Langhe

The Langhe are the hill country south of the Tanaro in the province of Cuneo, with Alba at its centre. They include the Barolo and Barbaresco zones and many smaller villages; the vineyard landscape of Piedmont with Langhe, Roero and Monferrato has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2014. The Langhe DOC, created in 1994, covers the whole area and permits far more grape varieties and wine types than the specific DOCG zones.

The soils date from the Miocene: pale Tortonian marls prevail in the west, the more sandstone-rich Serravallian layers in the east, giving wines of differing structure. The climate is continental, with cold winters, warm summers and frequent autumn fog (nebbia); the Alps and the Apennines shield the area from rain and cold.

Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto form the backbone of the reds; Arneis, Chardonnay and Favorita add whites. Under the Langhe name, varietal wines appear alongside blends, often as more approachable companions to the region's DOCG wines.