Italy

Certainly in Piedmont, there has been a succession of great vintages, broken only by the minor blip that was the tumultuous 2002 vintage. In the UK we seem to be gaining an increasingly insatiable thirst for Italian wines. Its plethora of characterful, indigenous grape varieties and ever-growing quality make this one of the most compelling wine-growing countries in the world. Spearheading the attack is the Piedmontese Nebbiolo grape, in the guise of Barolo, Roero and Barbaresco. The variety is produced in small quantities and needs careful hand-tending. It has an aromatic subtlety and temperament similar to that of fine Burgundy, from where pioneering growers such as Elio Altare first drew their inspiration.