Founded in 1946, the Barbera d’Asti and Monferrato Wines Consortium (link) has been promoting and protecting the excellence of Monferrato wines for over 70 years with the aim of representing the many souls that coexist here. And it does so by starting right from the winemakers – the heart of the area’s winemaking activity – offering them a centralized point of reference and, at the same time, emphasizing the individual peculiarities that make this area unique in the world. A daily commitment that fits into the broader perspective of continuing the work carried out by the communities that have succeeded one another in Monferrato over the centuries and that have been able to harmoniously reconcile winegrowing with the landscape, making it an integral part of it and passing down to the present day a tradition of ever-increasing quality value.
THE VOICE OF MONFERRATO WINE REALITIES FOR OVER 70 YEARS
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
“There are many wine souls that find expression in Monferrato, and the Consortium has had the objective, since its inception, precisely to act as a bond to keep these multiplicities united, to promote the entire territory and its excellence in a unitary and uniform way” – Vitaliano Maccario, the President of the Barbera d’Asti and Monferrato Wines Consortium.
A common thread that connects and is, above all, a point of reference for the many winemaking realities that characterize the Monferrato territory: It was with this spirit that, more than 70 years ago, in 1946, the Consortium was founded for the defense of the typical Barbera d’Asti and Freisa d’Asti wines – destined later to become the current Consortium – which aimed at safeguarding the genuineness and diffusion of these products on national and international markets, through the use of special distinctive brands.
An unwavering commitment and an undoubtedly challenging task, but one that, over the years, has proved successful, suffice it to say that from the seven member companies at the beginning, there are now 421 companies for 13 designations currently represented. In fact, the Consortium has been able to demonstrate a formidable ability to mediate among the different productive souls of the territory, managing to bring together an increasing number of local designations. Having changed its name to „D’Asti and Monferrato Wines Consortium“ and, therefore, to the current name „Barbera d’Asti and Monferrato Wines Consortium“, it has contributed significantly to the development of one of the most important winegrowing areas in Italy and abroad, thanks also to the greater powers conferred on the Consortia starting from the 1990s. An important step forward in this direction came in recent times, in 2015, with the erga omnes recognition, which since then has allowed the Consortium to represent all users of the various designations, whether members or not, with a consequent expansion of the possibilities of promotion, protection and defense of general interests. Hence the main raison d’être of the Consortium on which all its initiatives are still based has been increasingly defined, namely to improve the conditions of the wine supply chain, with particular regard to the agricultural component; that is, committing itself so that the work of the winegrowers – the true backbone of the territory – is recognized and appropriately valued.
Today, the Barbera d’Asti and Monferrato Wines Consortium – the name finally chosen to give prominence to the Designation capable of representing the entire territory – works to guarantee a high production and quality profile, protecting and promoting all the 13 designations that find space within this land with its long and deeply-rooted wine vocation.
BARBERA: FROM THE ROMAN AGE TO THE PRESENT TIME, THE HISTORY OF AN EXCELLENT VINE
As is well known, winegrowing in the Asti and Monferrato area boasts a centuries-old tradition and has always played a leading role, shaping, over the years, not only the landscape – to which it has given that unique beauty that has allowed it to receive the title of UNESCO World Heritage Site – but also the life of the communities that have inhabited it since ancient times.
In fact, looking at Barbera, one of the main vine varieties that characterizes the area and which makes this area famous all over the world, it is assumed that it was cultivated in Monferrato in Roman times; indeed, however, the first documents ascertaining the planting of the „berbexinis“ vines for the production of wine for the bishop’s table date back to the Middle Ages. The first mention that suggests Barbera dates back to 1249 in particular, and is found in a rental contract preserved in the Casale Monferrato capitular archives, in which the tenant of the church land was committed to planting and taking care of the „de bonis vitibus berbexinis„: if, therefore, the barbesine vines, as one can suppose, had been Barbera vines, they were already then considered valuable vines, capable of producing wines suitable for the Curia’s qualified table in a city that was a capital at the time. However, the first official traces date back to 1512, the year in which a cadastral deed of the Municipality of Chieri reports its presence. Continuing along the course of history, the wine reappears in a manuscript kept in the municipal archives of Nizza Monferrato: in a letter dated 1609, discovered by Doctor Arturo Bersano, it appears that in that year “special appointees were sent to the county of Nizza de la Paglia to taste the wine of these vineyards, and in particular the Barbera wine for the service of H.H. Serenissima and to pay for it at the right price”. This means that the fame of the Barbera wine produced in the Asti area had reached as far as the ducal court of Mantua, where there was no shortage of occasions for banquets and appreciation of the best wines in Italy.
