Woven into the cultural fabric of northwest Italy is a tale of two vines. One has always been held sacred while the other has served as a vinous sacrificial lamb.

Both have made their home in Piedmont by combating winter cold, spring frosts, temperate summers and autumns that stretch precariously close to the holiday season. The grapes take a long time to ripen here and some take longer than others.

The region of Piedmont translates as "foot of the mountain." And it is. Its vineyard landscape clings to the twisted and convoluted slopes of Alpine foothills. Here, nebbiolo is the undisputed ruler of the red wine world. It has been prized since Roman times for its bitter chocolate tannins and rose-scented aroma.

This is a grape that is vinified into a multifaceted libation that has both high notes and low notes. It is both masculine and feminine. And the grape needs a long time to amass such complexity. It hangs on the vine late into the fall, when the hills are wrapped in thick blankets of fog. In fact, its very name is taken from the Italian word "nebbia," meaning fog.

Unfortunately for Piedmont, nebbiolo ripens just as the migratory birds of Europe fly south for the winter. Unwilling to lose a single cluster to ravenous feathered fiends, growers concocted a brilliant strategy to save their precious nebbiolo fruit.

They planted another grape along the perimeters of the nebbiolo vineyards. Sometimes they even planted this second variety within the block of nebbiolo itself. This grape, dolcetto, takes its name from the Italian word "dolce," meaning sweet. It ripens before nebbiolo, and is, at any given point in the growing season, less bitter and higher in sugar than its noble counterpart.

When the birds arrive at harvest, they flock to the vineyards and they taste the nebbiolo. It is relatively bitter and tart compared to the dolcetto, so they leave the nebbiolo alone and feast on the sweeter fruit.

Any dolcetto that survived the attack was vinified as an afterthought into an easy-drinking Beaujolais-styled red that was meant for early consumption. It was not a serious wine because the grape was never taken seriously. It was just a decoy.

Then one year, the birds didn't come and the growers were left with a heck of a lot of dolcetto. Some producers took their time and crafted it into a notable red with deep bing cherry fruit that finished with a hint of toasted cinnamon. It was gorgeous in the glass.

Suddenly, the idea of growing this delectable grape as nothing but bird food became less appealing. Enter the bird cannons, bird netting and scare-eye balloons. The growers of Piedmont now had two treasures to protect.

If your interest is piqued, buyer beware. Nebbiolo-based wines are not for the faint of heart. Open and decant them at least two hours before serving, or open them the day before and pour out a few ounces so that the big red can aerate for a night and a day.

Here are wines that can take some abuse. Whereas most opened wine, even if Vacu-vin'd, tends to deteriorate after a day or two, nebbiolo-based reds only improve. Your last glass will be better than the first. You don't want to hurry along the experience.

Although some Piedmont producers label their nebbiolo as nebbiolo, many use communal nomenclature on the label. A Barolo or Barbaresco, for example, are 100 percent nebbiolos that hail from vineyards surrounding the towns of Barolo and Barbaresco. Gattinara and Ghemme are also nebbiolo-based reds, but these have a small percentage of vespolina and bonarda blended in to soften the wine and tame its austere nature.

Spanna, the wine, is named after spanna, the grape. Spanna is a clone of nebbiolo and takes its name from the fact that the cluster itself is no bigger than the span of a man's hand. It also tends to be a little softer than Barolos and Barbarescos.

The dolcettos will win you over. They are not as acidic or astringent as Tuscan Chiantis. The wines are full of fruit and spice and pair perfectly with tomato-based pasta dishes. Nebbiolos beg for grilled meats. Both make wonderful accompaniments to table.

I recommend the following: Bruno Giacosa Dolcetto d'Alba, $24 (F.P. Winner); Prunotto Dolcetto d'Alba, $17 (F.P. Winner); Argusto Dolcetto d'Aqui, $15 (NDC); Dessilani Ghemme, $37 (F.P. Winner); Dessilani Spanna, $18 (F.P. Winner); Prunotto Barolo, $60 (F.P. Winner).

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