Roero lies on the Tanaro River, across from Barolo and Barbaresco in Italy’s Piedmont region. Like its noble cousins to the East, Roero is blanketed in Nebbiolo vines which make up 98% of the plantings there. Arneis makes up the remaining two percent, and produces a highly useful white wine, but it is Nebbiolo, Italy’s answer to Pinot Noir, which yields Roero’s best wines.

It wasn’t that long ago when Roero was mostly unknown in the U.S. The zone was only recently upgraded to DOCG status, and no matter how hard it tries, Roero will always play second fiddle to the ultra-famous wines of Barolo and Barbaresco. However, a few notable producers have been making headway with American consumers, such as Matteo Correggia and the Cascina Ca’ Rossa estate of Angelo Ferrio.