Barbera

When people talk about a Barbera they usually mean one of the three DOC(G) wines: Barbera d' Asti, Barbera d' Alba or Barbera del Monferrato which are made primarily from the Barbera grape.

All three wines have a bright ruby red color when young which turns towards garnet when aged. In their purest form the wines are fresh and full of fruit, they hardly contain tannins but do have a relative high acidity for a red wine.

Asides from these standard easy to drink wines there are also more complex and interesting wines on the market which are better suited to accompany a nice meal or to drink patiently to fully appreciate it.

These wines are produced by longer aging them in wooden barrels which adds more tannins and wood flavors to the wines. As is the case with any wine, terroir also makes a big difference as well as how old the vines are. More complex wines are often recognizable by the addition of the text "Superiore" on the label and/or the name of a specific vineyard where the grapes came from.

More specific information about the allowed grapes, DOC(G) classification and additional details can be found on the wine pages for Barbera d' Asti, Barbera d' Alba or Barbera del Monferrato.