BARBERA DEL MONFERRATO
Denominazione di Origine Controllata
GRAPE VARIETY
Barbera
TASTING NOTES
Vicara's Volpuva Barbera del Monferrato DOC 2023 is the cantina's everyday Barbera, now crafted from 100% Barbera grapes, embodying a fresh, juicy territorial red ideal for daily tables and authentic Piedmontese cuisine. Born on the hills of Rosignano Monferrato in the UNESCO-recognised Monferrato heartland, its vines root into Pietra da Cantoni—ancient marine marls dating back some 15 million years—that impart striking freshness, verticality, and marked sapidity. Guyot-trained in organic conversion at around 300 metres altitude, with 4,500 vines per hectare and yields capped at 1,300 g per plant, these vines prioritise fruit concentration and quality. Local lore in Rosignano holds that foxes signal harvest time: cunning and vigilant, they pilfer the ripest, sweetest clusters. Hence the name Volpuva—a Barbera Vicara has proudly produced since the 1970s, capturing the territory's unpretentious spirit: straightforward, direct, and endlessly drinkable. Manual harvest into crates precedes spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts, 6–8 days' maceration in steel, malolactic conversion, and maturation in tank then bottle for about six months, preserving the grape's crisp, crunchy fruit character. Volpuva 2023 gleams with a bright, luminous ruby red, inviting and vibrant in the glass. It unfurls clean, immediate fruit-driven tones of red berries and cherry, laced with violet, quintessentially Barbera del Monferrato—recognisable and approachable. On the palate, it is dry, fresh, and enveloping, with vibrant acidity, pristine cleanliness, and a juicy, fluid sip that beckons another pour; the perfect match for cured meats, grilled meats, hearty pasta, and robust traditional dishes demanding a territorial red of easy, identity-rich drinkability.