Nebbiolo is one of Italy’s most celebrated red grape varieties, prized for its elegant aromatics, bold structure, and capacity for long aging. A great Nebbiolo is at once a sensual and cerebral experience, engaging both the mind and the palate with a dynamic tension between power and finesse. Renowned for its ability to convey a sense of place, the grape translates subtle shifts in soil, climate, and elevation into distinctly nuanced expressions. Early budding and late ripening, Nebbiolo is a notoriously difficult variety to grow – but it flourishes in its homeland, the picturesque hills of Piedmont in northwestern Italy.
The best-known bottlings of Nebbiolo come from Barolo and Barbaresco, two appellations in the Langhe hills of southern Piedmont (or Piemonte, as Italians say). Most wine aficionados are likely familiar with these famous appellations, and possibly even with Langhe Nebbiolo, a more approachable and budget-friendly version of Piedmont’s signature variety. It’s a shame, however, that more Nebbiolo fans aren’t drinking – or haven’t even heard of – Boca, a historic winegrowing area in the Alto Piemonte just 90 miles north of the Langhe. Here, a handful of small family wineries are turning out some under-the-radar gems.
Alto Piemonte was once Italy’s largest and most prestigious Nebbiolo-growing region. It started to decline when phylloxera, a tiny insect that destroys grapevines, invaded the area in the late 1800s. Many farmers were unable to replant their vineyards, and those who did saw them battered by catastrophic frost and hail in the ensuing years. When an industrial boom swept Northern Italy after World War II, scores of residents gave up farming and took better-paying jobs in the textile mills of Biella and factories near Lake Orta. Their children left to attend universities in Milan and Turin in the 1980s and 1990s, and few returned to the countryside, finding better job opportunities elsewhere. As Alto Piemonte’s population dwindled, so did its vineyards. To put the scale of decline in perspective, between the late 1800s and early 2000s, the area under vine plummeted from 100,000 to fewer than 2,000 acres.
Tucked at the foot of the Alps near the Swiss border, Alto Piemonte is home to eight communal appellations, among them Gattinara DOCG, Ghemme DOCG, Boca DOC, Lessona DOC, and Bramaterra DOC, plus the broader regional designations of Colline Novaresi DOC and Coste della Sesia DOC. Nebbiolo, known locally here as Spanna, is the dominant grape variety, joined by native red grapes Vespolina, Croatina, and Uva Rara, and the white variety Erbaluce. Gattinara is Alto Piemonte’s largest and most widely exported appellation, followed closely by Ghemme. But it’s the wines from Boca that I’m especially excited to be seeing more of lately in the U.S.
What makes Nebbiolo from Boca unique? Alpine influences and ancient volcanic soil, for starters. Boca’s vineyards are higher in altitude than the Langhe – up to 1,800 feet above sea level – and benefit from cool Alpine breezes descending from Monte Rosa, Europe’s second highest peak, and large day-to-night temperature swings. Resting on top of an ancient supervolcano, Boca also boasts some of Italy’s most distinctive terroir. Made up of volcanic rocks called porphyry, its crumbly, mineral-rich soils differ markedly from the chalky limestone and clay soils found in Barolo and Barbaresco. Compared to the powerful wines of the Langhe, Boca’s unique terroir unearths a fresher, more ethereal, more mineral-driven expression of Nebbiolo. Expect tart red fruit, citrus, peppery spice, dried herbs, and a smoky, stony minerality framed by vibrant acidity and finely chiseled tannins, with savory leather and tobacco notes emerging with age.
Another hallmark of Boca is the tradition of blending Nebbiolo with a small proportion of local red grapes. Getting Nebbiolo to fully ripen in Boca’s cool climate was once a challenge (unlike many regions grappling with global warming, Boca has largely benefited) so blending with other grapes became a common practice and had the benefit of adding character and complexity to the wine. Boca DOC regulations require a minimum of 70% to 90% Nebbiolo, blended with 10% to 30% Vespolina and / or Uva Rara. Vespolina is genetically related to Nebbiolo and contributes perfumed aromatics, spicy notes, and a splash of color. Uva Rara, used more sparingly, adds roundness and softens the blend. The wines must age for at least 34 months before release, including at least 18 months in wood (typically large, neutral oak barrels). Producers may choose to make a 100% varietal Nebbiolo, but they must label it under Alto Piemonte’s regional Colline Novaresi DOC designation, rather than Boca DOC.
