The Comitato Vitivinicolo Nazionale recently approved the upgrade of the Terre Alfieri DOC appellation in the Piedmont region to a DOCG appellation. The Terre Alfieri DOCG appellation will become the 18th DOCG wine region in the Piedmont region and the 76th DOCG wine region in Italy.
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The Terre Alfieri DOCG guarantees an appellation spanning the provinces of Asti and Cuneo, covering eleven municipalities, seven of which are located in the province of Asti (Antignano, Celle Enomondo, Cisterna, Revigliasco, San Damiano, San Martino Alfieri, Tigliole) and four in the province of Cuneo (Castellinaldo, Govone, Magliano Alfieri, Priocca). This guaranteed appellation is managed by the Consorzio Barbera dAsti e Vini del Monferrato (Asti Barbera and Monferrato Wine Association). The appellation currently has 47 winery members and produces approximately 300,000 bottles of wine per year.
The Terre Alfieri DOCG guarantees that the appellation can produce two types of wines: Arneis white wines and Nebbiolo red wines, made from at least 85% Arneis white grapes and at least 85% Nebbiolo red grapes, respectively.
The minimum alcohol content of white wines from this appellation should be 11.5 degrees, or 12 degrees if the name of the vineyard is on the label. If the wine is labeled Superiore, it should be aged for at least 6 months.
Nebbiolo red wines from this appellation should have a minimum alcohol content of 12.5 degrees, or 13 degrees if the vineyard name is on the label. If the wine is labeled Superiore, it should be aged for at least 12 months, of which at least 6 months in oak barrels. If the wine is labeled Riserva, it should be aged for at least 24 months, of which at least 12 months in oak barrels.
The Terre Alfieri DOCG appellation was created in 2009 and is named after Vittorio Alfieri, the famous poet and playwright of the Asti region. The typical soil of the appellation is the older sabbie astiane, formed in the Pliocene, where marine fossils are common. The vineyards currently registered in the appellation are all between 130 and 350 meters above sea level.
