Barbera: the red thread of the hills of Monferrato

Its history of Piedmont passes through centuries of cultivation. In the Astigiano and in Alexandria Barbera occupies an important area in the wine tradition: it is one of the grapes that help to read the world countryside and the relationship between agriculture and countries.

A Nizza Monferrato the name of the vine enters a very recognizable territorial tale. Fra Vinchio and Vaglio Serra, alternating a stop in the village at a distance between the rows gives concreteness to this familiarity. The wine finds the place before arriving in the glass.

Barbera is a black berry grape. Among the traits that characterize its enological behaviour are acidity and the endowment of coloring substances, while tannins are less marked than other Piedmontese reds. The maturation is in the mid-term part of the season.

This combination offers a good starting point to understand wines also very different. Freshness can support an immediate red or accompany a wider structure. In tasting, follow the relationship between acid momentum, fruit and texture helps to recognize Barbera beyond the differences of style.

Barbera is the name of grapes; Barbera d'Asti DOCG and Nizza DOCG identify wines regulated by distinct disciplinary. Nice is obtained by Barbera in purity and brings attention to a defined area of Astigiano. The passage from the vine to the name adds a geography and precise production rules.

To continue, explore Nice and the neighboring countries, or return to Asti. In the visit to the winery, ask from which vineyards come two different Barbera opens the most interesting comparison: it allows you to connect what you taste to what you have crossed.

In Nice the relationship with Barbera can also be followed through buildings. Crova Palace hosts the Regional Enoteca and the headquarters of the Association Producers of Nice: the city center thus collects a part of the life of wine, while cultivation is distributed on the surrounding hills. The UNESCO component of Nizza Monferrato and Barbera gives relief to this productive landscape. To understand it, look together the village, the farms and the succession of the slopes: the relationship between these elements explains why wine brings with it a collective history, in addition to the work of the individual company.

Geography continues under the rows. In the lands of Nice there are soils with sandy, lemony and clay components; the Association Producers describes different combinations between municipalities. Areas of Vinchio and some sectors of Mombercelli offer an entrance to the story of sandy soils; towards Nice and San Marzano Oliveto also enters argillose components. It is a trace to ask in the winery the origin of grapes and know the taste, with its position and work required during the year.

Fra Vinchio and Vaglio Serra, the Val Sarmassa extends experience to forests, geology and literary memory. A walk makes the margins of vineyards perceived and the coexistence of different environments. Returning to the city, the cardo gobbo di Nizza adds another cultivation to the knowledge of the local table. Barbera belongs to this articulated agricultural culture: meeting it through wine, walking and food allows to recognize more aspects of the same community.