Arneis

Arneis means little rascal in Piedmontese dialect, and the name is a grower's verdict: the vine is difficult, ripening unpredictably, losing acidity fast and offering poor resistance to powdery mildew.

It was nearly lost. By the 1960s there were only a few hectares left in the Roero hills, on the sandy left bank of the Tanaro opposite Barolo. It had historically been planted among Nebbiolo, partly to attract birds away from the more valuable red grapes — one of its old names, Nebbiolo Bianco, comes from that association rather than any relationship.

Its revival from the 1970s was driven by a handful of Roero producers, and it is now Piedmont's leading white alongside Cortese and Moscato.

The wine is dry and medium-bodied with pear, white peach, green almond and a pronounced floral note of camomile and white blossom. Acidity is moderate — the grape's main weakness — and there is a characteristic bitter-almond finish and a faintly waxy texture. The sandy soils of the Roero give it a light, perfumed quality quite distinct from the fuller wines of the Langhe across the river.

It is made almost entirely in steel and is at its best within two or three years, though a few producers age it on lees or in old wood for additional weight.

It is a pleasant, aromatic, well-mannered wine, and in a region dominated by Nebbiolo it has the difficult job of being the thing you drink first.