The origin of Barbaresco wine is strictly linked to Domizio Cavazza.
Professor Cavazza wasn’t born in Barbaresco; instead, he was born in 1856 in Concordia sul Secchia (province of Modena).In 1878 he graduated in agronomics in Milan, and thanks to a scholarship he attended the National School of Agriculture in Montpellier. There he studied in deep viticulture and oenology. When he came back to Italy in 1881 he was appointed by Michele Coppino -Minister of Education- to found and manage the Practical School of Viticulture and Oenology in Alba (CN).In ten years he had been able to bring great prestige to this school “created with the ambitious goal of emancipating winegrowers
Barbaresco and his story
The origin of Barbaresco wine is strictly linked to Domizio Cavazza.
Professor Cavazza wasn’t born in Barbaresco; instead, he was born in 1856 in Concordia sul Secchia (province of Modena).
In 1878 he graduated in agronomics in Milan, and thanks to a scholarship he attended the National School of Agriculture in Montpellier. There he studied in deep viticulture and oenology. When he came back to Italy in 1881 he was appointed by Michele Coppino -Minister of Education- to found and manage the Practical School of Viticulture and Oenology in Alba (CN).
In ten years he had been able to bring great prestige to this school “created with the ambitious goal of emancipating winegrowers from the secular empiricism which obstructs progress.”
Later on Professor Cavazza was appointed as director of the Royal High School of Conegliano Veneto. In 1893 he then began to direct the Agrarian Technical Office in Bologna.
1894 is a crucial moment: Domizio Cavazza bought the castle of Barbaresco (along with some vineyards) and during the same autumn founded the the Cantine Sociali of Barbaresco, including in the inner circle some winemakers loyal to his project.
Domizio Cavazza in his booklet Barbaresco and its wines (1907) wrote: “good institutions cannot be judged only by the direct benefit given to their members, but on the good influence they indirectly bring to everyone included in their purview”.
And this good influence was achieved mainly thanks to:
the correct vinification of Nebbiolo from Barbaresco. Cavazza, thanks to the experience acquired in Montpellier and to the results that Cavour obtained with the help of Earl Odar and Earl Sambuy in the cellars of King Carlo Alberto in Pollenzo, indeed perfected the growing and vinification techniques;
reducing the fluctuations in the market prices. At that time the grape market was basically a farmer market held in the main squares of the small towns and the prices were fixed by shrewd merchants. This was not only a problem for the Nebbiolo grapes, but also for all the grape varietals in the province of Cuneo. The low price of the grapes tampered the growth of the area. So, what Cavazza and his collaborators did with Nebbiolo in Barbaresco was an example of the good influence of a better management in viticulture along with proper return.
spreading the knowledge of Nebbiolo from Barbaresco. This resulted in a great impact on the grape production of the area. This was due to the spreading of the knowledge got through researches and the new vinification techniques, so that also private growers were able to make quality wines to be sold at remunerative prices.
This important job of upgrading Nebbiolo brought great results: in 1899 Teobaldo Calissano, member of the Italian Parliament in Rome, submitted a draft law to safeguard the original wines from Barolo and Barbaresco, from forgery. Anyway, notwithstanding this was a real problem, the Government did not accept Calissano’s draft law, so in 1908 growers and winemakers of Nebbiolo from Barbaresco reacted and decided to create a trade union to safeguard the production and the business of Nebbiolo from Barbaresco. This action was emulated few weeks later from growers and winemakers in Barolo.
On 9th August 1913 Barbaresco and the whole area of the Langhe said goodbye to professor Domizio Cavazza. This year was the beginning of a ominous period for this area and for all the surroundings of Alba, this was the time of World War I, which, besides bringing devastation, hampered the spread and development of the wines from Alba all around the world.
Another drawback was the closure of many Cantine Sociali which, left out of financial contributions, went bankrupt. In 1925 the Cantina Sociale of Barbaresco was closed. Those were difficult years for the people in Barbaresco, now left without both professor Cavazza and the Cantina Sociale.
Anyway, in terms of safeguard of the wines, there had been big progresses: 18th March 1926 the law which was the starting point for the safeguard of typical wines was issued. Then, officially in 1934 the Consortium for the Protection of Quality of Local Wines Barolo and Barbaresco was founded.
Between the fifties and sixties of the 20th century, the cooperatives in Barolo and Barbaresco returned to the limelight. In 1958 in Barbaresco the cooperativa of the Produttori del Barbaresco was founded by Don Fiorino Marengo -the local parson-. Don Fiorino, following Cavazza’s legacy, reunited again the growers of the area and specialized in the production of Barbaresco. In the Barolo area, the cantina sociale Terre del Barolo was to be developed under the knowledgable leading of Arnaldo Rivera. Finally, the DPR of 23rd April 1966 gave to Barolo and Barbaresco the Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC). That legal intervention was a crucial one, because it gave the basis to the qualitative upgrade of those wines. It determined rules for the production in the fields and in the cellars (with the product specifications). On 1st July 1980, with a Presidential Decree, Barolo is given the Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG). The DOCG, in comparison with the DOC, has new and more restrictive product specifications (like, for example, the double check of the wines during the bottling procedures). Barbaresco will be given the DOCG few months later, on 3rd October 1980.
In 1997 the two DOCGs were mapped to get the Additional Geographical Definitions and the Consorzio di Tutela del Barolo e Barbaresco, in order to identify the areas and highlight the diversity of the wines, made the same appellation inside. This important job was finished in 2007 in Barbaresco, and in 2010 in Barolo.
This is the story of men and women who, with passion and bravery, were able to get a product which is enhanced by a terroir which is unique from the pedo-climatic point of view. A must, to reach these important qualitative results.
Many thanks to everyone who gave us help and information useful to write this brief summary, especially the Enoteca Regionale del Barbaresco and Mr. Giancarlo Montaldo.
BIBLIOGRAPHY FANTINI, Lorenzo, Monografia sulla Viticoltura ed enologia nella provincia di Cuneo CAVAZZA, Domizio, Ode al Barbaresco (Barbaresco e i suoi vini, 1907) Atlante delle vigne di Langa, Slow food editore Terra di grandi vini Barbaresco, Deagostini MONTALDO Giancarlo, CONTI Beppe, Una grande annata, storie di vino e di sport, Graphot editrice
