Barolo: The king of wines

The winemaking area of Piedmont ("at the foot of the mountains") is located around the towns of Asti and Alba

More than one wine has claimed that it is “The King of Wines” — indeed, Tokaji (pronounced “tokai” — the famous sweet dessert wine from Hungary) bills itself as “The Wine of Kings — The King of Wines” and has a lot of history to back up that claim.

But it’s Barolo, made from Nebbiolo grapes in the Piedmont region of Northwest Italy (note that the “king” comes before the “wine”) that is better known, having been a favourite of the noble houses of Turin and the royal house of Savoy (rulers of Italy for nearly 100 years, up to 1946)