Dinner with Coppo Wine Cellars Flagship ‘Pomorosso’ Nizza Barbera #WorldWineTravel

Coppo Wine Cellars and Nizza Barbera
Beyond their historic side, Coppo 1892 has been instrumental in elevating the reputation of many wines of the Monferrato area in the Piemonte. They are well known for their traditional method sparkling wines from the Alta Langa DOCG, Chardonnay, and their Moscato which just recently achieved Canelli DOCG status. Their ‘Pomorosso; Barbera is a long term commitment of theirs. They have produced it for 40 years and participated in the creation of the Nizza Barbera subzone of Barbera d’Asti, eventually earning DOCG classification in 2014.

The Barbera Grape
Barbera is an old grape, the first mention in printed texts was in the 14th Century. Barbera’s home is the Piemonte region in Northwest Italy. While Nebbiolo is more famous, Barbera is actually the #1 grape variety grown there, with three times the vineyard area of Nebbiolo. Barbera grapes typically produce a red wine high in acidity (think freshness) and low in tannins (astringency). Barbera is a great choice for people who shy away from those firm Nebbiolo tannins, also a good choice while you are waiting (years…) for that Barolo or Barbaresco to age!

Nizza Barbera DOCG
Barbera d’Asti DOCG is highly regarded as a region producing great Barbera wines. The Nizza area exists entirely within the Barbera d’Asti region and is further known for some of the very best Barbera. Nizza Barbera was recognized with its’ own DOCG in 2014, characterized by tighter rules than in the larger Barbera d’Asti DOCG. Nizza wines require lower yields in the vineyard, producing more concentrated wines, as well as longer aging and aging in barrel.

Disclosure: The wine for this post was provided as a sample. No other compensation was involved, all opinions expressed are mine.

Coppo Wine Cellars Nizza Barbera DOCG “Pomorosso” 2021 ($69 SRP, sample) 16.5% abv
100% Barbera from the Nizza DOCG. Wine is aged for 14 months in oak barrels.
Eye: Deep ruby
Nose: Pronounced aromas of ripe blueberries, blackberries, fresh figs, blackberry compote, violets, vanilla, a touch of leather.
Mouth: Dry, medium plus acidity, low tannins, full body, high alcohol, pronounced flavors with a long finish. Flavors follow the nose with the ripe and baked blue and black fruit, lingering nicely.
Observations: A very high quality wine especially made for enthusiasts of a Big Bold style. Pomorosso is packed full of flavors and aromas, matched with full body and high alcohol. While it certainly is big and bold, it is well balanced.

(click on any photo for a full size slide show)

Pairing Dinner with Coppo Pomorosso, a Rich Nizza Barbera
A bold, powerful wine with with 16.5% alcohol required a bit of thought in designing a pairing. Medium rare steak and mushrooms seemed to promise bold and earthy flavors. It’s currently cépes mushroom season in France and I know they are the same as Porcini mushrooms in Italy; a classic at the Italian table. I found a nice, simple recipe for Porcini mushrooms, Fungi Trifolati. Vegetables to accompany included a slice of roasted butternut squash and romanesco. Our surprise at the table was that the best match was the butternut squash, that rich body and savory/sweet taste matched the wine so nicely. Don’t forget vegetables as potential stars of your wine pairings!

Coppo Wine Cellars Discoveries by our World Wine Travel Writers
Our writers were provided samples of a variety of Coppo Wine Cellars wines, so you’ll see a variety of ideas in our posts below:

• Camilla from Culinary Cam says “Let’s Talk About Cortese and Barbera Grapes: Two Wines from the Historical Underground Wine Cellars of Coppo + Pairings”
• David from Cooking Chat shares “Pairings for Coppo Barbera and Moscato d’Asti “
• Payal from Keep the Peas shares “Coppo Winery 2023 Chardonnay ‘Costebianche’ x Vegetarian Punjabi Food”
• Linda from My Full Wine Glass shares “Two Piedmont classics: Nizza Barbera and Moscato d’Asti “
• Jennifer from Vino Travels shares “The Historic Coppo winery of Piedmont and their UNESCO underground wine cellars”
• Robin from Crushed Grape Chronicles reports on “Tunnels and Tufa – The Underground Cathedrals and Coppo Cellars”
• Terri at Our Good Life shares “Pairings with Nizza Barbera and Coppo Monteriolo Chardonnay”
• Martin at Enofylz Wine Blog shares “Historic Wines, Timeless Pairings: Coppo’s Nizza Barbera and Barolo with Wild Mushroom Risotto”
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator shares “From Coppo’s UNESCO Cellars: Nizza and Gavi Paired with Shrimp Ceasar and Duck with Winter Squash Gratin”
• Lynn at Savor the Harvest shares “Chardonnay From One of the Oldest Family-Run Wineries in Italy – Coppo“
• Susannah from Avvinare shares “Coppo Shows Piedmont’s Diversity“
• Jeff at Food Wine Click! shares “Dinner with Coppo Wine Cellars Flagship ‘Pomorosso’ Nizza Barbera”