"Vinchio it's my nest. I was born there in the season of blond wheat. My father and mother have planted deep, ancestral, bewitching roots in me. When I come back here I'm happy, I get rid of everything…”. So she wrote David Lajolo, of the country, which with Vaglio Serra is today a sanctuary of Barbera, Piedmontese wine that is liked by the people of the world, loved by the Danes and the Americans, and appreciated by the Japanese.
Barbera, “the ruby of Vinchio”, was born on the hills Unesco World Heritage Site, where the sun shines all day and the frost melts in an instant like the fog that appears and disappears, while the rows only shade themselves. Here you can trip over a shell, sink your feet in the sand, why millions of years ago there was the sea, what the author of “Il vizio absurdo” – and of the biography of Beppe Fenoglio, a writer whose centenary of his birth occurs this year – describes as “the green sea of Sarmassa”, where today the vines sink their roots.
Barbera is the most widespread vine in Piedmont. Monferrato is its cradle. Here two countries, Vinchio and Vaglio Serra, a stone's throw from the city of Asti, gave birth in 1959 to a large cellar which today has 192 members, 160 of which conferors, for a total of 470 hectares of which almost 280 worked on Barbera. THEtogether to work hundreds of small and often ancient vineyards, not only of Barbera but also of other precious wines of this land such as Moscato, Dolcetto, Grignolino, which today lead to the production of one million bottles and 600 thousand bag in boxes very also in demand abroad for a total of 9 million in turnover.
One year in barrel, brings on the palate acherry romi and dried figs with an elegant finish
From the Vinchio Vaglio winery the Barbera d 'Asti DOCG "Sori' dei Mori" 2020 arrives on the table, where the ruby red color is declined in reflections of violet, while wild flowers and peonies mark the smell, fresh and enveloping on the palate, a wine that goes well with white meats and first courses with vegetables (13,5 degrees, 7,50 euros in the cellar). It then takes its name from the border 'jug' of three dioceses “Three Bishops”. Legend wants i bishops of Alessandria, Asti and Acqui met on this hill perhaps in front of a Barbera to talk about faith and earthly things, and thus the label of this DOCG was born, which ages for a year in French oak barrels and brings to the palatecherry romi and dried figs with a finish of great elegance.
It is the flag of the winery but also of the Barbera vine and of the territory. 200 bottles are produced (14% degrees, 9,30 euros in the cellar for the bottle of Tre Vescovi 2019) to be tasted with a plate of plin al ragù, the typical Piedmontese agnolotto, or a braised meat but also with a blue cheese. With the ravioli del plin with butter and sage or with the rice al civet served at the restaurant "Piazza Crova 3" in Vaglio Serra, "Vigne Vecchie 50" of 2019 arrives on the table, which owes its label to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the winery. Fresh and drinkable wine, it preserves the original quality of the grapes from the traditional vineyards (14,5% degrees, 12,90 euros).
A Barbera as it used to be - observes the president Lorenzo Giordano - with aromas of ripe black fruit that recall blackberry and ruby red color with violet reflections. Also very suitable for pairing with a plate of finanziera, Vigne Vecchie DOCG Barbera d'Asti superiore 2017 (15% alcohol content, 19,90 euros) comes from a selection of grapes harvested manually in small perforated boxes that guarantee the integrity of the grain and bunch and is today one of the flagship wines of the Cellar. In the Barbera tasting roundup Laudana 2017 then arrives in the glass, a Nizza DOCG of great interest to the nose and with a long and persistent taste suitable for a combination with Piedmontese mixed fry and roasts (14,5% alcohol content. 14,90 euros ) and a taste of Insinthesis, a superior 2016 Barbera d 'Asti DOCG (14,5% alcohol content, 37 euros) that the historic president of Slow Food Carlo Petrini has defined as "the mother of all Barberas" cannot be missed. An important wine, full-bodied, spicy, it not only elegantly accompanies the dishes of a typical Piedmontese lunch but also goes well with dark chocolate and a Tuscan cigar after a meal. Then there are the white wines, such as Arneis, Sauvignon and of course Moscato. But we leave them for another story and respond to the call of the "nests", created to explore the area alongside the winery. The gaze is lost in the green sea of the Barbera hills, as in the poem by Davide Lajolo.
Vinchio Vaglio SC Agr. reg. Saint Pancras,
San Pancrazio, 1 Sp40 km 3,75
14040 VINCHIO(AT)
tel. +39 0141 950903 +39 0141 95068
orders@vinchio.com
