On the Road with the Grape Guy
Nizza - Report 5: ENOTECA NIZZA Tasting
11 Sep 2025- Details
- Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
Decided to spend my birthday week of 2024 in Italy, in the cradle of Barbera ... Nizza Monferrato ... exploring the wines, the vineyards and the people who make these incredible expressions of Barbera in its purest form. Over the course of 4 days, I tasted my way through a number of Piedmontese wines - focusing in on what many have called a "simple wine" ... only to discover, it is far from that. This is my last of five reports about Nizza Monforrato (missed the last four, check them out here Vinchio Vaglio - La Gironda - Prunotto - Il Falchetto):
ENOTECA NIZZA Tasting
From their website: "Enoteca Regionale di Nizza Monferrato is considered as the landmark for all Barbera lovers. It’s the right place to go and have a taste of Monferrato Astigiano land, get your glass full of this region excellences and get a taste of Barbera d’Asti docg and Nizza docg. Enoteca di Nizza is located inside the 18 Th century hystorical palace called Palazzo Crova, and it’s the heartbeat of the core-zone dedicated to Barbera"
Inside:
Wine Shop where you can buy over 300+ wines from right off the shelf; representing over 30 DOC and DOCG of the area, 150+ producers and the best news of all - Open seven days a week.
Don't know what to buy? Take advantage of the tasting option - I spent the better part of two hours in a classroom style room learning about Nizza and Barbera from a very well-informed, and as I pushed him, opinionated, staff member. Great place to learn.
Finally, in the basement is a restaurant to not only have a glass of wine and a "merenda", but a full meal of local delicacies (hello again, vitello tonato). The restaurant is called Signora in Rosso, located in the cellars of Palazzo Crova - which is where you find this gem of place.
Learn more: https://enotecanizza.it/
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Nizza begins 22 years ago with the 2000 vintage. It consists of 18 villages. In 2014 the laws of Nizza begin to be implemented in the winemaking and in the bottle: lower yields (7 tons per hectare) creating more 
structure and complexity; blind tasted for quality and consistency.
Green harvest is important because Barbera is a vigorous variety and the timing for harvest is very important. Barbera can gain (1.5%) alcohol and lose acidity (by the same amount) in the course of a week.
The Nizza DOCG starts with 30 producers, as of my visit there were 91; they also have 170 labels using the designation. At the moment, they have identified 145 cru - after an interview with the associated producers they are thinking 45 crus. I have my own thoughts on this and expressed them to President Stefano Chiarlo: before designating "cru" (single vineyards / single areas) the name "Nizza" has to become more recognized. I applaud them wanting to take the next step, but it might be too soon. On the other hand, I could say the same thing for my home country, territory, Ontario - who broke down the Niagara region before they even hit 50 years of knowledge. Piedmont and Barbera have a long history, and while Nizza may be new, the grape growing there is not - they come at it from a larger knowledge base than Ontario did. It's a double edged sword and I hope they are not putting the cart before the horse, because I love this region, the people I have met and the project - I also love Barbera.
The WINES ...
There was a lot of information being thrown my way across the table and lots of discussion about the area, the region, the DOCG, the rules - I went for full immersion here. That being said, when it came time to taste these wines I went with a simple Y (yes) or N (no) on whether the wine hit the "sweet spot" for me for a good Barbera; there is also a brief note about the wine..
L'Armangia 2021 Titon - Nizza (Barbera)
- Village: Moasca -
Big barrel aged - black fruited all the way with very elegant spices adding the seasoning. (Y)
Michele Chiarlo 2021 La Court - Nizza Riserva (Barbera)
- Village: Castelnuovo Calcea -
Sweet fruit, with spice and black cherry dominant; plus a little smoke and a little herbal with a touch of mocha. (Y)
Dacapo 2020 Vigna - Nizza Riserva (Barbera)
- Village: Agliano Terme -
Dark-fruited with a nice mocha-cherry note. (Y)
Cascina Garitina 2020 Margherita - Nizza (Barbera)
- Village: Castel Boglione -
Made from younger vines. I want this to be more appealing as it needs a little time to open; thankfully, the fruit does appear with nice acid backing. (Y)
Bersano 2019 Generala - Nizza Riserva (Barbera)
- Village: Agliano Terme -
For a riserva there is a fresh, fruity nature to this wine; red fruit that sings with great acidity and just feels like it was made yesterday. Gorgeous. (Y)
Bianco Angelo 2021 Bricco Cova - Nizza (Barbera) 
- Village: Agliano Terme -
Dark fruit with hints of red licorice and lots of other dark, brooding notes; this also shows in the 15.5% alcohol it maintains and there's a long finish. Does not disappoint: Matteo's selection (staff member - I asked him to pour his favourite). (Y)
Tenuta Olim Bauda 2020 Nizza Riserva (Barbera)
- Village: Incisa Scapacino -
Here we are back to basics, spicy notes and some red fruit - it has some character, but also seems more tertiary than fruit-forward. (N)
Isobella della Croce 2018 Augusta - Nizza (Barbera)
- Village: Calamandrana -
Coffee bean and tobacco - lacks appeal. (N)
Bava 2018 Piano Alta - Nizza (Barbera)
- Village: Agliano Terme -
Sorry to say this, but the aromas are very underwhelming; thankfully, the palate shows something more interesting - spicy with layers of prune and dried fruit. Still not my cup of Barbera. (N)
Ricossa 2019 Noceto - Nizza (Barbera)
- Village: Castel Boglione -
Cocoa powder laced coffee. Simple but ... (N)
Il Botolo 2017 Nizza (Barbera)
- Village: Nizza Monferrato -
Good acidity, dried cherry, subtle coffee/mocha, dried strawberry. This one was in the middle, neither a yes or a no, it lacked something that made one say "wow". (---)
Erede di Chiappone Armando 2015 Ru Mandola - Nizza Riserva (Barbera)
- Village: Nizza Monferrato -
Another in the "where does it fit' category of Nizza. This wine showed notes of alcohol soaked cherries with spice and acidity. It confused and underwhelmed. (---)
It's alls about the style you are going for - and proves that not all wines appeal to everyone- it's an age old story you've heard 100 times before (maybe more). All I can tell you is this: you need to get more Nizza Barbera into your life. Trust me, I am trying - you should too.
LUNCH - Vitello Tonato (always different / always delicious) ...
