Barbera: The Svelt

Learn About Barbera

When I hear your name, Barbera, I don’t think of red wine, I think of Conan the Barbarian. I don’t know why. Perhaps, because I think like a thirteen year old. But there is nothing barbaric about you. In fact, Barbera, you are a serious wine, juicy and delicious.

Even as a simple, red table wine you provide a straightforward and drinkable quaff. You have dense magenta pigmentation and a felt-like mouthfeel. You are captivating with the right care, and for this you should be called the prize of Piedmont.

You have soft, mid-tannic edges, Barbera. This gives you a satiny cherry and plum palate. And though you are not considered a classic, you are flavorful and the most widely grown red wine grape in Piedmont. You take second place to Sangiovese in Italy as a whole.

You are heat resistant and therefore have no problems in warm climes. But to your disadvantage, Barbera, this sparks production of your berries and that means your yields are likely to be stretched. You can produce fantastic one-dimensional red wines no less but in colder climes you are supple and full of character.

Mouthwatering chocolate, cherry and fig aromas burst from your wines under cool climes and diligent care. Add to that your high acidic nature, this propels you to a further vibrancy, Barbera.

Considered a native to Piedmont, it is often proposed that Lombardy is your true home.
You ripen late and have berries of various sizes, but your smaller berries, as with most red wine grapes, produce a more intense wine.

Being a workhorse grape as it is, you produce perfectly quality wine in large amounts but when over cropped you fall flat. Oxidation is not your friend and you brown as easily as an apple. Volatile acidity lurks around every corner.


Varietal Styles

    Drinkable
  • Lean, Acidic
  • Sour Cherries
  • Light to Medium Bodied
  • Floral
    Earnest
  • Bright, Smooth
  • Ripe Cherries
  • Medium-Bodied
  • Rich

Grape Styles
Mulberry | Sour Cherry | Bing Cherry | Plum | Vanilla | Cinnamon

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