Nebbiolo d'Alba is a DOC that was established in 1970 to cover 100% Nebbiolo wines produced in the Barolo and Barbaresco zones that are not labeled as such. In practice these are wines from younger vines or those that did not make the cut for a given producer's Barolo or Barbaresco, much as with a "second" wine in Bordeaux.

As such, it is a technically a declassification. Nonetheless, Nebbiolo d'Alba, particularly from a top producer, can provide an earlier drinking style that provides great value. A testament to the stringent standards of the area's producers is that 200,000 cases a year of Nebbiolo d'Alba is bottled on average, with that number going up significantly in difficult vintages. (Wine/Appellations)