Barbera d' Asti

The Barbera d' Asti wine comes from the area around the city of Asti. In this area five versions of this wine are produced which all have their own DOCG regulations: (normal) Barbera d' Asti, Barbera d' Asti Superiore and 3 sub-varieties called: Nizza, Tinella and Colli Astiani.

Normal Barbera d' Asti does not need to be kept in the cellar for long until it can be sold but the other wines need to be cellared longer before being sold. The Barbera d' Asti Superiore needs to be cellared 12 months of which 6 in wooden barrels and 6 in the bottle before it can be released to the market. Nizza needs to be cellared 18 months of which 6 in wooden barrels, Tinella and Colli Astiani need to be cellared 24 months of which 6 months in wooden barrels and 6 months in the bottle.

Barbera d' Asti (and Superiore) is allowed to be made from a minimum of 85% Barbera grapes and a maximum of 15% of Freisa, Grignolino and Dolcetto grapes. The only exception is the Colli Astiani sub zone for which the same grapes are allowed to be used but then using Barbera grapes for a minimum of 90% and a maximum of 10% for the other grapes.

When it comes to flavors, cherries dominate the taste accompanied by plums and black berries. For the Superiore versions additional flavors such as cinnamon, cocoa and black licorice can be expected.

Barbera d' Asti (Superiore) has reached DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) status in 2008, the highest in Italy