Le terre del Nizza: the Barbera between the countries and the slopes

The visit can begin in the streets of the center, passing from squares to buildings that tell public and commercial life. Palazzo Crova houses the Regional Wine Shop and the headquarters of the Nice Manufacturers Association. Here the wine finds a meeting space between those who produce it and those who come to know the territory. From the city, the look can then return to the hills.

Nice also has a gastronomic history that deserves its own time. The study on the cardo gobbo di Nizza Monferrato recounts another cultivation linked to the place. Pulling these threads helps to know a community through agricultural work and table, leaving wine a role in a wider culture.

A Vinchio and Vaglio Serra, the hills of wine meet Val Sarmassa. The landscape is read through this proximity: the cultivated areas, forests and reserve paths give different rhythms to the day. The park tab deepens geology, fauna and history of the place; the pages of the municipalities add the size of the housing.

The Nizza DOCG leads to the center of the story Barbera and a production area with eighteen municipalities. The editorial journey into the lands of Nice uses some of these countries as entrances, without turning any stops into a list. A Nizza Monferrato, starting from the squares and continuing towards the countryside allows to alternate the life of the center with the knowledge of the vineyards.

A route between the villages can find its continuity even in the glass. The Nice and the Barbera d'Asti share the reference grape and have distinct productive identities. The comparison opens questions about the origin, work in the vineyard and the time chosen in the cellar. After a stretch in the Val Sarmassa, a visit to the village or a meeting with the producer add another measure to the day: the wine returns to be a way of knowing the hill, with its nature and its agricultural history.

The Nizza DOCG was born in an area of eighteen municipalities. Nizza Monferrato is the center that gives the name to wine, while production is distributed on a hilly territory wider. Vinchio, Vaglio Serra, Mombercelli and Castelnuovo Calcea are some of the places to start exploring this geography. The name invites us to follow the relations between countries and vineyards.

The UNESCO component called Nizza Monferrato and Barbera recognizes a part of this wine landscape. Under cultivation, the variety of soils adds another geography: the Association Producers distinguishes sandy, lemony and clay soils, with different combinations between municipalities. In Vinchio and in some areas of Mombercelli there are more sandy soils; towards Nice and San Marzano Oliveto there are also soils with clay components. Knowing the appeal gives precision to the wine story.

Between Vinchio and Vaglio Serra, the Val Sarmassa introduces another rhythm. Vineyards, woods and places of literary memory live in the same territory. The park's page brings together history, geology and itineraries: it offers a closer reading of the countryside and its surroundings, to be accompanied by the visit of the countries.

Walking here brings attention from the views to details: a recessed road, the margin of cultivation, a shadowy area, the return of light on the rows. This succession makes the wine landscape richer. The vineyard belongs to an environment that includes other presences and other uses of the soil, recognizable step by step.

The Nizza DOCG is produced by grapes Barbera. Knowing the territory before tasting offers a concrete basis to listen to the story of producers: location of vineyards, conduction of plots, harvest and wine cellar choices become passages of a history that you have already begun to observe. The landscape asks the first questions; the visit allows to deepen them.

After Nice and the hills of Vinchio you can continue towards Canelli and the lands of Moscato, or enter intoAcquese. On the pages of the municipalities you will find the associated routes and local insights. The journey continues by closeness and curiosity, following the passages between landscapes and wine traditions.