Barbaresco

[2] Domizio Cavazza, a young and brilliant agronomist born in Modena, was named to be the founding director of Alba's Royal Enological School in 1881, and soon started to develop its passion for Barbaresco, which led to his purchase of a farm and a vineyard in 1886.

He cultivated its vineyard with Nebbiolo and with a group of nine growers founded the Cantina Sociale, outfitted with barrels and winemaking equipment in order to produce what are considered the first wines to be officially called Barbaresco.

[2] It was not until the late 1950s that Barbaresco would stir to life again thanks to a new generation of dynamic winemakers, including Bruno Giacosa and Angelo Gaja.

In addition, the local parish priest, Don Fiorino Marengo, founded Produttori del Barbaresco cooperative cellar, the successor to Cavazza's original vision to make outstanding wine and stop the exodus of young farmers who were abandoning the countryside.

[3] The Produttori cooperative became one of the most respected cellars in Italy and inspired more landholders in Barbaresco to return to their vineyards and to make quality wine.

[4] In Neive, the Nebbiolo grape is fourth in plantings behind the cultivation of Barbera, Dolcetto and Moscato (it has been termed the "township of four wines")[1] but this region is known for making some of the most powerful and tannic expressions of Barbaresco.

Moscato is a significant grape here, mostly planted in the cooler areas facing eastwards, while Nebbiolo is more common on the warmer ridges with a westerly orientation.

Located south of Barbaresco, with vineyards on the highest hilltop sites in the area, Treiso wines tend to be the lightest in body and are principally known for their finesse.

[2] The main goal was to put official boundaries to some of the most storied crus in order to protect them from unjustified expansion and exploitation.

The typical style of a Barbaresco has bouquets of roses or violets with flavour notes of cherry, truffles, fennel and liquorice.