I am not shy to admit that, until last April, my love affair with Nebbiolo, the grape responsible for the wines of Barolo and Barbaresco, was not on solid grounds. But, a meeting with ArPePe's Isabella Pelizzatti Perego at Vinitaly in Verona changed that forever...

I was struck by their elegance and restraint, purity, and finesse through a tasting of 9 of her wines, all made with 100% Nebbiolo. Everything about the feminine side of Nebbiolo I had so often heard about came alive in a magnificent way that I had never experienced before.