Piedmont (Piemonte) holds an unrivalled place among the world's finest wine regions. Located in northwestern Italy, it is home to more DOCG wines than any other Italian region, including such well-known and respected names as Barolo, Barbaresco and Barbera d'Asti. Though famous for its Austere, Tannic, Floral">floral reds made from Nebbiolo, Piedmont's biggest success story in the past decade has been Moscato d'Asti, a Sweet, Sparkling white wine. Piedmont Lies, as its name suggests, at the foot of the Western Alps, which encircle its northern and western sides and form its naturally formidable border with Provence, France.
To the southeast are the Apennines, the most northerly. These low coastal hills separate Piedmont from its Long, thin neighbour, Liguria, and from the Mediterranean beyond. The Alps and the Apennines are important here in many ways. They are largely responsible for the region's favourable climate and for many centuries they provided a degree of protection against invasion.
A very old grape variety grown in the Italian Piedmont. It has a great resemblance with the Freisa, which also comes from the same Italian region. Among the various massal selections made in Italy, we find lampia, michet and rosé. It can be found in Italy, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Mexico, the United States (California), Australia, etc. In France, it is practically unknown, perhaps because it is a delicate and demanding grape variety with, among other things, a fairly long phenological cycle.
