Specifically Asti and Alba, really. I’m into trying recipes for tomato sauce for pasta, so eating a lot of this lately. Coincidentally, drinking barberas with them a couple nights a week, so interested in those too right now. Is it a waste of time trying to compare regions? i.e. is the difference between makers going to be more than the difference between those 2 regions anyway?
We are doing exactly that comparison in our Bar right now but the wines are from the same vintage and the same producer. Asti is a tad cooler and has less fruit and more acid (which is what they like around there). Alba is a bit warmer with lower acidity and plusher fruit.
Having said that, producers push Barbera all OVER the style range from Vivace (fizzy, served cold) to oaked up late harvest monsters.
The soils in the two areas are also different. Asti has sandy soils that produce lighter, higher-toned, more floral wines. The clay-based soils in Alba tend towards darker, fuller wines.
The 2 regions are different but I think wine making trumps any regional difference. Different producers make wildly different wines, as Roberto pointed out.
So while you’re at it, try some from California.
That’s a good point about the stylistic differences. If you really want to compare though, there are a number of producers who make wines from both areas. The differences might stand out more if you keep the producer and vintage constant.
Well for one thing, I wasn’t aware of a label that made barbera in both regions. For another, I also didn’t know they made this in California.
Vietti makes barbera from both Asti and Alba, and are consistently good.
Unti makes a very good Barbera, and it’s becoming very common in the Sierra Foothills.
Lots of producers make both.
Barbera is a heritage grape in California planted by many of the original Italian wine families…if you EVER see any Louis Martini Barbera from the 50s or 60s, GRAB IT!!!
This is true, but winemaking is also an important difference. There still a lot of fresh, unoaked Barberas in the Asti area, but not so many in the Albese, and for me the unoaked style is more useful with food.
I agree with the combined Doug-Oliver analysis, and would add that the Asti will more often better serve your tomato sauces because of the acidity, while the Albas can sometimes be downright unappealing. There is more traditional winemaking to be found in the Asti zone, more Parkerized, fruity, oaky, higher-alcohol wines in the Alba zone. Lastly, while there are notable exceptions, you should find the Astis generally cheaper.
I generally prefer the Asti, but I recently had G Conterno 2010 Cerretta (Serralunga d’Alba) and thought it was excellent.
La Spinetta (Giorgio Rivetti) makes both Asti and Alba.
To be sure, G. Conterno makes two of the best Albas. For me, the Cascina Francia is better than the Cerretta, and one of the most ageworthy Barberas of all, but both Conternos are expensive. Steven is right about La Spinetta, with Gallina on the Alba side and Bionzo Superiore and Ca’ di Pian on the Asti side, and La Spinetta could be the best way to understand the differences between the two zones. Vietti is another, with the Scarrone, Tre Vigne and Scarrone Vigna Vecchia (the last, with the Conterno above, another top 5 Barbera d’ Alba) on the Alba side and the La Crena and Tre Vigne on the Asti side. Ditto Prunotto, with the Pian Romualdo on the Alba side and Nizza Costamiole and Fiulot on the Asti side. Braida’s (Giacomo Bologna) Ai Suma, Uccellone and Bigotta and Coppo’s Pomorosso have long been leading names on the Asti side, but also pricey.
Cappellano makes great Barbera from the Alba region imo. Certainly not so high in acidity but rustic and traditional. Been drinking the 07 lately which is showing wonderfully
But if the same maker makes a Barbera from both regions, surely he would make them in at least a slightly different style anyway, right? Because otherwise there wouldn’t be much financial point to what he was doing? So it seems virtually impossible to truly compare apples to apples, or grapes to grapes.
Possibly. You are far more likely to see new oak in Barbera d’ Alba than Barbera d’ Asti, if only because a greater volume of perhaps lesser-known Asti producers have remained arch-traditionalists. And I could be wrong about this, but I believe that at least one of the La Spinetta Asti cuvees sees no new oak, while the Alba cuvees have historically seen plenty. So, yes, different winemaking styles will be in play, but by the same token, the same grape (Barbera) yields noticeably different results in the two zones anyway, even if the wines are made exactly the same way, so the real comparison that you are looking for is not scientific, but rather, one of the level of pleasure each wine delivers for you. As close as I think you need to get to the science of the zones has been well-stated above…Astis are generally higher acid, lighter-bodied wines. You can certainly make a fruit bomb from Asti zone grapes, but you need to work at it a bit. The Alba grapes lend themselves to that treatment.
FWIW one of the very first wines I enjoyed was a Sebastiani Barbera served to me by a friend in grad school who came from California. It was a well-made wine for maybe $3.
The Terre da Vino Coop makes both with identical winemaking.