Vietti Tre Vigne Barbera d'Alba

In 1918, upon the death of his brother, engineer Carlo Vietti returned from the United States to take over the business they had founded together. The business? A winery at the top of Castiglione Falleto, a village at the heart of Langhe in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. However, the ideas he brought with him upon his return were very different from those with which he left. Some even began to call him “the crazy American”, but this “crazy” man had a clear vision: while the majority of winegrowers uprooted the Barbera vines to replace them with Nebbiolo plants, Carlo Vietti kept them, always aiming to produce quality wines. Today, it is thanks to this decision that we can enjoy such magnificent marvels as the Vietti Tre Vigne Barbera d'Alba.

Made from 100% Barbera grapes, Vietti Tre Vigne Barbera d'Alba is one of those reds that must be tasted at least once in a lifetime. The legacy of its production is currently in the capable hands of Luca Currando Vietti (great-grandson of Carlo Vietti), who today is in charge of maintaining this quality that his great-grandfather sought to ensure with each production. In fact, if Vietti is known for anything, it is for maintaining this excellent standard despite its large-scale productions (which is no easy feat considering the large quantity of wines they produce). All of this can only be achieved in one way: by obtaining the best raw materials and the best grapes with which to work in the winery. Again, Carlos Vietti was misunderstood in this respect, as his contemporaries did not understand why he travelled so far in his search for vineyards. "Making wine is like cooking. You need excellent raw materials. This is why it was necessary to select good vineyards rather than having a single large plot, even though it is easier to work them if they are all together. That's why they called my great-grandfather the crazy American as he went around looking for the best vineyards", says Luca Currado Vietti.

In the case of Vietti Tre Vigne Barbera d'Alba, the grapes come from vineyards in Agliano Terme (in the town of La Crena) and other villages in the Asti hills. As expected of Vietti, only the best bunches make their way to the winery, where the grapes undergo pre-fermentative cold maceration. This step prior to fermentation is designed to obtain aromas and colour without extracting the acerbity of the tannins. Once finished, alcoholic fermentation begins at Vietti Tre Vigne Barbera d'Alba in stainless steel tanks, lasting a total of two weeks (with pump-overs and délestages). Finally, Vietti Tre Vigne Barbera d'Alba is subjected to another post-fermentative fermentation in contact with the skins before finishing in barrels (where it undergoes malolactic fermentation and 12 months of ageing).