Barbera d'Asti

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The production area lies within the Tertiary basin of Piedmont, a system of hills situated mostly between 150 and 400 metres above sea level.
• The climate of the Barbera d'Asti zone is temperate to temperate-warm, with approximately 1,800 degree-days and mean annual rainfall of around 700 millimetres.
• The oldest soils, found to the north and south of the Barbera d'Asti production area, are Miocene sandy and calcareous marls known as 'terre bianche', where fossil shells are commonly found.
• The more recent formations are the Pliocene 'sabbie astiane', located on either side of the Tanaro river and formed from sedimentary deposits laid down in a marine environment.
• The soils are predominantly calcareous, with an abundant presence of calcium carbonate and low organic matter content, and are often dry in summer due to the slope of the hills, which prevents water retention.

• A text from 1873 on Barbera in the Province of Alessandria — which at the time included present-day Asti — describes it as an indigenous variety cultivated for a very long time in the Astigiano and lower Monferrato.
• The vine is traditionally trained across the slope (girapoggio) or on a counter-trellis with Guyot pruning, and sometimes on a spur-cordon system, with yield restriction on the best-exposed hillsides.
• The traditional use of large oak casks, and more recently of barrique, makes it possible to produce wines that may carry the 'Superiore' designation, which are longer-lived and more complex.

• The wines display a good average actual alcoholic strength of 13% vol., well-defined acidity, and excellent polyphenolic composition.
• The 'terre bianche' yield full-bodied, deeply coloured, long-lived wines, while the 'sabbie astiane' produce wines with intense, fine red-fruit aromas, lower acidity, and faster maturation.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

Sottozone

• Barbera d'Asti Colli Astiani” o “Astiano DOCG (PDO)
• Barbera d'Asti Tinella DOCG (PDO)

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• Specification (EUR-Lex, single document)
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-IT-A1398
• Official trade body site — Consorzio Barbera d'Asti e Vini del Monferrato