Roero DOCG

Roero lies in the province of Cuneo, north of Alba on the left bank of the Tanaro, between the Carmagnola plain and the low hills of the Asti area, according to the Consorzio di Tutela Roero. The MASAF disciplinare places the whole administrative territory of Canale, Corneliano d'Alba, Piobesi d'Alba and Vezza d'Alba inside the zone, together with parts of Baldissero d'Alba, Castagnito, Castellinaldo, Govone, Guarene, Magliano Alfieri, Montà, Montaldo Roero, Monteu Roero, Monticello d'Alba, Pocapaglia, Priocca, Santa Vittoria d'Alba, Santo Stefano Roero and Sommariva Perno. Its Article 9 describes the territory as lying on the orographic left of the Tanaro in an area of 19 communes. The Consorzio names the Rocche, steep escarpments that cut across the territory from south-west to north-east, from Pocapaglia to Montà, as one of the defining features of the landscape, dividing continental soils of river gravels and clays from soils of marine origin. The disciplinare ties the formation of the Rocche to the geological phenomenon it calls the "cattura del Tanaro", a change in the river's course caused by a movement of the earth's crust. The Consorzio states that only hillside vineyards at altitudes no higher than 400 metres belong to the DOCG, and the disciplinare excludes valley-floor, flat, damp and insufficiently sunny land. The Consorzio also records that in June 2014 the wine landscapes of Roero, with those of Langhe and Monferrato, were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.

• 19 communes on the left bank of the Tanaro, province of Cuneo: 4 wholly inside the zone and 15 in part (MASAF disciplinare)
• Wholly included: Canale, Corneliano d'Alba, Piobesi d'Alba, Vezza d'Alba
• Hillside vineyards only, at no more than 400 metres (Consorzio di Tutela Roero); valley-floor, flat and damp land excluded (disciplinare)
• The Rocche: steep escarpments from Pocapaglia to Montà that the Consorzio says divide continental soils from marine ones

Article 9 of the MASAF disciplinare says the geological evolution of Roero produced alternating layers of sand, clay and limestone, mixed differently from zone to zone, and that its soils derive from layers deposited on the crystalline floor of an ancient inland sea later called the Golfo Padano. The Consorzio di Tutela Roero describes the soil as broadly marly-sandstone, with sandstone prevailing and a good content of limestone, clay and sand, the sand making the ground loose, soft and highly permeable. It sets out a sequence of soils from north-west to south-east: sand-rich, low-limestone soils along the Rocche at around 350 metres and above; older, fossil-rich marine sands further east; a Pliocene matrix merging with a grey-blue, more calcareous and clay-rich silty layer in the central part; and, closest to the Tanaro, cold soils of clay mixed with gypsum banks and Marne di S. Agata Fossili, which the Consorzio calls similar to those of the Langa. The disciplinare links soil to style: where sand dominates the wines are fresh and elegant with subtle aromas, clay influences colour, and limestone aromatic finesse. Writing for Decanter in June 2025, Michaela Morris said Roero's "predominantly sandy soil lends itself to a lighter, more elegant rendering of Nebbiolo". Arneis on the same sandy substrate produces dry whites of almond, peach, pear, and chamomile character in Italian Wine Central's variety profile, with medium body and fresh acidity in Vietti's description of its own Roero Arneis.

• Alternating layers of sand, clay and limestone laid down on the floor of an ancient inland sea, the Golfo Padano (MASAF disciplinare, Article 9)
• Consorzio soil sequence: sand-rich soils along the Rocche, older fossil-rich marine sands further east, a calcareous and clay-rich silty layer in the centre, clay and S. Agata Fossili marls near the Tanaro
• Disciplinare: more sand gives fresh, elegant wines with subtle aromas; clay influences colour; limestone aromatic finesse
• Arneis aromas and flavours per Italian Wine Central: white flowers, chamomile, peach, pear, apricot, citrus, almond

