A Barbera for Mary: A Tribute to Family Tradition.
Every wine has a story, and Viberti's La Gemella is more than just a Barbera: it is a tribute to the family, a tribute to Maria, Claudio Viberti's mother, who for more than 50 years was the soul of the kitchen at Il Buon Padre restaurant.
Maria was not just a cook: she was a central figure in the family, a woman who passed on passion, discipline and respect for traditions. La Gemella Barbera was created to celebrate her spirit, her dedication and her love of the land and food.
But Maria was not only the cook of the family. She was also a twin by birth, and from this peculiarity of hers came the name of the wine: La Gemella.
Mary had a clear philosophy about wine:
"Barolo is drunk on Saturdays and Sundays, for special occasions. But Barbera is the wine of the week, the people's wine, the wine you drink Monday through Friday."
And it is precisely this idea that inspired Claudio in the creation of La Gemella: a Barbera that is not built to impress, but to accompany everyday life, with the same simplicity and authenticity with which his mother prepared traditional dishes
The La Gemella project began in 2004, when Claudio decided to plant 11 hectares of Barbera on two distinct areas:
- Côte de Vergne, 430 meters above sea level, with compact, less sandy soils, southern exposure, planting at 4,800 vines per hectare
- Cascina Nuova, in front of Vergne cemetery, at 380 meters, with looser soils, high density planting (over 8,000 vines per hectare)
The goal? To create concentration and intensity while reducing productivity per plant.
In an area dominated by Nebbiolo, this choice might have seemed risky. But Claudio had a clear vision: to show that Barbera, if cultivated critically and vinified carefully, could express an elegance and depth equal to the great wines of the Langa.