Italian Wine Label Question

I recently had a great Italian red but was a bit confused by the label. Any

Chuck

I was looking for a Barolo and ended up ordering a Barbera by mistake since it came from the Piedmonte region. The grape was Barbera instead of the Nebbiolo with which Barolo is typically made. Strangely enough, the label said the wine was from Barolo, Italy which added to my confusion.

Specifically, the wine was a 1998 Barbera d' Alba made by Viberti. The label and lead around the top prominately displayed 'Bricco Alba,' a term I'm not familiar with. And finally, it stated 'Denominazione d'Origine Controllata' on it but did not have the standard pink DOCG 'Denominazione d'Origine Controllata E Garantita' sticker which I think guarantees the wine origin.

In any case, if anyone knows why a Barbera is from Barolo, what 'Bricco Alba' means and if the only difference between 'Denominazione d'Origine Controllata' and 'Denominazione d'Origine Controllata E Garantita' is the

I recently had a great Italian red but was a bit confused by the label. Any

Chuck

I was looking for a Barolo and ended up ordering a Barbera by mistake since it came from the Piedmonte region. The grape was Barbera instead of the Nebbiolo with which Barolo is typically made. Strangely enough, the label said the wine was from Barolo, Italy which added to my confusion.

Specifically, the wine was a 1998 Barbera d' Alba made by Viberti. The label and lead around the top prominently displayed 'Bricco Alba,' a term I'm not familiar with. And finally, it stated 'Denominazione d'Origine Controllata' on it but did not have the standard pink DOCG 'Denominazione d'Origine Controllata E Garantita' sticker which I think guarantees the wine origin.

In any case, if anyone knows why a Barbera is from Barolo, what 'Bricco Alba' means and if the only difference between 'Denominazione d'Origine Controllata' and 'Denominazione d'Origine Controllata E Garantita' is the

1. Barolo is a town, its namesake wine can be made from 100% nebbiolo grapes from Barolo and 4 other townships, Radda, Monforte d'Alba, Serranlunga and Castiglione d' Alba. There are other zones for nebbiolo wines in Piedmont, Aosta and the Valtellina in Lombardy.

2. Barbera is the name of a grape. When it is grows in the area in Piedmont around the town of Alba, including the townships mentioned above plus the three townships allowed to put Barbaresco on their label for their nebbiolo wines, Neive, Barbaresco and Treiso, is called Barbera d' Alba. Further north centered in Asti there is Barbera d'Asti. There are other zones for Barbera's in the Piedmont and neighboring Lombardy.

The Italian authorities wish to indicate that Barolo and Barbaresco are a level higher in quality so it granted them one of the first DOCG designations. Barbera has not yet been judged at the DOCG level and remains DOC.

Bricco Alba literally means 'above Alba' and is thename of a Vineyard. I believe the Viberti wines are imported by OPICI and I recommend you find their web page for more details.

Today there are many excellent Barbera being made; generally if a producer makes a good Barolo/Barbaresco he or she makes good Barbera. However some Piedmont producers who are outside the Barolo/Barbaresco zone & concentrate on Barbera like Castello di Razzano, Bricco Uccellone from Braida, and

Hmm. Sorry to be pedantic, but Radda is in Chianti (Tuscany), and it's Serralunga d'Alba and Castiglione Falletto.

But, to be precise: Barolo is produced in the totality of these three commune:

Barolo Castiglione Falletto Serralunga d’Alba

And in parts of these:

Monforte d’Alba Novello La Morra Verduno Grinzane Cavour Diano d’Alba Cherasco Roddi

You are right I meant to say La Morra , not Radda.

Hi,

this site has some explanations about Italian wine, labels, regions, etc. http://www.italianmade.com/wine/CF-pages/docs.htm