Blog: Barbera | Grape variety

The grape variety Barbera
The high-quality grape variety Barbera originates from Piedmont, where it has been cultivated since the 13th century in Monferrato. Today, the grape variety is widespread throughout Italy and is considered adaptable and high-yielding. It occupies third place among Italian red grape varieties, after Sangiovese and Montepulciano, with 28,300 hectares under vine. Barbera wines are considered powerful, with pronounced plum aromas, low tannin and full body. Barbera grapes retain their powerful acidity even when grown in hot climates, where they can easily reach 14% alcohol. Especially from Piedmont, where Barbera is the most widespread grape variety, come high quality, single varietal wines of famous DOCs.

Barbera: a phenomenon
The secret merits of Barbera lie in its potential, which includes the concentration of colorants, alcohol and ultimately the complexity of the wines. Provided one restrains the yields and treats the grapes with dignity in the vineyard as well as in the cellar. Then this grape variety, rich in acidity and low in tannins, can shine and fully exploit these advantages. In addition, it is remarkable how the aging in barrique barrels leads to a drastic improvement of the wine, hardly any other grape variety reacts so positively to barrel aging as the Barbera. One of the reasons is that the acidity of the grape variety is balanced by the tannins released from the wood.

The Barbera Variations
In general, Barbera is vinified as a single varietal only in some regions of Piedmont, but the grape is known in many parts of Italy where it is used as a blending partner in DOC wines (e.g. Bardolino), is a component of table wines. Below we present the most famous DOC Barbera's from Piedmont:

Barbera d' Alba
Another typical product of the Langhe is Barbera d'Alba, produced near Alba: The town of the red towers, rich in medieval witnesses, where select wines and truffles highlight a gastronomy of authentic taste. Barbera d'Alba changes from the intense ruby red of its youth to amaranth with orange reflections as it matures. The wine smells delicately vinous and tastes full and dry with a pleasant bitter finish. Barbera is excellent with mixed roasts, but also with boiled meat with sauce and marinated game roast. The minimum aging period is one year. It is upgraded to 'Superiore' when it has at least 12.5 degrees of alcohol and two years of aging, one of which is in wooden barrels (today the term Superiore is no longer used). It is worth noting that each 'cascina' (winery) produces a slightly different Barbera compared to the neighboring 'bricco' (hilltop).