More than fifty families, one cellar
The people
Produttori del Barbaresco is a grower cooperative devoted to Nebbiolo from the Barbaresco production zone. Don Fiorino Marengo, the village priest, founded it in 1958 with nineteen local farmers. Today more than fifty member families deliver their Nebbiolo to the cooperative.
Membership carries a defining rule: growers deliver all of their Nebbiolo, rather than keeping their best parcels for private labels. Payment includes a quality bonus, so the incentive is tied to the condition of the grapes as well as their weight.
One method across nine vineyards
The cellar
The cooperative makes Langhe Nebbiolo and Barbaresco DOCG every year. In selected vintages it also releases nine single-vineyard Barbaresco Riservas.
Those Riservas have followed the same broad method since 1967: long macerations and ageing in large oak. Keeping the cellar work consistent makes the vineyard the clearest difference from one bottle to the next.
Three levels of Nebbiolo
The range
Langhe Nebbiolo is the youngest expression. Barbaresco DOCG is the core annual wine. The Riserva range appears only in selected vintages and covers Asili, Montefico, Montestefano, Muncagota, Ovello, Pajè, Pora, Rabajà and Rio Sordo.
Together, the nine Riservas offer a rare chance to compare named Barbaresco vineyards through the work of a single cellar.
Begin with the Barbaresco DOCG
First bottle
The annual Barbaresco DOCG is the clearest introduction to the cooperative before exploring individual Riservas. It establishes the shared Nebbiolo character; the nine vineyard wines then show how that character shifts from site to site.