Barbera
Black-skinned, from Italy
Barbera is a high-acid, low-tannin red grape from Piedmont that makes fresh everyday reds and more serious oaked wines.
Also known as
Barbera d'Asti
Barbera is a black-skinned Vitis vinifera variety whose country of origin is Italy. Genetic studies, including a 2020 Scientific Reports paper, place it within the network of ancient northwestern Italian cultivars.
The grape's heartland is Piedmont, especially the Monferrato hills around Asti and Alessandria, and it is the region's most widespread red variety. It also grows elsewhere in Italy - Oltrepò Pavese, Colli Piacentini, Franciacorta, Umbria, Campania and Sicily - and has travelled to California, South America, Australia and South Africa.
Barbera wines are deep in colour, full in body, low in tannin and notably high in acidity. Young wines smell of fresh cherry, raspberry, blackberry and plum; oak ageing can add vanilla. Styles range from light, fruity everyday reds to richer, barrel-aged versions, which can age when acid and fruit are in balance.
Where to taste Barbera
218 wineries pour it, under any of its names.
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