Barbera del Monferrato Superiore

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The production zone is a gently rolling hill system, lying mostly between 150 and 400 metres above sea level, within the Province of Asti and part of the Province of Alessandria.
• The climate of the zone is temperate to warm-temperate, with approximately 1,800 growing 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 formations within the Piedmont Tertiary Basin.
• The zone includes several small areas of palaeosoils or terra rossa with an acidic reaction, located at Cassine, Mantovana, Quargnento, and Masio, which are not included in the Barbera d'Asti production regulations.

• The Superiore wine type is produced from the ripest clusters and remains in the cellar to mature for a minimum of 14 months, of which at least 6 months must be spent in wooden casks.
• The most widely used pruning system in the zone is Guyot, chosen because it best suits the interaction between the variety and the local climate.
• An 1873 ampelography describes Barbera as an indigenous variety cultivated since time immemorial, forming the principal base of the wines of the Astigiano and lower Monferrato.

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

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-IT-A1397
• Official trade body site — Consorzio Colline del Monferrato Casalese