Barbera moving with very new rules and united connections between producers
Posted on: 01-11-2019 om 10:42:22
| Karina Imschoot
Important news for the Barbera d'Alba, the wine produced in about fifty villages between right and left Tanaro, with a designation of origin recognized in 1970. After the changes approved about ten years ago, the Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe and Dogliani consortium proposed three possible changes for the producers concerned: the transition from DOC to DOCG, the rectification of the boundaries of the area of origin and the recognition of the district of Castellinaldo. For the time being, the transition from DOC to DOCG is placed on hold, as this recognition is separate from the other two corrections and has to be requested. The consortium is currently seeking the approval of the producers for the inclusion of the Castellinaldo sub-region and for the extension of the area of origin of the grapes.
It was in the mid-1990s when the producers of Castellinaldo began to establish ties with a focus on raising the Barbera & other varieties to a higher level. In 2016 the project was approved by the collective trademark Castellinaldo, registered on October 7 of that year with thus Barbera d'Alba Doc. The proposal of the Alba consortium is to transform the Castellinaldo collective brand into a specific sub-area in the Barbera d'Alba regulations. One of the most restrictive rules is the area of origin. The area of Castellinaldo includes the territory of Castellinaldo and certain areas of Vezza, Canale, Priocca, Magliano Alfieri, Castagnito and Guarene, where the soils are more consistent with those of Castellinaldo, which confirms the limits of the collective mark. Approval of the amendment requires the agreement of thirty percent of the producers, representing at least 30 percent of the total area declared in the last two years.
The proposal concerns the extension of the area of origin of the grapes to the entire territory of Bastia, Belvedere Langhe, Clavesana, Ciglié, Dogliani, Farigliano, Rocca di Ciglié, Somano and part of the territory of the municipalities of Montà, Santo Stefano Roero and Monteu. It is a change that has given rise to some concern. It should be remembered that only 50 hectares of Barbera are currently cultivated in the areas covered by the enlargement proposal and that any future enlargements could be managed by the plant management system, as is already the case for other designations.
The consortium's decision to continue the expansion of the area is motivated by the need to prevent the loss of hectares of vineyards that the Barbera d'Alba denomination has suffered in recent years, also because of the development that many abandon Barbera and opt for the golden cow "Nebbiolo". The opening up of the Doglianese municipalities is motivated by the uniformity of the territory of the Doglianese municipalities with that of the current production area, in particular the Tanaro on the right. As far as the Roero is concerned, this is a marginal change in order to bring the area's boundaries into line with those of the DOC of Langhe. In that case, the amendment will be approved if 51% of the producers, who represent at least 66% of the total area of the last two years, agree to it.
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