The MASAF disciplinare reserves red Roero and Roero riserva for wines from at least 95% Nebbiolo, with up to 5% of non-aromatic red varieties suitable for cultivation in Piemonte, and white Roero or Roero Arneis, including riserva and spumante, for at least 95% Arneis with up to 5% of non-aromatic white varieties. The Consorzio di Tutela Roero notes that Roero is pure Nebbiolo in almost all cases and that Roero Arneis is usually pure Arneis. Under the disciplinare, ageing runs from 1 November of the harvest year: red Roero needs 20 months including 6 in wood and may be released from 1 July of the second year after harvest, and Roero riserva needs 32 months including 6 in wood, with release from 1 July of the third year. White Roero with an additional geographical mention needs 4 months, with release from 1 March of the following year, and Roero Arneis riserva 16 months, with release from 1 March of the second year. Maximum grape yields are 8 t/ha for the red and 10 t/ha for the white; north-facing slopes are excluded for the red, while Arneis may also be grown facing north. The spumante may range from brut nature to dolce. On the grape's history, the Consorzio records the first written traces of Arneis between the late 1400s and the early 1500s, including a vineyard called "moscatelli et renexij" that refers to today's Renesio in Canale, and says that in the 1700s Arneis was vinified mainly sweet or as vermouth. In the 1900s, the Consorzio says, Arneis was grown as a table grape and planted beside Nebbiolo to attract birds, hence the name "nebbiolo bianco"; only in the 1970s, when little more than ten hectares remained, were vineyards dedicated wholly to Arneis rebuilt, and some producers began to make it dry. Vietti's own history dates "The very first bottle of Roero Arneis in purity" to 1967.

• Roero (red): minimum 95% Nebbiolo; 20 months' ageing including 6 in wood; release from 1 July of the second year after harvest
• Roero riserva (red): 32 months including 6 in wood; release from 1 July of the third year after harvest
• Roero Arneis: minimum 95% Arneis, as still wine, riserva (16 months) or spumante (brut nature to dolce)
• Arneis history per the Consorzio: written traces from the late 1400s, little more than ten hectares before 1970s replanting; Vietti dates its first pure Roero Arneis bottle to 1967

Vietti, based at Castiglione Falletto in the Langhe, makes its Roero Arneis from limestone- and clay-rich vineyards in Santo Stefano Roero, according to the estate's own site. Its history page credits Luciana Vietti and her husband Alfredo Currado with bringing new ideas to the estate from the late 1950s, and records the Krause family's purchase of the winery in 2016. Matteo Correggia lists a Roero Riserva Ròche d'Ampsèj, a Roero riserva La Val dei Preti and a Roero Arneis La Val dei Preti among its wines. The Consorzio's producer profile of Giovanni Almondo in Montà describes a family winery born in 1978 with 12 hectares of Arneis and 3 of Nebbiolo, whose Roero Bric Valdiana comes from the MGA of the same name; the estate's own site calls Bric Valdiana a vineyard on a mainly sandy soil in the southern area of Montà d'Alba and its only wine to carry an MGA name on the label. Malvirà, in Canale, bottles Roero Arneis from the Renesio and S.S. Trinità MGAs and Roero Riserva from Mombeltramo, Renesio and S.S. Trinità, according to the Consorzio. The disciplinare, taking account of traditional production, also allows Roero to be vinified in Langhe communes including Barolo, Barbaresco, Castiglione Falletto, La Morra and Serralunga d'Alba.

• Vietti: Roero Arneis from Santo Stefano Roero; the estate dates its first pure Roero Arneis bottle to 1967
• Matteo Correggia: Roero Riserva Ròche d'Ampsèj and Roero Arneis La Val dei Preti
• Giovanni Almondo (Montà): Roero Bric Valdiana, a Nebbiolo from the MGA of the same name
• Malvirà (Canale): Roero Arneis and Roero Riserva from the Renesio, S.S. Trinità and Mombeltramo MGAs

Primary sources (MASAF, the Consorzio di Tutela Roero, and producers' own sites): https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252F2%252F3%252FD.8ccd09a077f2ec35dc9b/P/BLOB%3AID%3D4625/E/7z?mode=download, https://www.consorziodelroero.it/il-territorio/, https://www.consorziodelroero.it/geologia-e-clima/, https://www.consorziodelroero.it/vitigni/, https://www.consorziodelroero.it/storia/, https://www.consorziodelroero.it/tipologie/, https://www.consorziodelroero.it/la-viticoltura/, https://www.consorziodelroero.it/paesaggio/, https://www.consorziodelroero.it/i-winetour-tra-i-cru-del-roero/winetour-1-i-cru-dove-ebbe-origine-larneis/, https://www.consorziodelroero.it/en/producers/malvira/, https://www.consorziodelroero.it/en/producers/almondo/, https://www.vietti.com/en/our-values/our-story, https://www.vietti.com/en/wines/roero-arneis, https://giovannialmondo.com/en/prodotto/roero-docg-bric-valdiana-eng/, https://www.matteocorreggia.com/vini-del-roero/. Secondary sources: https://italianwinecentral.com/denomination/roero-docg/, https://italianwinecentral.com/variety/arneis/, https://www.decanter.com/premium/langhe-nebbiolo-and-nebbiolo-dalba-these-25-bottles-prove-its-not-all-about-barolo-555834/. Last verified 2026-09-25