...”nebbia” means fog?

Once there was a monk who grew a small vineyard nearby his hut and yielded wine for his own needs. One morning he found the entire vineyard covered in extremely thick fog. He interpreted this as a sign of God's anger directed at him for spending too much time working in the vineyard. From then on, he spent most of his time on prayer. When the time of grape harvest came, before the eyes of the pious monk there appeared beautiful, ripe grapes shining as brightly as jewels in the sun rays.

This is what the legend tells as about the genesis of the name „nebbiolo", as „nebbia" in Italian means „fog". However, more credible is the version stating the name refers to the fog that frequently covers Italian Piedmont (nebbiolo kingdom) on chilly mornings of grape harvest. There are two more alternative versions of the origins of this name. The first focuses on the appearance of ripe grapes that give the impression of being covered with 'fog', the second comes from the Italian word "nobile" which means noble. The first inscription mentioning the name "nebbiolo" appeared in 1268 in castle documents of the Castello di Rivoli. This variety is also known in Italy as: "spanna", "picutener" and "chiavennasca".

In 15th Century, the Bishop of Turin ordered that the rent for leasing lands belonging to the church were to be paid in nature - nebbiolo grapes.