It is made from the Barbera grape, and the zone of production is limited to the comuni (municipalities) of Agliano Terme, Belveglio, Bruno, Calamandrana, Castel Boglione, Castelnuovo Belbo, Castelnuovo Calcea, Castel Rocchero, Cortiglione, Incisa Scapaccino, Moasca, Mombaruzzo, Mombercelli, Nizza Monferrato, Rocchetta Palafea, San Marzano Oliveto, Vaglio Serra and Vinchio within the province of Asti.
[2] In this area Barbera is the leading grape variety grown, because the pedoclimatic conditions here are particularly favourable for its ripening.
The zone of production is centered on the town of Nizza Monferrato, from which the wine derives its name.
[3] Before that date it had been a Superiore subzone of the Barbera d'Asti DOCG.
The production area is the focus of the so-called Tertiary Piedmont Basin, a hilly region that originated from the lifting of the seabed during the late Tertiary epoch; the soils are calcareous, of medium depth, and characterized by sandy-clay marls and stratified sandstones.