Why it matters
The producer
Boggero is a farm estate in Vaglio Serra, a small commune in the Asti hills of Piemonte, and it has been making wine since the late 19th century. The 18 hectares include fruit trees and vegetable gardens alongside 8 hectares of Barbera vines, which gives the estate the feel of a working hill farm that also happens to produce two serious appellations. That mixture is not incidental: it shapes how visitors experience the place and how the Boggero family has always thought about the land.
The two wines are both 100% Barbera. Supreme is a Barbera d'Asti DOCG, the appellation that covers a broad swathe of the Monferrato hills and allows direct, accessible Barbera at various quality tiers. Altaris is a Nizza DOCG, a tighter subzone carved out of the Barbera d'Asti area, legally requiring lower yields, longer minimum ageing, and grapes from a defined set of communes, Vaglio Serra among them.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Vaglio Serra sits in the Asti hills, the core Barbera country of southern Piemonte. The grape has deep roots here: Barbera d'Asti DOCG covers the rolling terrain of the Monferrato and Asti provinces, and Vaglio Serra is one of the communes inside the Nizza subzone, the smaller, more demanding appellation within it.
Nizza DOCG was elevated to its own appellation in 2014, separating itself from the broader Barbera d'Asti territory. The rules are stricter: 100% Barbera, maximum yields below the Barbera d'Asti ceiling, and a minimum ageing requirement of 18 months total with at least 6 in oak. Those legal conditions mean a Nizza wine arrives in the glass with more time behind it and more oak contact than standard Barbera d'Asti, which typically shows lighter and earlier. On the label, the Nizza name signals a wine from a defined group of hillside communes and a slower cellar timeline.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Eight hectares of Barbera vines sit within the estate's 18-hectare holding. No specific training system or clone details are confirmed, but the wines show the cellar approach clearly.
For Supreme, the Barbera d'Asti DOCG, the winemaking is direct. The wine goes into bottle without oak ageing, which preserves the grape's characteristic bright acidity and lets the fruit lead without wood contribution.
Wines to know
The range in view
Supreme (Barbera d'Asti DOCG) is the estate's direct-tier Barbera. The colour is ruby red. The aroma is vinous and characteristic, intense and persistent with a slightly fruity quality. Tannicity is soft. No oak contact. Supreme is the wine that shows Barbera in its most straightforward mode: acidity up front, fruit present and clean, body moderate.
Altaris (Nizza DOCG) is the estate's top tier and the wine that carries the most work. One hundred percent Barbera from Vaglio Serra, macerated for around 25 days to build colour and extract, then aged approximately 16 months in French barriques. Altaris shows dark berry and cinnamon aromas, pleasant toastiness on the palate, and firmer tannins. The Nizza appellation adds a legal floor of quality and ageing that Barbera d'Asti does not require, making Altaris a wine that needs a little patience and rewards it.