The year 202021 was the 15th warmest in the past 64 years, with an average temperature of approx. 9.9°C
With this sentence, it can be easily guessed that this temperature ranking will be probably destined to grow in the future.
Relying on historical averages of measurement with reference to a specific period of time, such as a year (or longer periods), is certainly important in terms of statistics and historicity. Nevertheless, it loses the reference on what really happens during the particular year, as we have now entered a new cycle, characterized by climate change, with sudden and extreme climatic phenomena many times localized in very narrow areas.
Example of what has just been said is that, in spite of the hot and dry and droughty year, there were flood phenomena in the month of October on days 3-4-5, with localized and violent rainfall across the Ligurian-Piedmont Apennines.
2021 opens with heavy rainfall in January, tracing the pattern of the final months of 2020.
However, this precipitation quickly wanes as early as February and March, persisting until April, characterizing a dry and precipitation-free end of winter.
April opens with days 7-8, where a late frost affects some territories in spots, especially the valley bottoms and up the hillsides up to 300 mt.
At times that causes widespread damage on the most developed buds (black frost – a frost without ice formation on the vegetation with temperatures around - 4° C).
Fortunately, not all vine shoots were equally developed in length, so damage in the end was minimal, around 10%. April then continued, with low temperatures and minimal precipitation until May.
From the last decade of May through June temperatures began to rise and with them the arrival of thunderstorms, sometimes followed by hail.
In fact, important rainfall patterns are outlined among the different viticulture areas of Piedmont, with almost dry areas and others with good rain provisions.
July, August and September continue to present this situation, where in some places violent thunderstorms break out, while other areas do not experience a single mm. of rain.
July and August are also characterized by a temperature trend, different between the middle of the month and the end: first half of July and August has been very warm, second half of the months very cool.
In October, cold and humid currents begin to make incursions. In the first half of the month heavy rainfall hit some confined sectors of the Alexandrian plain, rising toward the Apennines.
Overall in spite of these latest rainfall inputs, precipitation is below average with a deficit, depending on the area, of 50 – 80% less rainfall.

Spring vegetative awakening remains delayed due to the cold weather in April and May.
With the last decade of May, temperatures begin to rise again and, thanks to the first thunderstorms of June, the vegetation delay quickly recovers, with late budding phase in the first decade of June.
By the end of June, the cluster closure phase takes place.
This is followed by the veraison phase, which begins in mid-July and ends in the first decade of August. In the same month, there has been a thermal peak that, although briefly, caused some burns on the most exposed bunches.

The harvest starts about a week early with generally excellent analytical data, with excellent grape health, sugars, ph and acidity ideal for perfect grape ripening.
2021 vintage with excellent musts for color, sugary content, phenolic maturity and acidity, which could potentially give Nizza wines high persistence and longevity.

The grapes presented excellent levels of sugar and phenolic maturity (ripening of the seeds and skin), as well as impeccable bunch health (no damage due to pathogenic fungi).
This, together with ideal temperatures and weather for harvesting, meant that the potential quality of the grapes was excellent. From the first pressing of the grapes and the start of fermentation of the musts, it was possible to appreciate not only the richness of the excellent aromas of fruit but also the deep, intense red colour that was gradually extracted from the skins.

The grapes harvested were in very good/excellent health and yielded musts with a deep violet red colour, with excellent sugar, polyphenolic and acidic richness.
They resulted in beautifully coloured Nizza Docg wines with rich violet highlights, balanced, with good acidity, savoury and well- structured, with considerable propensity for evolution over time.

The harvest of the Barbera grapes for the production of Nizza began between the 25th and 27th of September and continued until the first week of October, varying from one municipality to the other, depending on exposure and the thinning operations that had been carried out. The quality of the grapes ranged from good to excellent, with rich anthocyanins and beautifully ripe seeds, along with a relatively good dosage of polyphenols. Apart from those damaged by hail, the grapes were healthy, with nicely coloured, thick, whole skins. The potential alcohol content at harvest averaged at between 14.00% and 14.50%.

The Barbera vine requires lots of warmth and long exposure to the sun and so was able to fully exploit the high temperatures.
The grapes with the greatest exposure to the sun accumulated considerable amounts of sugar and polyphenolic substances, resulting in wines with an excellent structure and dry extract.
Fortunately, acidity, which remained high thanks to the slight dehydration of the grapes, allows a perfect balance between the structure and the high alcohol content of the wines of this vintage, which are fresh and look set to have a very long cellar-life.
The grape harvest began sooner than usual, during the week between the end of August and the beginning of September. The 2017 grape harvest was the harvest with the second lowest yield since the end of the Second World War.
The drop in grape production in Nizza was around 18/20%.

