Barbera is an important black grape variety that hails from Piedmont in the Asti region of north west Italy. The grape produces two highly aromatic styles of wine- youthful and fruity with no oak influence or barrel-aged wines with spicy flavours.
Characteristics
Barbera is a late-ripening grape which has medium to deep colour with high acidity and low to medium tannins. It expresses aromas of red fruits like red cherries and plums, along with black pepper (occasionally).
Many Barbera wines are unoaked and fruity, while some producers mature their wines in oak to add complexity. As it has lower levels of tannins, Barbera has little ageing potential and is generally enjoyable when it is youthful and fresh.
Barbera loses a touch of its acidity upon oak ageing and develops richer fruit flavours of plum, cherry and chocolate. Meanwhile, unoaked expressions of this wine are aged in stainless steel vats. This style of wine has flavours of sour cherry, liquorice and a spicy taste. Both the above styles are found in Piedmont in north-west Italy.
Winemaking
Italy
Barbera is the most planted grape variety in the Asti and Alba region of Piedmont in Italy. The wide area around these two towns is home to many DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) and DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) appellations. A majority of which are named after a grape variety and the nearest town.
Two of the most prominent expressions of this grape are Barbera d’Alba DOC and Barbera d’Asti DOCG.
Barbera d’Alba DOC
The best Barbera d’Alba wines come from the hillside sites that are close to the town of Barolo. This expression has a deep colour which turns from ruby to garnet as the wine gets older, with low tannins and high levels of acidity. When consumed young, the wine is bursting with fresh flavours of red fruits like cherries and raspberries, and black fruits like blueberries.
We know that the DOC has strict guidelines for labelling wines, so winemakers can only label their product as Barbera d’Alba if it contains 85 percent or more Barbera grapes. The remaining 15 percent can be Nebbiolo, however, there is strict guideline against the use of Dolcetto grape variety. Winemakers can additionally add the designation of “superior” to their labels if they have aged the wine for 12 months prior to commercial release. The wine must spend at least four months of this duration in oak barrels. Due to its high acidity, Barbera d’Alba can age for several years in a bottle, to allow a beautiful integration of the fruit, oak, tannins and acidity. A Barbera d’Alba DOC wine should also contain a minimum of 12% alcohol with a storage potential of 3 years.
Barbera d’Asti DOCG
Barbera d’Asti is the most popular wine from the Piedmont region and is available in a variety of styles- from lighter less expensive styles that are fresh, fruity, unoaked and great for everyday drinking, to rich, medium- to full-bodied wine that can be aged in oak.
As per DOC regulations, Barbera d’Asti wine must contain a minimum of 90 percent Barbera grape, with other non-aromatic red grape varieties making up for the remaining 10 percent. The guidelines also dictate that the bottles shouldn’t be put for sale before 1 March in the year after harvest and should have a minimum of 12 percent alcohol by volume at the time of their release. To get “superiore” designation, wines must have 12.5 percent ABV, along with a minimum of 14 months of ageing, of which, at least six months are spent in the barrel.
California
The expression of Barbera in California is unoaked, and more full-bodied and fruit-forward as it gets an ample amount of sunlight and warmth.
Serving
Serving temperature – 13 to 15 degrees Celsius
Glass type – Standard red wine glass
Food Pairing
Barbera pairs extremely well with rich dark meats, mushrooms, root vegetables and braised greens as its high acidity cuts through their fattiness. For cheese pairing, choose soft cheeses like gruyère, comté, gouda and Emmenthal. A Barbera wine with black pepper notes will also go well with dishes that are seasoned with cinnamon, nutmeg, white pepper etc.
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