BURZI BARBERA d’ALBA “PLAUSTRA”
Brother and sister team, Alberto and Caterina are making fantastic wines that speak of the terroir. Their wines are of natural beauty, not covered up by too much make up. Their Burzi Barbera d’Alba Plaustra was featured in our Mixed Piemonte case (Join Now) as an easy drinking, refreshing Barbera. In fact, theirs is made in just stainless steel.
CELLAR
I revisited the winery recently with clients and was able to see the progress of their winery addition. There will be a beautiful terrace with tasting room which is now under construction. No longer will they have a red leather couch in the middle of the barrel room. I will miss the table made of pallets and that gargagiste feel but I am happy that these young winemakers are growing! I begged them to keep the couch in the cellar as a unexpected VIP room for special clients who visited back when they were just “the new kids on the block”! In the picture you can see their beautiful cement tanks and vinification room being heated up by the stove!
BARBERA
Caterina showed us the difference of leaves and grapes by comparing Barbera and Nebbiolo. You can see the green leaves of Barbera while the Nebbiolo is yellow. Also quite noticeable is the oval shaped grapes of Barbera. They are plump and full of juice with very thin skins, filling with sugars during warm growing seasons.
The grapes love the dry summers but can burst if too much water from heavy rains gets inside them. This makes, La Plaustra’s location especially unusual because it is planted in a Northwest facing slope at a relatively low altitude. To compensate for this cooler exposure, the Burzis wisely had to counteract it by doing a heavy green harvest and creating more vine competition with high density plants and therefore more concentrated grapes.
This is a high acid juicy Barbera which makes a great palate cleanser during a long meal or is light enough to be drunk alone! To read more about Barbera, read my article here.
If you are interested in trying Burzi’s wines like their Barbera d’Alba and Barolo Capalot please contact us here for more info!
