Brachetto Piemonte DOC 2016

Valter Bera’s family have been growing grapes in the village of Neviglie for over a century, selling grapes to other firms for many years. Valter joined the winery in 1979 after graduating from the Enological School of Alba and began bottling Moscato, Brachetto, Barbera, and Nebbiolo under the Bera name.

Neviglie is a small village of 400 people located just a few kilometers south of Barbaresco and is home to the Bera family. The family owns and farms 56 acres in Neviglie as well as vineyards in the nearby Asti and Barbaresco areas to produce a broad range of wines.

Brachetto has been cultivated in Piedmont since Roman times. The first commercial release of a sparkling and sweet Brachetto came about in the 1970s and is especially popular around the spa town of Acqui Terme. Bera’s Brachetto is made in the frizzante style with gentle sweetness by using the Martinotti method.

Tasting Notes

Valter Bera’s Brachetto Piemonte is slightly sparkling (frizzante), medium-sweet, and low in alcohol. The wine shows typical Brachetto aromas and flavors of roses, sweet plums, and red cherries, and is rich and fruity on the palate. It is the light red wine equivalent of Moscato d’Asti used similarly at the table.

Food Pairing

Chocolate, a notoriously difficult food to pair with wine, is ideally suited to Brachetto’s sweetness and rich red-fruit profile. Brachetto’s low levels of alcohol are often welcome at the end of a meal and its bubbles awaken the palate. Pair Brachetto with cakes, mousses, or even a bar of chocolate.

Vineyard & Production Info

Vineyard name:

The Costigliole d'Asti vineyard

Vineyard size:

2 acres

Soil composition:

Calcareous and Clay-Loam

Training method:

Guyot

Elevation:

990 feet

Vines/acre:

2,000

Yield/acre:

2.2 tons

Exposure:

Eastern

Year vineyard planted:

2001

Harvest time:

September

First vintage of this wine:

2008

Bottles produced of this wine:

3,000

Winemaking & Aging

Varietal composition:

100% Brachetto

Fermentation container:

Autoclave

Length of alcoholic fermentation:

6 days

Fermentation temperature:

64-68 °F

Type of aging container:

Stainless steel tanks

Length of bottle aging:

1 month

Analytical Data

Alcohol:

6.0 %

pH level:

3.1

Residual sugar:

115.0 g/L

Acidity:

6.3 g/L

Dry extract:

23.0 g/L