In 1798, during the final period of French occupation, Count Nuvolone cited Barbera as a characteristic grape variety of Piedmont in the first version of the ampelographic treatise “Calendario Georgico della Società Agraria di Torino“ (Georgic Calendar of the Agricultural Society of Turin) (1799)“: a study commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte to identify and classify grape varieties through descriptive sheets relating to the characteristics of the various organs of the plant during the different phenological phases.
It was later Giorgio Gallesio, one of the fathers of the Piedmontese ampelographic school, who provided a detailed description of the vine in the early nineteenth century, specifying how it was grown mainly in Monferrato, north of Asti and in the direction of Casale.
Later, the vine spread widely to the right of the Tanaro River, and, in the first decades of the Kingdom of Italy, the highest concentration of Barbera vineyards had already been achieved in what has been defined as the „golden triangle of Barbera d ‚Asti“, between the Tanaro and Belbo rivers (Montegrosso, Costigliole, Agliano, Castelnuovo Calcea, Mombercelli and neighboring villages, as far as Nizza in the South and Asti in the North). Almost pure Barbera was grown in that area, while mixed vineyards predominated elsewhere, a tradition maintained until a few decades ago.
Demaria and Leardi’s “L’Ampelografia della Provincia di Alessandria” (The Ampelography of the Province of Alessandria) of 1873 – the result of the work of one of the first and most active provincial ampelographic commissions established by the Kingdom of Italy and a milestone for the knowledge of the history and diffusion of the Barbera vine – demonstrates how the wine to which the vine gave life was already of the highest quality and considered to be of a high standard by growers, as some excerpts from the document show: “Everywhere it is considered one of the best vines in the province, especially concerning the totality of its characteristics; and the high price that Barbera grapes fetch on the markets compared to the others proves just how valuable growers must consider it (…)”. And again: „It has a vigorous, robust, rustic nature: it produces a lot, bears fruit in the third year, it is more than average in fertility and can last long, fruitful years (…)“.
The recognition of the value of this vine was therefore undisputed already at the end of the 19th century and determined its growth throughout the following century, setting in motion the path of development and enhancement, which led, in more recent times, to a new turning point in the 1980s when, thanks to the ongoing work in the vineyard and in the winery of a group of producers who believed in and wanted to invest in the qualitative potential of this vine, its new phase of growth began, leading it to the qualitative excellence that we all know.
THE HOME OF MONFERRATO’S DIVERSE WINE SOULS. VALUES AND FIELDS OF ACTION OF THE CONSORTIUM
Starting from the agricultural component, enhancing winegrowing at 360 degrees, considering the winegrower’s work as the foundation for obtaining products of high-quality value: only in this way is it possible to ensure that the territory and its excellence can be safeguarded for future generations. In this direction, the Barbera d’Asti and Monferrato Wines Consortium bases its values and the activities it implements day after day. But that’s not all; inextricably linked to this approach, the Consortium is committed to embracing all the designations that find their expression within the territory, giving voice to and representing each of them with all the baggage of different needs that the various production realities bring with them.
“Our most important task is to enhance, through wine promotion activities, the work of winemakers, who give life to the excellent wines we know. Not only the bottle as a finished product, but all the work that goes into creating it must have the right recognition. All this in the name of uniting, but also of the enhancement of the multifaceted realities of our territory“ – Vitaliano Maccario, President of the Barbera d’Asti and Monferrato Wines Consortium.
Among the values of the Consortium are also pragmatism and ambition: in fact, there is a desire to represent the „home“ of all winemakers and their differences and needs, without however renouncing a powerful drive of ambition linked to the awareness of the results achieved so far and of the new image given to the territory over the years, which has managed to make the wine production of Asti and Monferrato known to the world. Always under the banner of a strong identity, aimed at keeping true to what the Consortium represents, its territory, the ancient traditions, and the products that come from them.
The Barbera d’Asti and Monferrato Wines Consortium is committed, in other words, to contributing to the qualitative development of the territory and its wines with a continuous activity of active support to viticulture and to the people who animate it day after day. Aware of a noble past and confident of a possible future.
Starting from these values, in recent years the Barbera d’Asti and Monferrato Wines Consortium has dedicated itself with continuity and commitment to disseminating the image of Barbera d’Asti DOCG and the other wines protected through a combination of different actions aimed at improving its level of quality, knowledge, recognizability. Therefore, the areas of action within which the Consortium operates are clearly identifiable in precise actions such as protection, supervision, research and promotion.
