The Asti and Monferrato areas of Piedmont, east of the Barolo zone, are Barbera country. Barbera may be indigenous to this region, and (although grown elsewhere in Italy and increasingly here in California) finds its best expressions here, ranging from bright, raspberryish wines aged in stainless steel, to darker, more substantial examples aged in small French oak. Pavia is located in Agliano, which is one of the best-known Barbera villages in the Asti zone.

 

Agostino Pavia and his sons Giuseppe ('Pino') and Mauro make two styles of Barbera from two different single vineyards, less than five thousand cases in all. Barbera d'Asti used to have a reputation for having acidity like that of a car battery, apparently due to high yields and an occasional lack of malolactic fermentation. These wines are different, zesty but balanced, with luscious fruit to match the acidity.

 

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