Nebbiolo is a demanding vine, needing exactly the right soil type, a south-facing hillside, pruning and training. A calcareous tufa-based soil is ideal for this vine that buds early - towards the middle of April - and ripens later than most other varieties, around the middle of October. It suffers sudden changes in temperature but oscillations between day and night temperatures are an advantage during the grape ripening phase. For a correct formation of tannins in the grape skins, south or south-west facing hillsides are required, at an altitude of between 200 m and 450 m above sea level.

Nebbiolo is the oldest indigenous red-grape vine of Piedmont and one of the noblest and most prestigious in Italy. Its name derives from ‘nebbia’, the Italian word for mist or fog: some say this is owing to the ‘misty’ look of its grapes, with their velvety covering, and others say that it is because the late-ripening grape is often harvested during early autumn fogs.