As far as protection is concerned, the goal is to offer the consumer the maximum guarantee on the product, in terms of quality and safety of Designation wines, which is possible thanks to a series of controls at the national and international level, carried out on marketed products. Closely linked to protection is, therefore the supervisory activity that sees the Consortium engaged in monitoring national and European markets to ensure quality and transparency, also through the recovery of samples on the market to be subjected to special analytical and organoleptic controls. This includes the Consortium’s task of granting or not granting authorizations to processed products that require the use of one of the protected designations on the label.
Research also plays a prominent role in the Consortium’s commitments, testifying to its constant attention towards quality control and improvement of the product and to safeguarding the space where it grows. Research, therefore, aims at supporting the entire wine production chain, and is carried out in collaboration with research organizations and universities, being applied through monitoring, analysis, experimentation and informative conferences.
A particularly important area is therefore that dedicated to promotion, the objective of which is to foster awareness and to enhance the various protected designations through promotional actions aimed at operators, restaurateurs, journalists and consumers in the target markets. Alongside the concept of quality of the designations, the close link with the territory is strongly emphasized in this context, as a common thread on which to focus in order to enhance all the riches of this land, promoting, that is, the entire historical, artistic, landscape and food and wine heritage of Monferrato.
THE TERRITORY OF ASTI AND MONFERRATO: THE HILLS, SYMBOL OF WINE-GROWING EXCELLENCE AND A UNESCO HERITAGE
Never as in Monferrato can it be said that the landscape is intrinsically linked to the culture of wine: here, the endless number of vineyards, interspersed only by villages and medieval castles, is the expression of a territory characterized by a historical tradition linked to the cultivation of vines and deeply rooted in the community. It is these landscapes, along with the Langhe and Roero, that best represent Piedmont’s wine-growing vocation, the excellence of their productions and all the places central to the wine supply chain, so much so that they have earned the recognition of UNESCO World Heritage Site, assigned to these lands since 2014. A treasure chest of cultural, landscape and natural uniqueness that find in wine a very special ambassador.
“Here, the undisputed beauty of our territories is evident. And the recognition by UNESCO is certainly an important added value, which in recent years has allowed us to take the knowledge of our wines even further into the world. However, it is essential to remember that this uniqueness is only possible thanks to constant cooperation between man and nature. It is the result of hundreds of years of work carried out by our men and women who have been able to maintain, but also to interpret according to the times, the wine-growing tradition, respecting history and the landscape“ – Vitaliano Maccario, President of the Barbera d’Asti and Monferrato wines Consortium.
It is, therefore, a perfect balance between a territory naturally suited to viticulture, a centuries-old tradition and the wisdom of the communities that have followed one another that have been able to enhance this heritage over the years without upsetting it and, above all, have managed, through their care, to arrive at the qualitative excellence of today.
THE SOILS OF MONFERRATO
The soils on which Barbera and the other Monferrato grape varieties are grown, contributing to the development of their characteristics and quality value, date back to over 2 million years ago, when the sea began to leave the current Po Valley, initiating a process of landscape shaping that has characterized the change and the present-day conformation of the hills.
The soils, generally poor in organic matter and often dry in summer, can be divided into two main types: white soils and Asti sands. The former, which are more ancient, are widespread in the Canelli area, in the southern Asti area, in the Alessandria area and in the Casale area; the wines produced from grapes grown here are full-bodied, rich in color, long-lasting and are suitable for long ageing. The sands of Asti, spread mainly in the center of the Asti Monferrato area to the right and left of the Tanaro River, are found on much steeper hills, from which wines are obtained that are characterized by lower acidity, faster ripening and a more immediate propensity for consumption.
BARBERA D’ASTI DOCG
Among the wines and the various designations within the territory protected by the Consortium, Barbera d’Asti DOCG is certainly one of the ones most linked to the ancient farming traditions and representative of the area, which has been able to renew itself over time to meet different needs and tastes. The area that allows for its production is within 116 municipalities in the province of Asti and 51 municipalities in the province of Alessandria. Produced for at least 90% with Barbera – a grape variety grown mainly in the provinces of Asti and Alessandria and which reaches its maximum expression in Barbera d’Asti, it was awarded DOC in 1970 and DOCG in 2008, testifying to a path of growth (also achieved thanks to new knowledge in the viticultural and enological fields) that today certifies it as one of the most important Italian wines and with growing acclaim also at an international level.
