Produttori del Barbaresco, Barbaresco Riserva DOCG, Ovello

About Produttori del Barbaresco

The cooperative or 'Cantina Sociale' Produttori del Barbaresco was founded in 1894 by Domizio Cavazza, regarded as the father of Barbaresco and responsible for having introduced new and innovative techniques for training vines and winemaking too. Its cooperative model became an example for modern times, with a membership of more than 50 vine-growers cultivating their own vineyards today, totaling around 100 hectares in the Barbaresco DOGC and enjoying an enviable reputation all over the world, both for its generic Barbaresco and any of its excellent single estate wines. Although Dolcetto, Barbera, and Moscato grapes are also grown in Barbaresco, the cooperative grows only Nebbiolo grapes. Nebbiolo is particularly sensitive to climate and soil. The terroir of the PDB vineyards is a complex blend of clay and limestone-rich in calcium with veins of sand. The vineyards are on steep slopes with southern, southwestern, and southeastern exposure. Late-ripening Nebbiolo does particularly well in such elevation and exposures. The climate is fairly typical of the continent with temperatures ranging from 15 F in the cold, snowy winters to 95 F in the hot summers. This is slightly lower and warmer than Barolo vineyards, in part because of the vineyards' proximity to the Tanaro River. PDB includes nine single vineyards within the Barbaresco appellation or about 17% of the total vineyards in the DOCG district. The lowest elevation vineyard is southwest-facing Rio Sordo; the next level, south-facing Asili, Rabaj , and Pora; the next, Paj and Muncagota; and then the highest, Ovello, Montefico and Montestefano.