The vineyards of Vinchio Vaglio: the terroir of Barbera in Monferrato
The vineyards of Vinchio Vaglio winegrowers are mainly situated in the municipalities of Vinchio and Vaglio Serra, in the heart of Asti’s Monferrato countryside, and to a lesser extent in the areas of Incisa Scapaccino, Cortiglione, Nizza Monferrato, Castelnuovo Belbo, Castelnuovo Calcea and Mombercelli.
It is a region with a strong tradition of wine-growing, characterised by hills, exposures and soils that vary greatly from one another – even though they are situated close by – which help to determine the characteristics of the grapes and the wines. It is precisely this diversity that allows for the production of wines with distinct aromatic and structural profiles.
This vast wealth allows Vinchio Vaglio to draw on a total of around 550 hectares of vineyards and, each year, to select the grapes best suited to the production of its various wines, depending on weather conditions.
Bricchi: the most challenging vineyards, the most prized grapes
Most of Vinchio Vaglio’s vineyards are situated on the steepest hillsides, locally known as ‘bricchi’. These slopes often make mechanical cultivation difficult, if not impossible, and therefore require a great deal of manual labour.
It is a demanding and costly form of viticulture, but it is precisely the unique topography of these hills that provides ideal conditions for the vines. The difficulty in accessing the area with agricultural machinery limits soil compaction and helps to preserve its natural structure to a greater extent.
The winegrower’s hard work thus becomes an integral part of the terroir: slopes, aspect, soils and manual labour all contribute together to the quality of the grapes.
The vineyards of Vinchio: the heart of Barbera
Vinchio is a region particularly well-suited to Barbera, the area’s signature grape variety. The soils here are predominantly clay-limestone, producing wines characterised by good acidity and structure, which are particularly well-suited to maturation and ageing.
In the western part of the region, however, the proportion of sandy soil increases. These soils help to impart greater freshness and elegance to the wines, characteristics that complement the complexity of the various expressions of Barbera.
Vaglio Serra and the red soils of Monferrato
The soils of Vaglio Serra share similar characteristics to those of the southernmost area towards Nizza Monferrato, with a significant clay content and veins of red earth.
These soils contribute to the production of wines with greater structure and colour intensity, adding further nuances to the cooperative’s wine-growing heritage.
The hills of Nizza
The vineyards of Vinchio Vaglio members stretch across the ridges of neighbouring municipalities: Nizza Monferrato, Incisa Scapaccino, Castelnuovo Belbo, Bruno and Castelnuovo Calcea.
It is amongst these hills that the Nizza DOCG designation originated, reserved for a wine produced exclusively from Barbera grapes grown in a defined production area, at the very heart of which lie the territories of Vinchio and Vaglio Serra.
In terms of soil composition, clayey and calcareous soils—the so-called ‘white soils’—predominate. These characteristics contribute to the profile of the grapes and wines: the limestone component enhances aromatic expressions and a pronounced fruitiness, whilst the clay contributes to the structure and the wine’s ability to develop over time.
It is from the combination of grape variety, soil, exposure and human craftsmanship that the identity of Vinchio Vaglio’s Barbera d’Asti and Nizza DOCG wines emerges.
The diversity of the vineyards, the richness of the wines
Whilst the steeper hills feature soils containing sand, limestone and clay – which can contribute to the production of structured, long-lived wines – the other hills are characterised by red, compact and rich soils, capable of producing wines that are intense in colour and particularly aromatic.
This variety of soils and pedoclimatic conditions is one of Vinchio Vaglio’s greatest assets. The opportunity to work with vineyards spread across different areas allows us to obtain grapes with complementary characteristics: some fresher and more elegant, others more structured and rich in colour, and still others particularly suited to developing complexity and ageing potential.
550 hectares are therefore not merely an area covered with vines: they are 550 hectares of possibilities.
It is thanks to this diversity that Vinchio Vaglio can choose, harvest after harvest, which grapes to allocate to each wine, with the aim of always achieving the greatest possible expression of the grape variety and the terroir.
This asset becomes particularly valuable in the most challenging vintages: having vineyards spread across different areas makes it possible to compensate for natural climatic and yield variations and to maintain high quality standards.