Azienda Agricola Barbera s.s. di Marilena Barbera & C. Contrada Torrenova - S.P. 79 - 92013 MENFI (AG) - SICILIA Tel. 0925-570442 - Fax 0925-78248 info@cantinebarbera.it - www.cantinebarbera.it

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EST2011

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Our harvest 2011 lasted over 50 days: we began on July 27th with the pre-harvest selection for yeast

reproduction and finished on September 16th with the grapes that were dried on the vines for our passito.

All emotions, events and feelings of our everyday life are described in a daily photo-story, that we shared

with all our friends in an article1 on our website, in a YouTube video2 and on Facebook3, Twitter4 and

other social networks. One picture every day, to follow the most significant moments of this vintage, in the

vineyards as well as at the winery.

1 Website article: http://www.cantinebarbera.net/en/home/231-vendemmia-2011.html 2 YouTube video: http://www.cantinebarbera.net/en/video/232-vendemmia-2011-il-video.html 3 Cantine Barbera on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cantinebarbera.menfi 4 Cantine Barbera on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/marilenabarbera

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Weather

We expect that the vintage 2011 will maintain the character of the past 3 vintages: abundant rainfalls in

winter and early spring have been followed by a warm June - July, while a very hot August (some peaks

around 105 °F were registered the third week of August) caused anticipated ripening of the grapes.

Notwithstanding, our vineyards, that are located only one mile from the ocean, could take advantage from

fresh temperatures during the night, which provided protection of the grapes’ acidity and their full aromatic

development.

Grapes’ conditions

All grapes showed no infections whatsoever: we only used sulphur twice between June and July, to avoid

oidium attacks at verizon. The amount produced was slightly lower than normal for the Nero d’Avola and

the Chardonnay in the Vineyard Piana del Pozzo, while the yield per hectare was in line with recent years

for all the other vineyards.

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All white grapes showed a perfect balance of fruitiness and acidity: we harvested from 6 to 10 days

earlier, to preserve aromatic quality and to control the alcohol level.

Some of the red grapes, mainly the Merlot and in some ways the Cabernet, suffered from hot

temperatures in mid-August: grapes drier than average and with a great sugar content will lead to a

higher alcohol level, but we are confident that their good acidity and their well ripe tannins will balance

taste and structure of the wines. The Nero d’Avola (both the new and the old vineyard) suffered less than

the other grapes, showing bursting fruitiness and vibrant color. Our favourite is still the Petit Verdot: great

color, fabulous body, juicy taste and surprising finesse.

• Chardonnay Vineyard Piana del Pozzo: The pre-harvest for yeast’s reproduction was performed on

July 27th: beautiful grapes with bright acidity and a delicious aromatic profile gave birth to fine, active

yeast, which was used as a starter for white varieties. The actual harvest took place at night between

August 3rd and 4th, with a yield of 60 quintals per hectare. To preserve its rich and fruity aromas, we

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decided to completely avoid barrel fermentation and to work only in stainless steel with a long refining

on the lees.

• Inzolia: After manual picking on September 7th, the grapes were immediately destemmed and

crushed, and the most part of the juice went through cold decanting for 3 days, while a small part of it

started its fermentation with the skins. All stainless steel process.

• Inzolia Vineyard Dietro le Case: A very similar process for our Inzolia from old vines, that shows a

bright acidity and nice herbal and mineral notes. All stainless steel fermentation, that will be completed

with further refining on the lees.

• Nero d’Avola: It is all red fruit, with a pleasant savoury taste and good tannins, which will probably

need more refining than average. Slightly higher in alcohol than the 2010 vintage, with a fuller body

and more vibrant aromas.

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• Nero d’Avola Vineyard La Costa: Great pale rose color this year for La Bambina, that was carefully

obtained pressing even lighter than last year. Aromas of strawberry jumped out from the very

beginning of the fermentation, now enriched by a pleasant marine note.

• Merlot: In mid-August high peaks in daytime temperatures stressed the vines, drying those clusters

that were more exposed to sunrays. Our choice was not to harvest until the tannins got ripe, to avoid

bitter sensations. My feeling is that we will have to work a lot in the future: spontaneous malolactic and

a long refining in big Slavonian oak barrels will help for sure.

• Petit Verdot: My personal favorite this vintage, one of the best year I’ve seen so far. Fine elegant

tannins and a balanced sugar level, with the most beautiful color and aromas of black pepper and

mulberry.

• Perricone: The young vineyard was loaded with too much fruit this year, and we decided to reduce

the production to maintain the highest quality and to concentrate its beautiful aromas of red berries,

supporting the ripening process.

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• Cabernet Sauvignon Vineyard La Vota: part of the vineyard was defoliated only on the north-

facing side, where we also performed some crop thinning to help the vines resist to the hot

temperatures. A low yield and ventilation beneath the grapes helped us to totally avoid irrigation and

to keep a lower pH, while accepting a higher sugar concentration. Rich and full bodied, the Cabernet

will be soon transferred in big Slavonian oak barrels for malolactic and refining.

• Moscato and Catarratto: our Albamarina will be beautiful this year! We decided to add 10% of white

Moscato d’Alessandria (Zibibbo) to our passito, to enhance its aromatic potential. The grapes were

dried directly on the vines: 30% of the rows were also defoliated, to speed up the drying process and

to increase the sugar concentration. The bright acidity of the Catarratto will keep the wine fresh and

pleasant throughout its refining.