Grown on the best-exposed hills of the Asti and Monferrato areas, Barbera DOCG is usually harvested in the second half of September. Alongside the vinification in steel, which produces fresher and more immediate wines, the use of barriques and barrels has developed, aimed at producing the Superiore type, which is more complex and destined for later consumption. Although immediate and easy to drink, Barbera d’Asti is a wine capable of waiting for years for the best moment to be consumed.
As for the organoleptic characteristics, the color is ruby-red, particularly intense in the Superiore type, tending towards garnet with ageing. The aroma is intense, winey when young, persistent: cherry, plum, dark berries prevail, which evolve into hints of jam and fruit under spirits, then more or less intense balsamic, spicy and sometimes floral notes; with the ageing in wood, it develops hints of spices that go well with the freshness naturally inherent in Barbera. The taste is full, with great warmth and harmony. Ageing gives complexity and richness of sweet and velvety tannins and a long taste-olfactory persistence.
OTHER PROTECTED DESIGNATIONS
While Barbera is undoubtedly a symbol and one of the most identifiable vines of the entire Monferrato area, it should be pointed out that, since ancient times, a number of other autochthonous vines of absolute prestige have been grown in the area and that, above all, contribute to the biodiversity that distinguishes the area.
This variety is therefore found in the numerous Designations present within this area and protected by the Consortium. From extremely territorially-characterized productions to very broad Designations such as the great Piedmont DOC, which includes all the variety of the regional production within it. Different Designations, therefore, with different territorial extensions and production characteristics, but which all find recognition in the Consortium, a place where individual peculiarities are perceived as added value to be defended and promoted. Two invaluable examples are also the production areas of the designation of Nizza DOCG, an absolute excellence of the territory, and of Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato DOCG, protecting one of the rarest native grape varieties grown in the Asti Monferrato area.
NIZZA DOCG
If the Barbera d’Asti DOCG is perhaps the most representative designation of the Monferrato area, next to it, the Nizza DOCG represents its utmost excellence. Produced with only Barbera grapes, Nizza DOCG is a wine that comes to life right in the heart of Monferrato, in a production area that touches the 18 municipalities that have always been among the most suitable for the cultivation of these grapes and selected as sub-areas of the highest quality. The recognition of Nizza DOCG as a designation is actually the result of a process that has seen several stages succeed one another and that has aimed at enhancing one of the qualitative peaks of the territory. Nizza DOCG was in fact initially recognized as a sub-area of Barbera d’Asti; then, it obtained the DOCG recognition in 2013 and, only in 2014 was the full-fledged Designation born, with the introduction of the Reserve version as well.
Thanks to the ageing of 18 months, of which at least 6 in wooden barrels, Nizza DOCG is a wine characterized by an intense aroma where cherry, plum and dark berries prevail, which evolve into hints of jam and fruit under spirits, then more or less intense balsamic, spicy and sometimes floral notes; with ageing in wood, it develops hints of cinnamon, cocoa and liquorice. The taste is full, with great warmth and harmony. The ageing gives complexity and richness of sweet and velvety tannins and long taste-olfactory persistence.
PIEMONTE DOC
The broadest – and probably the most versatile – of the designations protected and enhanced by the Barbera d’Asti and Monferrato Wines Consortium is undoubtedly the Piemonte DOC: a designation that today offers a remarkable variety of types, both through the great number of vines that can be used, most of which are indigenous, and through the possibility of producing still, sparkling, spumante or passito wines.
This is a vast production area, encompassing numerous municipalities in the provinces of Alessandria, Asti, Cuneo, Torino, Novara, Biella, Vercelli and Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. It is particularly important because it allows the various facets and nuances of the many wines that come to life here to find expression and be enhanced to the fullest and, above all, it allows for a more correct classification and productive diversification of wines that are the fruit of Piedmont’s great wine-growing tradition and which consolidate the economy of vast hilly areas in Piedmont.
Established in 1994, the Piemonte DOC designation has offered producers the opportunity to develop new lines of quality, protected and guaranteed products, thanks in part to modifications and additions to the specifications made at subsequent times. For example, the July 30th, 2007 decree which made the DOC more flexible by introducing „sparkling“ on certain varietal types and allowed the introduction of other forms of packaging such as bag-in-box. And moreover, further changes have been introduced over the years: with the 2010 decree, for example, the enlargement of the production area was allowed and established the new types „without vine name“ white, red and rosé and those „with vine name“ and the possibility of including the additional specification „mountain vineyards“.
