The production zone is a low-lying hill system, situated mostly between 150 and 400 metres above sea level.
The climate is temperate to temperate-warm, with approximately 1,800 degree-days, low wind exposure, and a mean annual rainfall of around 700 millimetres.
The soils are predominantly calcareous, of medium depth, resting on calcareous-arenaceous-marly bedrock matrices.
The zone includes a few small areas of paleosoils or red earths with an acidic reaction, in the communes of Cassine, Mantovana, Quargnento, and Masio.
Human factors
The most widely used pruning system in the zone is Guyot, chosen because it best adapts to the interactions between the local variety and the local climate.
An ampelography of the Province of Alessandria dating from 1873 describes Barbera as an indigenous variety cultivated since very ancient times in the Astigiano and in the lower Monferrato.
It was a traditional practice in Monferrato to bottle part of the new wine during the March moon, with residual sugars that refermented in bottle, giving rise to the lightly sparkling style.
In Monferrato it is traditional, though not always practised, to blend Barbera with a modest proportion of other grapes, principally Freisa in the Casale and Asti areas and Dolcetto in the Ovada area.
Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.
About this boundary
Area: the official production zone published by the regional geoportal (Piemonte).
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