Traditionally, Barolo (and Barbaresco) producers who held various vineyards in the DOCG would produce one wine, and blend the vineyards together. Vineyard names were first seen on labels from the 1961 vintage: Prunotto Barolo Bussia, Prunotto Barbaresco Montestefano, and Vietti Barolo Rocche di Castiglione.
In the following years, other wineries slowly began to vinify and bottle their sites separately.
It was not until the second half of the 1980s, a time when many new producers appeared, that there was an explosion of names and appellations. This resulted in a complete mess of historical site and place names of various spellings, fantasy names and brand names.
The MGAs surrounding the villages of Barolo and Castiglione di Falletto (detail).
By the early 1990s, the situation had become so confusing that regulation became necessary. The individual Barolo and Barbaresco communes began to work independently of each other to draw up a register of precisely defined vineyards.
The mapping of vineyards turned out to be complex and protracted because of the different interests involved. In addition, the law was not clearly defined and could be interpreted in different ways. It took a good twenty years until the result was finally incorporated into the production rules for Barolo in 2010. For Barbaresco, whose production area comprises only four instead of eleven communes, the vineyard register could already be included in the regulations in 2007.
Menzione Geografica Aggiuntiva or MGA (sometimes also abbreviated as Me.G.A.) is a reference to these specific vineyard areas on the label of Barolo and Barbaresco wines. It is a way for producers to identify a wine that has come from an officially defined vineyard area within Barolo or Barbaresco.
There is a list of official areas allowed on labels; there are 181 MGAs in Barolo, and 66 in Barbaresco. Some of the most famous include: Bussia, Brunate, Cannubi, Pajè, Rocche di Castiglione.
The MGAs – it’s important to emphasize this – do not imply superiority in a qualitative sense. A Barolo or Barbaresco carrying the name of an MGA on the label is not necessarily better or more valuable than one with another name or even with no MGA at all.
The fact is, though, for many producers, Barolo and Barbaresco wines with an MGA usually represent the most prestigious wines they produce.
The famous Vigna Rionda MGA in the village of Serralunga d’Alba (source massolino.it).
Is it the same as the French 'Cru'?
Here we quote Giovanni Minetti, former President of the Consorzio di Tutela Barolo e Barbaresco:
“The menzione (mention in English) is a geographic marker that is aggiunta (added) to the primary appellation to indicate a smaller area.
“In regards to a ‘cru vineyard,’ this is a different classification; vineyards are owned, and so their size, is independently distinguished while a menzione has a collective value, it affects more producers. The French concept of cru is derived from the verb croitre, which means to grow, and so is more place specific. It identifies a very specific place of production, where factors that may not even be natural are used to differentiate the uniqueness of each wine, even from wines grown in similar conditions in nearby areas.
“In addition to cru, there is the term climat used in France that is not well known in Italy to indicated a larger growing area composed of many crus. This concept is much more similar to our MGAs. Essentially an MGA is not the equivalent of a cru because a cru defines more specific characteristics of an individual vineyard. It is also important to remember that these terms developed independently of each other. They are specific to the cultural, technical, administrative and market experiences of each country and in Italy this is a very recent development.”
What is a Barolo MGA?
What is a Barolo MGA?
Traditionally, Barolo (and Barbaresco) producers who held various vineyards in the DOCG would produce one wine, and blend the vineyards together. Vineyard names were first seen on labels from the 1961 vintage: Prunotto Barolo Bussia, Prunotto Barbaresco Montestefano, and Vietti Barolo Rocche di Castiglione.
In the following years, other wineries slowly began to vinify and bottle their sites separately.
It was not until the second half of the 1980s, a time when many new producers appeared, that there was an explosion of names and appellations. This resulted in a complete mess of historical site and place names of various spellings, fantasy names and brand names.
The MGAs surrounding the villages of Barolo and Castiglione di Falletto (detail).
By the early 1990s, the situation had become so confusing that regulation became necessary. The individual Barolo and Barbaresco communes began to work independently of each other to draw up a register of precisely defined vineyards.
The mapping of vineyards turned out to be complex and protracted because of the different interests involved. In addition, the law was not clearly defined and could be interpreted in different ways. It took a good twenty years until the result was finally incorporated into the production rules for Barolo in 2010. For Barbaresco, whose production area comprises only four instead of eleven communes, the vineyard register could already be included in the regulations in 2007.
Menzione Geografica Aggiuntiva or MGA (sometimes also abbreviated as Me.G.A.) is a reference to these specific vineyard areas on the label of Barolo and Barbaresco wines. It is a way for producers to identify a wine that has come from an officially defined vineyard area within Barolo or Barbaresco.
There is a list of official areas allowed on labels; there are 181 MGAs in Barolo, and 66 in Barbaresco. Some of the most famous include: Bussia, Brunate, Cannubi, Pajè, Rocche di Castiglione.
The MGAs – it’s important to emphasize this – do not imply superiority in a qualitative sense. A Barolo or Barbaresco carrying the name of an MGA on the label is not necessarily better or more valuable than one with another name or even with no MGA at all.
The fact is, though, for many producers, Barolo and Barbaresco wines with an MGA usually represent the most prestigious wines they produce.
The famous Vigna Rionda MGA in the village of Serralunga d’Alba (source massolino.it).
Is it the same as the French 'Cru'?
Here we quote Giovanni Minetti, former President of the Consorzio di Tutela Barolo e Barbaresco:
“The menzione (mention in English) is a geographic marker that is aggiunta (added) to the primary appellation to indicate a smaller area.
“In regards to a ‘cru vineyard,’ this is a different classification; vineyards are owned, and so their size, is independently distinguished while a menzione has a collective value, it affects more producers. The French concept of cru is derived from the verb croitre, which means to grow, and so is more place specific. It identifies a very specific place of production, where factors that may not even be natural are used to differentiate the uniqueness of each wine, even from wines grown in similar conditions in nearby areas.
“In addition to cru, there is the term climat used in France that is not well known in Italy to indicated a larger growing area composed of many crus. This concept is much more similar to our MGAs. Essentially an MGA is not the equivalent of a cru because a cru defines more specific characteristics of an individual vineyard. It is also important to remember that these terms developed independently of each other. They are specific to the cultural, technical, administrative and market experiences of each country and in Italy this is a very recent development.”
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