Moscato bianco (white) - Noted primarily for its red wines, Piemonte owes a good 50% of its DOC production to the white muscat grape. Bottled as Moscato d'Asti and Asti Spumante, moscato bianco is characterized by a fragrant bouquet and lightly sweet, crisp taste. Ideal to sip with sweet cakes, pies and cookies.

Cortese (white) - The grape which breathes life into the majority of Piemontese dry whites.

Nebbiolo (red) - The grape used for several qualities of Nebbiolo, and the two grand wines : Barolo and Barbaresco, that are processed differently, and aged in oak or chestnut barrels. They are robust, dry wines, but at the same time smooth and rounded. They reach their best after a mid-to-long ageing.

Dolcetto (red) - Produced from grapes grown in the areas of Ovada, Alba, Dogliani, Asti and Diano, Dolcetto has a marked bitter taste which belies the name it owes solely to the sweetness of the grapes from which it is made. Best when young.

Barbera (red) - The most widespread and popular of the red grapes, grown in Lombardia and Emilia as well as in Piemonte, although its fullest wines are those from vineyards between Alba and Asti. The best of them are quite dry and robust, although some are made into wines with a sweet overtone.

Grignolino (red) - A grape that thrives in Piemonte which would be difficult to grow elsewhere. Its wine is lighter in color than Freisa and has an orange cast to it. Grignolino's most distinctive characteristics are its flowery perfume and slightly bitter taste.

Other grapes native to Piemonte are Malvasia, Erbaluce, Brachetto and Freisa.