The Bramaterra DOC of Piedmont, in north-western Italy, is one of several in the region to base its red wines on the Nebbiolo grape variety. Although less famous than the wines from the south of Piedmont (Bramaterra comes from the north), the wines can offer good value for money and a good introduction to the Nebbiolo variety.
The Bramaterra catchment area covers the communes of Masserano, Brusnengo, Curino, Roasio, Villa del Bosco, Sostegno and Lozzolo, all of which are found in the hills just west of Gattinara and Ghemme, two other Piedmont Nebbiolo specialists.
The vines which produce Bramaterra wines grow more than 60 miles (100km) north of those which make the famous Barolo and Barbaresco wines, and this shows in the style. Here in the foothills of the Western Alps, Nebbiolo (known locally as Spanna) produces lighter, fresher wines, more akin to Lombardy's Valtellina than their own cousins from southern Piedmont. The flip side of this cool-climate style is that the tannins for which Nebbiolo is so famous often fail to ripen completely, resulting in a particularly mouth-puckering effect. For this reason the DOC laws which govern the production of Bramaterra wine allow the addition of up to 30% Croatina and up to 20% of either Uva Rara or Vespolina (the latter has a direct genetic link to Nebbiolo).
