Barbera

De Wikignôle.

Barbera is a red wine grape variety that is either the most or second most planted variety in Italy. It gives good yields and can impart deep color, low tannins and unusually high levels of acid for a warm-climate red grape.

Century-old vines still exist in many regional vineyards and allow production of long-aging, robust red wines with intense fruit and enhanced tannic content. The best known appellation is Barbera d'Asti. When young, the wines offer a very intense aroma of fresh red and black berries. In the lightest versions notes of cherries, raspberries and blueberries and with notes of blackberry, black cherries and fruit in brandy wines made of more ripe grapes. Many producers adds the flavor of toasted (searing the wood over open fire) oak barrels, obtaining very good results in terms of complexity and longevity when vanilla and ‘toast’ is added to the original fruit aroma. The lightest versions are not recommended for cellaring (fresh fruit replaced by bitterness and notes of dried fruits). Wines with better balance between acid and fruit, often with the addition of oak and high alcohol content - and reduced yields - are more capable of cellaring.