Barbaresco is one of the great wines of Piemonte and should be drunk with all due respect. 

 

It is a wine of extremely ancient origin and was mentioned by Livy in his monumental History of Rome. According to an old tradition, the Gauls were attracted to Italy and descended into the peninsula because of the goodness of the wine of Barbaritium, from which the word "Barbariscum" and later Barbaresco were derived. However, some experts argue that the wine derived its name from the barbarian hordes that raided extensively in Italy before and after the fall of Rome. 

 

Long ago, Barbaresco was called Nebbiolo or Barolo and those who vinified it added Moscatello and Passeretta grapes, which gave the wine a sweetish flavor and made it effervescent. Barbaresco, the aristocratic red wine we know today, was mentioned in 1799, when Austrian General Melas requested "Nebbiolo di Barbaresco" to celebrate in worthy fashion his victory over the French. 

 

It was only toward the middle of the 19th century, however, that production was begun of a dry type of wine, which brought out all of Barbaresco's extraordinary qualities. Professor Domizio Cavazza, a noted enologist, introduced new vinification techniques and, in 1894, founded a cooperative winery exclusively dedicated to the production of Barbaresco. The enologist, comparing it with the greatest French wines, described Barbaresco as "fine, soft and generous."