Nebbiolo d’Alba is an Italian doc red produced from nebbiolo grapes grown in 2012 on a growing total of 649 ha/1,603 acres of vineyard in 34 communes surrounding the city of alba in piemonte. Seven of the communes are partially inside the Barolo docg zone, although the areas which can produce Nebbiolo d’Alba—the southern sections of Monforte d’Alba and Novello, the north eastern tip of La Morra, all but a western slice of Diano d’Alba, the northern parts of Verduno, Grinzano Cavour, and Roddi—have been excluded from the Barolo zone. Most of the vineyard land is on the northern bank of the river Tanaro in the Roero hills (which, absurdly, does not belong under the administration of Alba as it lies outside the langhe), on sandier soils that yield wines that are softer, less intense, and faster maturing than a Barolo or a Barbaresco, more generically ‘Nebbiolo’ and less pointedly characterful. The demarcation of the DOC Nebbiolo d’Alba comprises the whole of the DOCG roero, and therefore can be used by Roero producers for declassification of their wines, but as such is infrequently used. This may change, as the Roero DOCG is much less famous than Nebbiolo d’Alba.
