is considered to be a collectible bottle of wine. The wine that results from Nebbiolo grapes is hard to clone which means that it has a taste that is very difficult to imitate. This gives it an exclusivity that makes it very precious as it's character is not replicated.

The grape is frosted looking which is why it is named after the Italian word for fog. The name can also mean noble as in the "noble grape." Other Italina names for the Nebbiolo grape are Sapnna, Chiavennasca and Picutener.

The grape has been grown since the fourteenth centurion yin Valtellina which is in the Lombardy region near Lake Como. The famous wines made from this grape are Barolo, Barbaresco and Gattinara.

Growing the vines for this wine grape is challenging to say the least. It is not an easy grape to grow and entire crops tend to die off before the season has even begun.

Furthermore a successful Nebbiolo crop can have a low yield and vary a great dealing terms of acidity, aroma, body and tannins. It is also a late harvested grape so it is more vulnerable to frost and other problems. On the positive side it is a very disease resistant grape. Ideally it should be harvested during the last week of October. The grape itself is a glossy black color and it has a very thick skin. Complicated wine pressing systems have been devised just to extract the juices out of this grape.

The priciest Nebbiolo wines are grown in France. The less valuable varieties are produced in New Zealand, South America, South Africa, Australia and California. Argentina is also becoming a leader in the creation of Nebbiolo wines. The vines in France can be from very old vines and the older the plant the more precious the beverage that is extracted from it is.

The Nebbiolo grape is unique for creating a dark, tannic bitter wine. It is unpredictable in terms of what you might get and quality varies from bottle to bottle. It is excellent when aged but sometimes it does not always make it through the aging process.

If done right this wine smells of truffles and violets and tastes of blackberries and cherries. There is a complex back taste of leather, smoke, toast, smoke, cedar and anise. It is a very robust and earthy wine as well. It harmonizes well with strong meats as well as aged cheeses. Many wine experts say it has an airy rose quality that is difficult to replicate.

These wines often take years to produce and the production is very limited. They can take decades to reach maturity. This is not a grape that is really grown in North America except by some very small eccentric producers in California and in the Niagara region in Canada. North American varieties of Nebbiolo are also incredibly expensive simply because they are so rare. True fans of this delicious and complex alcoholic beverage don't mind paying a high price for it.