Barbera

Barbera is a black-skinned grape variety and the red wine made from it, typical of Piedmont: rich in color, tart when young, it yields its principal types in the Asti area, in Monferrato and in the Alba area.^[1]^[2] The Barbera d'Asti zone covers about thirty percent of Piedmont's 43,000 hectares under vine.^[3]

History

The earliest mention is in a 1512 cadastral document of the municipality of Chieri; in 1609 a letter kept at Nizza Monferrato reports inspectors sent to assess the Barbera for the Duke of Mantua.^[4]^[3] In 1873 the «Ampelografia della provincia di Alessandria» described it as «one of the main bases of the wines of the Asti area and lower Monferrato, where it is indigenous».^[5] It arrived in the Alba area in the second half of the seventeenth century from cuttings taken in Asti and reached its greatest diffusion around 1860-1870.^[6] Its revival began in the 1960s in Nizza, and in the 1980s viticulture, selection and wood ageing all improved.^[4]

The Denominations

Barbera d'Asti has been a DOC since 1970 and a DOCG since 2008: it must contain at least 90 percent Barbera, with vineyards only on hillsides up to 650 meters, across 116 municipalities in the Asti area and 51 in the Alessandria area; the Superiore ages for at least fourteen months, six of which in oak barrels.^[5]^[3] Barbera del Monferrato Superiore has been a DOCG since 2008, with at least 85 percent Barbera.^[7] Barbera d'Alba has been a DOC since 1970, in municipalities of the province of Cuneo, and allows up to 15 percent Nebbiolo, traditionally added to soften the acidity.^[8] Nizza, formerly a subzone of Barbera d'Asti, has become an independent denomination.^[4]^[3]

Today

In 2024 Piemonte DOC Barbera surpassed sixteen million bottles, and Barbera d'Asti Superiore grew by more than two hundred thousand.^[9] Since 1967 Asti has hosted the Douja d'Or every September, a wine competition and showcase.^[10]

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