90 Years Protecting Barolo, Barbaresco, Alba, Langhe and Dogliani

Already at the beginning of the last century, the winemakers of Barolo and Barbaresco felt the need to unite to protect their productions: in 1908 they requested the creation of a “certificate of origin” issued by an association operating under the control of the provincial administration and the Piedmontese wine trade union.

Only in 1924, however, did the Italian Parliament enact the law on typical wines and established that their characteristics had to be consistent and defined by the consortium statutes.

Thus began the preparatory work for the establishment of the Consortium for the Defence of the Typical Quality Wines Barolo and Barbaresco, officially founded in 1934, with the task of defining the productive context (the area of origin, the grapes and the wine’s characteristics), guarding against fraud, adulteration and unfair competition, promoting knowledge of the wines, as well as defending their name and quality in the most appropriate venues. After the pause imposed by wartime events, the Consortium was reconstituted in 1947.

In 1963, Law 930 was enacted, which established the birth of designations of origin and defined the exact role of Consortia.

From the outset, the Alba Consortium worked to obtain DOC recognition for Barolo and Barbaresco, which was granted in 1966, and subsequently for DOCG status, granted in 1980. In 1984, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests officially entrusted the Consortium with the task of overseeing the production of the two outstanding reds.

In 1994, following the enactment of the new law on wine designations of origin, no. 164 of 1992, the ancient protection body was transformed into the current Consorzio Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Roero, extending its competences to all denominations produced exclusively in the Langhe and Roero. Today, therefore, the body is configured as a territorial Consortium and not just a denomination-based one.