Barbera is the most heavily planted grape in Italy’s Piemonte region, but here it
has always taken a back seat to Nebbiolo, the grape used for Barolo and Barbaresco.
Thanks to a several wineries (listed below) in Asti, Nizza, and Alba, Barbera is having its
share of the Piemontese spotlight.
We began to appreciate Italian Barbera back in the 1980’s from our visits to Alba and
Asti, which is what inspired my dad to plant 2 acres in 1998. From the very first few
vintages, we had success making concentrated Barbera with Italian-like acidity. Our
customers loved it so much that we proceeded to plant more acreage in 2007, hoping
that it would become our best-selling red wine.
However, like many things in life, it wasn’t going to be that easy. By 2016 we noticed
that the young vine Barbera was showing signs of a virus called Red Blotch. Red Blotch
is a virus that infects Vitus vinifera, the genus of wine grapes originally from Europe.
The virus causes leaves to turn red during the growing season. It traps the sugars in the
leaves, interrupting photosynthesis, or fruit ripening. Red Blotch comes primarily
from the plant material in nurseries and from insect vectors. Some grape varieties and
rootstocks are more impacted that others. Our experience shows that Red Blotch
seems to impact Barbera more than other varieties.
Since 2018, we have embarked on systematically replanting all our Barbera. This costly
method is just one of the many reasons NOT to become a grape grower. So far, thankfully,
the results have been excellent, as our new Barbera vineyard blocks are performing at a
high level.
The combination of our improved fruit with 2023’s long cool growing season rendered a
beautiful expression of modern Barbera— intense and exotic fruit with solid acidity and a
touch of new French oak. This ’23 is darker, more concentrated and a touch richer than the 2022. However, the high natural acidity provides precision and balance. It is certainly a vintage not to be missed. It should be drinking well over the next 2-4 years.
