:: CASA BUFFETTO ::

Nebbiolo has been known since at least 1268. The variety is clearly cited in a document of the Castle of Rivoli written in that year. Another 13th-century document mentions the Nubiola grape, while in the 15th century the bishop of Turin demanded payment in casks of Nebbiolo of rents for property owned by the church.

There is a popular legend that explains the origin of the name Nebbiolo. It concerns a monk who cultivated a small garden near the hut in which he lived. He also tended a small vineyard from which he obtained the little wine that he himself consumed. One morning, he found that the garden and vineyard were hidden by thick fog. He saw in that phenomenon a sign that the Lord was angry with him and he therefore ceased cultivating the earth to dedicate himself entirely to prayer. When the period of the harvest arrived, the fog finally dissipated, revealing clusters of grapes, now ripe, that gleamed like gems in the sunlight. However, the more believable explanation is that the variety's name is derived from the mists ( nebbia ) that are customary in the vineyards on cool mornings during the harvest period.

Nebbiolo is the third member of the triad of fine wines made in the Alba/Asti area from Nebbiolo grapes, the two others being Barolo and Barbaresco . Nebbiolo was one of the preferred wines of members of the House of Savoy, whose love for a fine table is well known. And it is said that the wine was one of the subtle diplomatic "instruments" employed by that house. During the period of Savoyard rule, the royal jeweler, in writing about wines, suggested that Nebbiolo was a corruption of the word noble ( nobile ). He also observed that that word, more than any other, described the wine's quality.