There’s a new wine region in town

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Here’s a sneak peek at what’s coming in this week’s Food section:

For the last 30 years, the red wine spotlight in and around Italy’s Piedmont region has been dominated by its big guns, Barolo and Barbaresco. And rightly so: These majestic wines are some of the country’s noblest. But there is also an unsung retinue of alternative bottlings, both from the Langhe (the region where the Barolo and Barbaresco growing areas are located) and from lesser-known areas beyond its borders. These areas are finally gaining a toehold in the American market and are proving just how amazingly diverse the region is.

Indeed, northwestern Italy almost seems like a confluence of several great European red wine regions, possessing red wines with the majesty of Bordeaux, the suppleness of Burgundy, the stature of Hermitage and the charm of Beaujolais or the Côtes du Rhône. It’s why Nicolas Belfrage, in his book ‘Barolo to Valpolicella,’ makes the case that northwestern Italy is the most exciting wine zone in the world. Read on: