Lessona is a red wine-specific DOC of the Piedmont wine region in north-western Italy. It is one of several Piedmontese wines to be based on the region's native Nebbiolo grape variety, the most famous of which are Barolo and Barbaresco. Nebbiolo (known here as Spanna) typically produces robust, brooding wines with pronounced tannins. Here in Lessona, Bonarda and Vespolina grapes have traditionally been used to soften Nebbiolo's harsh edges with their lighter, fruitier characteristics.
In terms of acreage under vine, Lessona is one of the smallest DOCs in Piedmont, and exclusively covers the commune after which it is named. Most of the land in this area is occupied by housing or forested hills, leaving little room for vineyards. As a result, Lessona wines are less well known and far less accessible than their counterparts from southern Piedmont.
Piedmont's north is home to a number of Nebbiolo-specific DOC and DOCG zones, which cluster around the Sessera river between Biella and Novara. Lessona is the most northerly of these; its immediate neighbors are Carema to the west, Bramaterra to the east and Gattinara and Ghemme (both DOCGs) immediately beyond that. The nearest non-Nebbiolo DOCs to Lessona are Canavese and Erbaluce di Caluso, both of which are based on Erbaluce, a white variety particular to Piedmont. Quality wines from the Novara, Vercelli and Biella provinces in Piedmont are almost entirely based on either Erbaluce or Nebbiolo.
