Nizza DOCG

​The third session I attended at SommCom was once again in a very cold room, though not quite as cold as the Super Tuscan room.  Hopefully my gripes will reach the hotel management and they will try to make the rooms a bit more hospitable for future events.  Nah, that’s never going to happen….
Anyway, after warming up a bit outside I entered the not-quite-as-cold room for a presentation on Nizza.  Despite its similarity to a well-known food, Nizza is a wine-growing region in the Piedmont province of Italy.   The most famous – and probably best – red wine out of Piedmont is Barolo, made entirely from the Nebbiolo grape.  Playing a weak second fiddle to the Nebbiolo grape is the Barbera grape from which the Barbera d’Asti wine is made.  Nizza is a sort of subset of Asti which as of 2014 is recognized as a DOCG, a level Barbera d’Asti achieved in 2008.  Conceptually, Nizza DOCG Barbera is a better version of Barbera.

​Being a part of a DOCG means the winery has to follow some very strict rules on such issues as planting the grapes to guarantee the quality of the grapes.  You can see this in the picture below.  Note that the grapes must be grown on the side of a hill facing south.  Don’t have a hill facing south on your property?  No DOCG for you!

​We tasted eight versions of the Nizza DOCG Barbera.  I liked the first one best, actually quite nice for a Barbera.  I was put off by the price tag – suggested retail price is $55.  Not sure the speaker should have put that on the slide….