Veraison began in the first ten days of August, with ideal temperatures, hot but within the average range for the period. Some hailstorms affected the area around Castelnuovo Calcea and Agliano. The grapes continued to ripen throughout August and September, until the middle of October, thanks to weather which was well-ventilated, hot and dry, without every reaching drought conditions.
The grapes were perfectly healthy without any signs of fungal diseases. The “Mediterranean climate” will make 2016 one of the most memorable years in recent decades. The quality of the grapes was excellent, with perfect levels of sugar and phenolic maturity, ideal for the production of great wines.
(average sugar content in Babo : 22/22.50 with peaks of up to 24/25 )

Carefully monitoring the ripening process, we began harvesting after the first ten days in September. The grapes were healthy and reached an excellent sugar content, allowing us to achieve high levels of alcohol and balanced acidity. As regards polyphenols, the healthy grape skins gave us brightly coloured wines with intense and elegant aromas, and outstanding structure.
This is one of our finest vintages, with wines destined to age for a very long time.

A drier August, but with periods of cloudy weather and cool, humid currents, meant that the vines ripened in conditions which weren’t ideal, but, fortunately, sunnier, more stable weather in September helped things considerably, allowing the later ripening varieties to recover. The best results were obtained in soils with lower water reserves and excellent exposure, with average levels of acidity and good alcohol contents for the vintage, deep colour and structured wines with an excellent bouquet.

Progress from veraison to maturity, with sunny days and little rainfall, was ideal for late ripening varieties like Barbera, which ripened perfectly in the “Nizza” vineyards with best exposure to the sun, offering more sustained acid (more malic) and sugar concentrations above 21° Babo.

Thanks to a hot August and marked differences between diurnal and nocturnal temperatures, the first Barbera grapes were harvested in mid-September. Characterised by good acidity and an excellent alcohol content, they had lots of polyphenolic substance (deep colours) and great structure, which will ensure the wine a long cellar life.
We are going to have balanced and elegant Barbera of outstanding quality.

The Barbera harvest began in the second ten days of September.
Production enjoyed an average increase of 15% on the previous year, thanks to very limited loss of flowers, extremely fertile buds and sufficient water in the soil.
Quality was good throughout the region, with several points of excellence in Barbera d’Asti.

Having started off in far from easy climatic conditions, the season ended with a lively recovery, and 2008 can be considered a good if not excellent vintage.
The Barbera harvest began right at the beginning of October. The whole harvest period was characterised by very sunny days with a good temperature range. The grapes picked were very healthy and of the finest quality. The damages caused by springtime disease were largely mitigated and work in the vineyard had a determining effect on achieving high quality levels.
The sugar content recorded higher than average values, balanced with the acid component that favoured a correct fermentation process.

The Barbera harvest began in the first ten days of September. The grape health was excellent.
Production was an average 20% down on the previous year, partly justified by the reduced size of the berries and the undamaged, consistent skins.
The sugar content, which can determine alcohol contents of up to 15% in red grape varieties, was rather high. The high alcohol content was balanced by the acidity. The intensity of colour was very interesting, particularly in Barbera.

The Barbera harvest began in the last ten days of September.
Cool temperatures in late summer favoured balanced ripening. The Barbera presented a good concentration of polyphenols. This was a good year for Barbera, producing concentrated but very elegant wines.

The Barbera harvest began right at the beginning of October. Slightly cooler temperatures for most of the summer, with broader temperature ranges, contributed to the formation of a consistent aromatic complexity.
The gradual ripening of the grapes generated wines with a good alcohol content, nicely sustained by balanced acidity. Lower yields compared to 2004 and grapes with the right contents created wines with good colours and finely fruity aromas.
The 2005 vintage will be remembered for fresh, aromatic and elegant wines with a good structure.

A good harvest in general with peaks of excellence. Healthy grapes that limited intervention with plant treatments, perfect malic and tartaric acid, high extracts and splendid colour.
The Barberas were excellent, benefiting from perfectly gradual ripening. This gave rich and balanced wines with a wide variety of aromas.

In 2003, Barbera was one of the grape varieties that benefited most from the anomalous summer climate trend.
The harvesting operations began earlier than ever before, at the beginning of September. The accumulation of sugars in the berries was exceptional everywhere. The fixed acidity in the Barbera reached excellent levels, with an optimum ratio between malic and tartaric acid.

The Barbera grape harvest began in the third week of September. Frost in mid-April lowered the yield. In general, the musts presented more than satisfactory analytical parameters, with high sugar contents and balanced average acidity.

The result of this vintage was clearly positive in terms of quality. A slight delay in budding but subsequent phases of earlier ripening brought the harvest forward by several days compared to the previous year.
If the anomalous heat at certain times during the year, especially in August, favoured ripening, frequent rainfall created problems in defence against downy mildew, which was particularly aggressive.
The Barbera reached excellent alcohol contents, with average acidity values, high phenolic richness and very intense and persistent aromas.