Wine enthusiasts with a taste for Italian wine may wish to try the 2008 Renato Ratti Nebbiolo d'Alba Ochetti.

The wine is made from the Nebbiolo grape that produces the impressive Barolo and Barbaresco wines. However, it offers a more affordable route to the taste of Piedmont, according to wine critic John Foy.

Writing in the New Jersey Star & Ledger, Mr Foy points out that this particular wine is cultivated in the Roero, and while it lacks the rich soil and exposure that make Barolo and Barbaresco so special, it has other unique characteristics.

"Roero's wines lack complexity and long aging potential. But Roero offers wine consumers another set of qualities: pure fruit flavours, immediate gratification and good value," he noted.

Patrick Comiskey of the Los Angeles Times recently moved to remind wine lovers that there is more to Piedmont than Barolo and Barbaresco.

Mr Comiskey singled out 2003 Tenuta Sella Bramaterra I Porfidi as a wine of particular note, saying it was instantly "delicate and authentic".

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