If Barolo is the king of Nebbiolo and Barbaresco the queen, Boca may just be the philosopher: contemplative, stoic, and unassuming, yet quietly resilient. Just a few decades ago, Boca’s vineyards were on the verge of extinction. Its winemaking tradition survived thanks to the tenacity of a few local families who persevered through hard times and the arrival of an inspiring newcomer who recognized Boca’s potential and set out to restore the region’s abandoned vineyards.
Swiss wine importer Christoph Künzli traveled regularly to Boca in the 1990s and struck up a friendship with Antonio Cerri, one of the few remaining winemakers in the area. With his health fading and no heirs of his own, Cerri agreed to sell his cellar and small vineyard to Künzli. After Cerri’s passing in 1997, Künzli moved to the region and began the laborious task of buying and replanting tiny plots of overgrown or abandoned vineyards in prime locations – negotiating more than 80 real estate transactions in the process – and rechristened the estate Le Piane. The wines quickly won critical acclaim, validating Künzli’s conviction that Boca remained capable of great things. His commercial success encouraged other producers in the area to continue bottling and selling their wines, and he has worked closely with neighboring estates to improve quality standards and elevate Boca’s image ever since.
Christoph Künzli played a pivotal role in rescuing Boca from obscurity, but the region’s revival story doesn’t end there. A younger generation is breathing new life into this historic area, restoring the vineyards and wineries founded by their parents and grandparents. I was fortunate to meet Silvia Barbaglia of Barbaglia Winery, one of Boca’s most well-respected estates, during a recent trip to Piedmont. A viticulturist whose family has worked the land for generations, Silvia is a passionate ambassador for the region. Her grandfather, Mario Barbaglia, started selling wine in 1946, traveling around the region first by bicycle and later by truck. Sadly, he died in an automobile accident while making a delivery, at which point Silvia’s father, Sergio, took the reins.
Talking about her father, Silvia says he is very shy and prefers the solitude of making wine to the sales and marketing side of the business. She, on the other hand, enjoys connecting with people and sharing her family’s story. Silvia started helping her dad as a teenager, hosting tastings and selling their wine to restaurants. After a year studying economics in Milan in the early 2000s, she returned to Boca to co-manage the winery with her father and start her own agricultural firm. In the 20 years since, she has brought abandoned vineyards back to life and cultivated new ones, growing the size of the estate from 3.5 to 18 acres.
Barbaglia’s flagship Boca DOC is a blend of 80% Nebbiolo and 20% Vespolina. The 2020 vintage opens with an elegant bouquet of ripe cherries, strawberries, violets, dried tobacco leaf, and a touch of citrus. Vibrant acidity, firm tannins, and a long savory finish frame the well-structured palate, suggesting the wine will evolve beautifully for decades to come. In 2022, Barbaglia released the first vintage of Cascina del Buonumore (or “farmhouse of good mood,” shown in the photo at the top of the article), a fresh, unoaked blend of 85% Nebbiolo and 15% Vespolina, bottled under the Colline Novaresi DOC. Silvia says she chose not to age this wine in oak “so you can feel perfectly the soil, the grape, the microclimate, the terroir in the bottle.” She and her father also produce varietal wines from Nebbiolo, Vespolina, Uva Rara, Croatina, and Erbaluce, as well as a range of traditional method sparkling wines called Curticella. The estate produces 30,000 bottles annually and they partner with Mucci Imports in Massachusetts and Oneonthehill in California to import their wines to the U.S.
Despite its long history, Boca remains a small appellation, home to fewer than a dozen producers. Barbaglia is one of a handful of multi-generational family wineries guiding the region’s renewal. They’re joined by the Conti family of Cantine del Castello, founded by Ermanno Conti in 1963 and run since 2006 by his three daughters, Anna, Elena, and Paola; Antonio Vallana, whose vineyards have been in the family since the 1700s, now under the care of sixth-generation winemakers Francis and Marina Fogarty-Vallana; and Davide Carlone, who grew up in Boca working in his grandfather’s vineyards and later returned to the region to carry on the family’s winemaking tradition.
Silvia credits Christoph Künzli for motivating her to maintain and grow the family business, saying “he helped me to understand how far we could go with our wine.” She remains firmly committed to producing authentic wines that express the character of the region, including working exclusively with native grape varieties. “Now Boca is in fashion,” she tells me, “and more people talk about Boca than before. We are growing, but we have to grow in the right way. The best way is to live in the area, to invest in the area, to understand the where and why to produce the best wine and continue to do that with passion.” As our conversation turns to the future, I ask Silvia what she thinks lies ahead. “Only good things for Boca,” she says with a smile.