Barbera d'Asti
Styles
Principal grape varieties
Terroir
Natural factors
- Hilly terrain between 150 and 400 m elevation, temperate-warm climate (~1,800 degree-days) with mean annual rainfall of ~700 mm.
- The 'terre bianche' yield full-bodied, long-lived wines; the 'sabbie astiane' produce reds with delicate red-fruit aromas and a faster maturation.
Human factors
- The traditional girapoggio training system, with guyot or cordone speronato pruning, orients the vines on the best-exposed slopes from south-east to west.
Product characteristics
- Terre bianche (calcareous-clayey marne): full-bodied, deeply colored, long-lived wines; sabbie astiane: wines with intense red-fruit aromas, low acidity, and rapid maturation.
- The 'Superiore' designation — achieved through large oak casks or barrique aging — yields reds of greater organoleptic complexity and extended longevity.
Terroir / wine link
- 'Terre bianche' (Miocene marne, silty-clay, high CaCO₃) → full-bodied, deeply colored, long-lived wines; 'sabbie astiane' (Pliocene, along the Tanaro) → red-fruit aromas, low acidity, rapid maturation.
Facts drawn from the cahier's terroir-link section (Lien au terroir) by automatic interpretation — see the source.
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