They say there is nothing more rewarding than letting people from elsewhere get to know your own town. And perhaps that is indeed the case: sometimes it is necessary to take a step outside in order to truly focus on what is close to us.
So this time we put down our wineglasses to fly to Europe, Asia and across the ocean to the USA and Australia, only to return to savour Barbera with new taste buds.
The qualitative evolution of Barbera
Few people know that the native Piedmontese wine par excellence was much loved by the ducal court of Mantua, before being relegated to a common table wine: in the 1970s, in fact, it was the classic blending wine, so much so that it was considered a home and tavern drink that the peasants considered all the better the more it ‘left its shirt’, i.e. left a thick tannic residue on the inside surface of the bottle.
Those were other times, yet going against the market trend, Cantina Vinchio Vaglio began selecting vineyards according to age and best exposure and investing in modern winemaking methods that would enhance the fruit and refine the tannins, resulting in wines with structure, elegance and great versatility. It is no coincidence that back in 1989 already, during the auction of Barbera d’Asti, the Vigne Vecchie Bricco Laudana recorded the highest Barbera price ever.
In recent years, the perception of this grape variety and its wines has radically changed, finding its way onto the wine lists of prestigious restaurants all over the world. An evolution that is the result of improvements in vinification and attention to the selection of vineyards that has lead today to an elegant wine capable of delivering great emotions.
With 10 D.O.C. and 4 D.O.C.G. wines, Barbera is enjoying a second renaissance and is back to enjoying the fame it deserves, even at international level.
Barbera takes off
Abroad, the Barbera vine has followed the Italian, and especially the Piedmontese, migration to Australia, South America and California, where it was brought in the 19th century, using the expedient of planting the shoot segments into potatoes so that they would arrive relatively fresh and in a condition to be replanted at the end of the very long steamship voyage.
Recent data indicate a positive trend in Barbera exports, especially in markets such as the United States, Germany and Japan. According to data from the Consorzio Barbera d’Asti e Vini del Monferrato, exports have grown by 15% in the last five years, with a surge in Asian markets as well.
Today, our Barbera wines are regularly praised by international critics who often highlight the quality and versatility of this grape variety. An example of this are the awards from Decanter, Merum, Wine Enthusiast, James Suckling and the many others we receive each year, which you can consult on the page dedicated to awards and guides.Â
The ultimate food wine
Abroad, Barbera has gained a prominent place thanks to the growing interest in affordable yet quality wines. In fact, all top US sommeliers agree that Barbera d’Asti’s great freshness and versatility make it a perfect match for dishes in the stars and stripes culinary tradition, so much so as to refer to it as ‘the ultimate food wine’.
A ‘Barbera red’ thread of profound friendship that is well told through the words of some of the most important American sommeliers and wine critics, starting with Heath Porter, one of the most well-known and beloved sommeliers in the USA who stated that ‘Barbera d’Asti is excellent with everything you can find on the table, including the tablecloth! ’, while Steve Wildy, one of the most important buyers of Italian wine in the United States – not to mention, one of the most admired sommeliers – had no doubts in saying ‘for me Barbera d’Asti is like a dress you didn’t know you had in your wardrobe but that, once you discovered it, you wouldn’t take off’.
But even Derrick Westbrook, emerging star of the American wine business, recently said: ‘I like its ability to blend great youthful qualities with an undisputed capacity for ageing. Barbera d’Asti is also an example I often cite when I want to talk about the relationship between grape varieties and terroirs‘.
A look at the Barbera d’Asti Wine Festival
In addition to scientific research, carried out with the collaboration of the University of Turin, the Consorzio Barbera d’Asti e vini del Monferrato has an enormous impact on the promotional front, by focusing its efforts on exporting the Barbera d’Asti brand to the main acquisition markets and organising events at local, national and international level.
Among the many annual events, we recently took part in the Barbera Wine Festival with a very rich programme of themed meetings, tastings, wine talks and many guests from the world of wine, cinema and art. ‘An event capable of further projecting our territory and the Barbera grape variety onto the international stage,’ says Vitaliano Maccario, President of the Consorzio.
A festival where everything has been studied down to the smallest detail: from the logo, to the limited edition of Barbera d’Asti DOCG ice cream, to the music and installations that took over the streets of Asti.
Barbera was also the real protagonist through the precious testimonies of experts from all over the world, so much so that Veronika Crecelius, a journalist specialising in Italian wine and a leading contributor to Weinwirtschaft, spoke of Barbera as ‘a great friend at the table, with a certain rusticity and great conviviality’ and Jeff Porter, contributor to Wine Enthusiast and one of the most influential critics in the world, had no doubts in defining Barbera as ‘the most versatile and flexible wine in its combinations with food. It is the grape variety that has done more yoga than any other because it allows the most freedom of movement’.
The words of Tessa Donnadieu, export manager of Vinchio Vaglio
‘Barbera d’Asti is undoubtedly the denomination that best identifies the Barbera vine for its peculiar features such as generosity, acidity, fruit and colour, always managing to convey the territory it comes from, its tradition and its oenological culture.
Today, thanks in part to my numerous trips around the world on behalf of Vinchio Vaglio, Barbera is finally revealing its most authentic soul and, at the same time, the one that is most sought after by the majority of wine drinkers: its freshness, vitality, ease of drinking and the softness of its tannins, always positioning itself with a good quality/price ratio. In fact, our Vigne Vecchie project has found its supporters, both experts and non-experts, who appreciate the moderate structure and expressive depth of the fruit obtained from these over 50-year-old vines.
Nevertheless, Vinchio Vaglio’s Barbera d’Asti had already successfully demonstrated its ability to produce great, powerful and long-lived wines such as our Vigne Vecchie, Laudana and Insynthesis. The organoleptic profile has changed considerably and this wine has gone from ‘table wine’ to ‘wine for the table’. In my experience, it is this versatility that makes Barbera d’Asti agree with everyone at the table and is always the right choice. It goes well with a wide variety of dishes, even the most unlikely, such as certain fish like cod, which has a very pronounced flavour.
Barbera surprises from the very first sip with its freshness, crispness and deliciousness connected to the immediate yet never dull fruit. It is a modern wine that may appeal to today’s young wine lovers, who are reluctant to tackle more complex and elitist wines.
I would almost go so far as to say that Barbera could become the new Sangiovese, because of its versatility and its ability to produce wines that can be enjoyed fresh and young, but also wines with great structure and ageing potential, wines that can meet the expectations of a wide range of consumers‘.