Fast Facts: Barolo and Barbaresco

Source: Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Roero

Despite the near legendary status of these Piemontese wine regions, it is actually very difficult to find good stats in books or on the web. Just as these monstrous wines are slow to reveal their secrets, so too is the producer consortium, it appears, which seems ok with an Italian-language only website...

Hopefully these quick facts will save you some searching:

Barolo
(awarded DOC in 1966, promoted to DOCG in 1980)
Langhe hills southwest of Alba
Eleven communes: Barolo, La Morra, Monforte d'Alba, Serralunga d’Alba, Castiglio Falletto, Novello, Grinzane Cavour, Verduno, Diano d’Alba, Cherasco, Roddi
Varieties: 100% Nebbiolo
Vineyard Area: 1714 ha / 4286 acres
Production: 10 million bottles
Aging: Three years minimum (at least two years in oak), five years for Riservas

Barbaresco
(awarded DOC in 1966, promoted to DOCG in 1980)
Rolling hills east and northeast of Alba
Three communes: Barbaresco, Neive, Treiso
Varieties: 100% Nebbiolo
Vineyard Area: 680 ha / 1680 acres
Production: approx. 2.5 million bottles
Aging: Two years minimum (at least one year in oak), four years for Riservas

Soils in the Barolo/Barbaresco region are predominantly limestone-rich marls. Note that there are over 800 producers in the two regions, with an average vineyard size of just 5 acres, and average annual production of just 10,000 bottles!

Sources: Oxford Companion to Wine, Vino Italiano, Wikipedia and other

(PS - consider this post a work in progress - please feel free to share any sites/books that could fill in some additional details)