Vien de Nus

The Grape of Nus Vien de Nus is a native red grape of the Valle d’Aosta, taking its name from the alpine village of Nus near Aosta, where it has been cultivated for centuries. The principal grape of the local Nus Rouge, it produces deeply coloured yet light-bodied, fragrant reds of red fruit and gentle spice. A rare variety little seen outside its home, it is one of the characterful indigenous grapes that give Aosta valley wines their distinctive alpine identity.

A Local Speciality Vien de Nus is closely tied to the village of Nus, in the central part of the Valle d’Aosta, where it has long been grown and where it forms the basis of the Nus Rouge wine. Outside this small alpine zone it is rarely found and is considered nearly extinct, its survival owed to the growers of its home valley who continue to cultivate it as part of the region’s viticultural heritage.

A Grape of the Alps Grown in one of the highest and most mountainous wine regions of Italy, Vien de Nus is adapted to the alpine conditions of the Aosta valley, with its steep, sun-exposed terraces and dramatic swings between warm days and cool nights. This mountain setting, together with the grape’s deep-coloured, thick-skinned berries, shapes wines that combine vivid colour with alpine freshness and fragrance.

In the Vineyard Vien de Nus has large, spherical black berries with a thick, waxy, blue-black skin that gives its wines deep colour and helps the grape resist the mountain climate. A vigorous, mid-early-ripening variety, it can crop generously, though its productivity is uneven owing to susceptibility to disease and weather. Grown on the terraced slopes around Nus, it yields deeply pigmented, aromatic fruit.

Appearance and Structure Vien de Nus gives deep purple-red wines that shift toward garnet with age, yet are dry, soft and light-bodied on the palate, with relatively low alcohol and fresh acidity. This contrast between deep colour and light, gentle structure is characteristic: the wines look richer than they taste, offering freshness, fragrance and easy drinkability rather than weight or power.

Aromatic Profile The aromas are intense and vinous, with bright red fruit — cherry, raspberry and wild strawberry — lifted by subtle floral notes and a touch of spice reminiscent of white pepper and alpine herbs. This fragrant, red-fruited, gently spicy character gives Vien de Nus an appealing, perfumed personality, the floral and herbal touches adding a fresh, savoury complexity typical of the region’s mountain reds.

In the Cellar Vien de Nus is vinified both as the base of Nus Rouge and as a component in regional blends, generally in a style that preserves its fresh fruit, deep colour and floral perfume. The winemaking favours brightness and fragrance over heavy extraction, keeping the wines light and drinkable, and its deeply pigmented skins also make it useful for adding colour to lighter alpine cuvées.

Key Expressions

• Nus Rouge (Valle d’Aosta Nus Rosso): the grape’s flagship village red.
• Varietal Vien de Nus: deeply coloured yet light, fragrant alpine reds.
• Regional blends: a colouring, aromatic partner in Aosta cuvées.
• Old-vine bottlings: characterful wines from the terraces around Nus.

The Question of Aging Vien de Nus is generally enjoyed relatively young for its fresh fruit and floral perfume, though its colour and fresh acidity give it some staying power, and with age the deep purple hues soften to garnet while the fruit gains a gentle, savoury complexity. It is not a wine built for long cellaring; the pleasure lies in its bright, fragrant, alpine freshness.

At the Table Vien de Nus’s light body, fresh acidity and fragrant fruit make it a versatile, food-friendly red, and a natural partner for the alpine cuisine of the Aosta valley — cured meats, mountain cheeses, polenta, poultry and lighter meats. Served slightly cool, its freshness and perfume flatter mountain fare, and its gentle structure suits a wide range of everyday dishes.

Why It Matters Vien de Nus is a rare alpine treasure — a native grape of a single Aosta village that survives thanks to the dedication of local growers. Deeply coloured yet light and fragrant, it embodies the distinctive, high-altitude character of Valle d’Aosta reds, and its preservation is a small but meaningful act of stewardship of Italy’s remarkable diversity of indigenous vines.