Roero
Continental
Sandy hills across the Tanaro river from the Langhe, making lighter, perfumed Nebbiolo and Piedmont's benchmark fresh white, Arneis.
Overview
About Roero
Roero lies on the left bank of the Tanaro, north-west of Alba, facing the Langhe across the river. Its landscape is rougher and more wooded than the Langhe's, cut by steep ravines called rocche where erosion has exposed the sandy soil. It is part of the Langhe-Roero and Monferrato landscape inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2014.
Two DOCGs share the hills. Roero, the red, is Nebbiolo-based and lighter, more floral and earlier-drinking than Barolo, because the sandy soils give less tannin. Roero Arneis is the white: a dry, delicate wine of pear, almond and white flowers made from a grape that was almost abandoned in the 1960s and revived largely by Alba growers, Vietti among them. Arneis means 'little rascal' in Piedmontese, a reference to how awkward the vine is to grow.
Roero is marked on the map.
Italy
Shaded: Cuneo. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Continental
Continental, like the Langhe across the river, with hot summers, cold winters and autumn fog. The sandy soils warm quickly in spring and drain fast, so Nebbiolo here tends to ripen a little earlier than in Barolo.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Marine sands laid down when the area was under the sea, with pockets of clay and limestone. The sand gives wines that are aromatic and lighter in tannin; the steep rocche and their erosion are the region's signature.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
Roero has two DOCGs, one red and one white, each with a Riserva that requires longer ageing.
Roero Riserva DOCG
Nebbiolo-based red aged for longer than the standard wine before release.
Roero DOCG
Nebbiolo-based red, lighter and earlier-drinking than Barolo or Barbaresco.
Roero Arneis DOCG
Dry white from Arneis, at its best fresh and young.
What's grown here
Grapes
Each grape's page links back here.