The Piemonte DOC is therefore a designation that is distinguished for its breadth and which, in fact, includes within it ten different grape varieties: Barbera; Bonarda; Brachetto, Grignolino; Cortese, Chardonnay; Moscato Bianco; Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio; Pinot Nero.
RUCHÈ DI CASTAGNOLE MONFERRATO DOCG
From the extensive production areas of Piemonte DOC, we move on to the few municipalities within which the production of Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato DOCG is permitted, confirming, once again, the Consortium’s primary commitment to working to represent in a unitary manner the many and diversified souls that are found in the territory.
An uncommon vine grown in the province of Asti, in the area of Castagnole Monferrato and in a few other municipalities, Ruchè is one of the rarest native vines among those grown in the Asti Monferrato area, growing in calcareous and dry soils subject to great exposure to the sun. Since 1987, the year it was awarded the DOC denomination, it has received constant and progressive appreciation making it today an expression of the territory’s identity and variety. Its redevelopment is due to a clergyman, Don Giacomo Cauda, who in the 1960s recovered those abandoned bunches of grapes, thus relaunching a wine destined to register great fortune. It obtained DOCG status in 2010 and its production now reaches one million bottles.
Made with 90 to 100% Ruchè grapes (with a presence of Barbera and/or Brachetto grapes permitted up to a maximum of 10%), Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato DOCG is distinguished by an intense and original bouquet, with floral and spicy notes, sometimes combined with hints of mixed berries and morello cherries. The flavor is dry, harmonious and pleasantly soft, with good aromatic persistence.
FREISA D’ASTI DOC
Another of the main designations that finds expression within the Barbera d’Asti and Monferrato Wines Consortium is Freisa d’Asti DOC, which includes, as its production area, all the municipalities in the province of Asti with the exception of Villanova d’Asti and Cellarengo d’Asti.
Made with 100% Freisa grapes, Freisa D’Asti DOC is a wine that can be produced in various versions, with or without ageing in oak barrels, with the possibility of acquiring the Superiore designation following a selection of the grapes and a minimum of one-year ageing in the wine cellar.
This is a wine with ancient origins which, in the peasant tradition, was produced as a sweet wine to accompany fruit-based desserts.
Characterized by a delicate aroma of roses and raspberries that evolves into pleasant musky scents with aging, Freisa d’Asti DOC is dry on the palate, with pleasant tannins which ageing in oak barrels completes and harmonizes.
GRIGNOLINO D’ASTI DOC
Grignolino d’Asti DOC is a traditional red wine from Piedmont, produced in a designated area that includes 35 municipalities in the province of Asti, such as Moncalvo, Costigliole, Canelli, and Agliano.
It is distinguished by its delicate ruby-red color, which can develop orange hues with aging. Its aromatic profile features fruity and woodland notes, along with a characteristic hint of white pepper. On the palate, it is dry and tannic, with a pleasantly bitter aftertaste that enhances its elegance.
Grignolino is a refined and authentic wine, a true expression of the Asti region and its ancient winemaking tradition.
Its versatility makes it an excellent pairing for a wide range of dishes, from vegetables to white meats, game, and fried foods—it can even be enjoyed with fish.
THE NUMBERS OF THE CONSORTIUM
- 421 associated companies;
- 13 Protected designations
- 4 DOCGs: Barbera d’Asti, Nizza, Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato and Terre Alfieri;
- 9 DOCs: Albugnano, Cortese dell’Alto Monferrato, Dolcetto d’Asti, Freisa d’Asti, Grignolino d’Asti, Loazzolo, Malvasia di Castelnuovo Don Bosco, Monferrato, Piemonte
In the vineyard
The area claimed by all the Designations of the Consortium in 2024 was equal to 9,355 hectares. Compared to the main Designations, in terms of hectares claimed, we point out:
- 3,700 hectares claimed to Barbera d’Asti DOCG
- 3.422 hectares claimed to Piedmont DOC
In the wine cellar
As of 2024, the total amount of bottled wine registered by all protected Designations was equal to 446.797,75 hl for 59.731.033 bottles.
With respect to the main Designations, in terms of hectoliters and registered bottles, we point out:
- Barbera d’Asti DOCG: 126.853,79hectoliters and 16.913.839 bottles
- Piemonte DOC: 257.040,19 hectoliters and 34.272.025 bottles
