Fratelli Barba

Fifteenth-century origins

The earliest recorded figure in the Barba family history is Francesco Barba, an abbot and canon in fifteenth-century Naples during the pontificate of Sixtus IV.

Establishment in Abruzzo

The family subsequently moved toward the province of Teramo in Abruzzo. By the middle of the eighteenth century, the registers of the catasto onciario recorded Carlo Barba as the owner of numerous properties in Santa Margherita di Atri and on the plains of Casoli and Fontanelle. These holdings formed the beginning of the family's documented landed estate, which later generations continued to develop.

Direct management and modernization

At the end of the 1950s, Luigi Barba, a Cavaliere del Lavoro, brought the sharecropping period to a definitive close and introduced direct management of the agricultural business. He equipped the estate with facilities and infrastructure considered advanced for their time.

From the 1960s onward, the family also entered other sectors, including brick production, while retaining land and agriculture as its central business.

Development of the winery

The estate refined its vineyard management over more than forty years of viticulture. Its vineyards came to cover 68 hectares across the principal areas of Colle Morino, Casal Thaulero and Vignafranca.

The winery was constructed in 1991 at Scerne di Pineto, at the foot of Colle Morino. It was designed with capacity beyond the estate's production potential—approximately 9,000 hl—and equipped with temperature control, stainless-steel fermenters, truncated-conical oak vats and temperature-controlled rooms for ageing wine and storing bottles. The grape-reception line was subsequently redesigned and completely renewed.

Renewable energy

In 2007, the estate began producing renewable electricity from photovoltaic installations. The photovoltaic fields now occupy approximately 6 hectares, while additional panels cover the winery and livestock-building roofs.

Location and landscape

The estate lies on the hilly ridges of the Vomano River, between the Teramo-area municipalities of Cellino Attanasio, Atri, Pineto and Roseto degli Abruzzi. The winery stands at Scerne di Pineto, at the foot of Colle Morino. The estate's vineyard sources extend from approximately 50 to 300 metres above sea level.

The landscape occupies the transition between the Adriatic coast and the foothills. It is composed of broad, almost level rises and rounded slopes, locally broken by steep, erosion-formed gullies known as calanchi.

Climate

Summers bring long sunny days alternating with cool nights. Winters are moderated by the nearby Adriatic Sea. Average annual temperatures fall within a stated range of 12–16°C, accompanied by good rainfall and ventilation. Agrimare Barba, situated among the Scerne di Pineto vineyards, is only 500 metres from the Adriatic Sea, illustrating the estate's coastal proximity.

Geological origin and soils

The Vomano alluvial plain is characterized by Plio-Pleistocene deposits. Between the end of the Tertiary and the beginning of the Quaternary, a marine sedimentary cycle filled the Periadriatic basin and produced the area's undulating relief. At estate level, the resulting soils are described as arenaceous-clayey, with depth varying according to slope and exposure and with medium-to-low water retention.

The identified vineyard sources show two principal soil descriptions. Blocks at Scerne, Casal Thaulero and Colle Morino include alluvial deposits of a silty-sandy nature. Other blocks at Colle Morino, Casal Thaulero and Passo Madama are described as calcareous clay.

Vineyard care has been refined over more than forty years of viticultural management. The annual cycle includes rigorous pruning at the end of winter, followed by leaf removal and cluster thinning during the thirty days preceding harvest. These operations are directed toward the estate's quality objectives under the technical-agronomic management of Dr Stefano Chioccioli.

Harvest dates vary by grape and site. Pecorino may be picked during the first ten days of September; Trebbiano is harvested toward the end of September; much of the Montepulciano harvest occurs during the first half of October, with selected blocks continuing into the second half of the month.

Only the best intact clusters are accepted for vinification. Grapes are gathered into boxes, while selected old-vine and premium blocks are harvested manually into small boxes. Selection for the most restricted parcels is performed directly in the vineyard.

The broader farm operates a circular system in which livestock manure feeds the fields and reduces chemical-fertilizer use to what is considered indispensable.

Winery and equipment

The winery is located at Scerne di Pineto, at the foot of Colle Morino. Built in 1991, it has approximately 9,000 hl of capacity, exceeding the agricultural company's stated production potential. Its grape-entry line has been redesigned and completely renewed.

Must temperatures are controlled to support orderly fermentation and preserve aromatic expression. The cellar is equipped with batteries of stainless-steel fermenters and truncated-conical oak vats. Large temperature-controlled rooms are dedicated to wine maturation and bottle storage.

General processing

Intact clusters selected in the vineyard arrive in boxes. Fermentation generally lasts about ten days, while the duration of skin maceration for red wines varies according to the intended product. The current range demonstrates the use of controlled-temperature stainless-steel fermentation, oak fermentation, malolactic fermentation, fine-lees maturation, truncated-conical vats, barrels, barriques and bottle ageing.

White-wine processing can include destemming, gentle pressing, cold settling and controlled-temperature fermentation in stainless steel. For selected old-vine Trebbiano, processing includes approximately 12 hours of pre-fermentation cold maceration at 8–10°C, gentle pressing, 24–36 hours of natural cold settling, fermentation of the free-run juice in steel at 14–16°C, 90–120 days on fine lees and approximately six months in bottle.

Other white lots are settled at 12–13°C for 18 hours, fermented in stainless steel at 16°C and matured on fine lees for approximately 60 days.

Red-wine methods range from approximately 10 days of fermentation and skin maceration in temperature-controlled steel to 15–18 days of maceration. Selected Montepulciano is fermented in open French-oak barrels and can remain in post-fermentation maceration until 28–30 days from the beginning of fermentation. Malolactic fermentation may be followed by at least 60 days on fine lees and up to 16 months in oak barriques. Other red lots mature for at least 12 months in truncated-conical vats and second- or third-use barrels and barriques.

Cerasuolo production includes brief skin contact, crushing and destemming, direct transfer to the press and white-wine vinification of the red grapes, followed by racking and 60 days on fine lees.