Barbera

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other grapes, see Barbera (grapes), and for other uses, see Barbera (disambiguation). Several terms redirect here: for another grape known as Pignatello, see Perricone; for another grape known as Barberone, see Pascale di Cagliari.
Barbera
Grape (Vitis)
Cluster of Barbera grapes
Color of berry skinNoir
SpeciesVitis vinifera
Also called(more)
OriginItaly
Notable regionsMontferrat (Italy), California, Australia and Argentina
Notable winesNizza, Barbera d'Asti
VIVC number974

Barbera is a red

acidity.[1]

Century-old

oak barrels, which provides for increased complexity, aging potential, and hints of vanilla notes. The lightest versions are generally known for flavors and aromas of fresh fruit and dried fruits, and are not recommended for cellaring. Wines with a better balance between acid and fruit, often with the addition of oak and having a high alcohol content are more capable of cellaring; these wines often result from reduced-yield viticultural methods.[3]

History

An 18th-century engraving of the city of Casal Monferrato in whose cathedral archive the earliest known planting of Barbera is documented

Barbera is believed to have originated in the hills of

Mourvedre.[5] In 1985, the Piedmont region was rocked by a scandal involving Barbera producers illegally adding methanol to their wines,[6] killing over 30 people and causing many more to lose their sight. The bad press and publicity saw a steady decline in Barbera sales and plantings, allowing the grape to be eclipsed by the Montepulciano grape as Italy's second most widely planted red grape variety in the late 1990s.[1]

Viticulture

The Barbera vine is very vigorous and capable of producing high yields if not kept in check by

sugar levels to produce heavier, more fruit-forward wines. In some vintages, these producers may even harvest their Barbera after Nebbiolo.[1]

Barbera can adapt to a wide range of

Mezzogiorno. The different clones can be identified by the size and shape of their grape clusters with the smaller cluster clones producing the highest quality wine. In recent years, viticulturists have been working with clonal selection to increase Barbera's resistance to the leafroll virus.[3]

Winemaking

A Barbera d'Alba from Piedmont

Winemakers working with Barbera have a variety of ways to deal with the grape's high acidity and moderate astringency. The most common has been through blending with varieties lacking those components and creating a softer and potentially more balanced wine as a result.[1]

In the 1970s, the French

phenolic compounds of the grape. This, coupled with reduced maceration time, contributed to the production of softer wines. Lower yields and harvesting riper grapes with more fruit and sugar have been found to be a better balance for Barbera's high acidity.[1]

Wine regions

Barbera wine from Piedmont region

Northwest Italy is the viticultural home for Barbera, but

sparkling
(frizzante) – is rarely exported.

Nizza (also Barbera d'Asti Superiore Nizza before 2014) is a DOCG designation whose zone of production is limited to the comuni (municipalities) of Agliano Terme, Belveglio, Bruno, Calamandrana, Castel Boglione, Castelnuovo Belbo, Castelnuovo Calcea, Castel Rocchero, Cortiglione, Incisa Scapaccino, Moasca, Mombaruzzo, Mombercelli, Nizza Monferrato, Rocchetta Palafea, San Marzano Oliveto, Vaglio Serra and Vinchio within the province of Asti.

Italy

A landscape in Monferrato

As of 2010, there were 20,524 hectares (50,720 acres) of Barbera planted, making it the sixth most widely planted red grape variety in Italy.

Asti province between the towns of Nizza Monferrato, Vinchio, Castelnuovo Calcea, Agliano, Belveglio and Rocchetta is considered among locals to be the "heart" of Barbera in Piedmont. In 2001, the town of Nizza was officially recognized as a sub-region within the greater Barbera d'Asti DOC. Being one of the warmest areas in Asti, Nizza has the potential to produce the ripest Barbera with sugar levels to match some of the grape's high acidity.[1] The wines of Barbera d'Asti tend to be bright in color and elegant while Barbera d'Alba tends to have a deep color with more intense, powerful fruit.[5] In the Alba region many of the best vineyard sites are dedicated to Nebbiolo with Barbera relegated to a secondary location, which limits the quality and quantities of the wines labeled with the Barbera d'Alba DOC. In the Monferrato DOC, Barbera is blended with up to 15% Freisa, Grignolino and Dolcetto and can be slightly sparkling.[3]

Since 2000, it has been possible to produce Barbera d'Asti Superiore, for which the wine must have an alcoholic strength of at least 12.5% by volume, and be aged for at least 14 months, 6 months of which stored in oak or chestnut barrels. Many superior producers refine it in small oak barriques to obtain a rounder taste. The superior has the following sub-zones indicated on the label: Nizza, Tinella, or Colli Astiani (Asti).

A Cabernet Sauvignon/Barbera blend from the Langhe DOC in Piedmont.

Outside Piedmont, Barbera is found throughout Italy, often as a component in mass

Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) wine of Taurasi though it is rarely used.[3]

Outside Italy

Although Barbera plantings of over 12,500 hectares (31,000 acres) existed as of 2010 outside Italy, it is rarely found in Europe except for small plantings in

Slovenia
.

The influence of Italian immigrants has led to a scattering of Barbera plantings in South America, notably in Argentina, Brazil, and

San Juan provinces, and used mostly for blending.[8]

There are some small plantings in

Israel.[1]

Barbera came to

Shiraz and Merlot, and that it should theoretically find a successful home in many Australian wine regions.[10]
Australian wine producers have found some success with Barbera in Victoria. Mount Broke Wines of Broke, is one of the few in New South Wales, Australia.

Wellington and Paarl.[1]

In the United States, there are 4,693 hectares (11,600 acres) of plantings mostly in California, where Barbera is one of the most successful of the Piemontese grapes to be adopted in the state. It is widely planted in the

Walla Walla, and Columbia Valley AVAs. So far these very young vines have produced fruity wines with strawberry notes and limited complexity and aging potential.[11] In addition to Washington, in the Umpqua AVA of Oregon plantings of Barbara is proving successful, as well as plantings in central and southern Arizona.[12]

Wines

As with many grapes that are widely planted, there is a wide range of quality and variety of Barbera wines from

medium bodied, fruity wines to more powerful, intense examples that need cellaring. Some characteristics of the variety are more consistent—namely its deep ruby color, pink rim, pronounced acidity, and normally rather modest levels of tannins.[3] The acidity of Barbera makes it a valued plant in warm climate regions where acidification is usually needed. The color of Barbera makes it a value blending grape and it was historically used in the Barolo & Barberesco region to add color to the natural light Nebbiolo grape.[1]

The use of oak for fermentation or maturation can have a pronounced influence on the flavor and profile of Barbera. Barrel-influenced Barberas tend to be rounder and richer, with more

aromas and cherry notes. While some producers delay harvest in order to increase sugar levels as a balance to Barbera's acidity, over-ripeness can lead to raisiny flavors.[5]

Relationship to other grapes

Grape breeder Giovanni Dalmasso at the

Veneto wine region used Barbera as one of the parent vines for many of his crosses. Along with Nebbiolo di Dronero (originally thought to be Nebbiolo but later discovered to be an old French wine grape known as Chatus), Dalmasso crossed Barbera to produce Albarossa, Cornarea, Nebbiera, San Michele and Soperga.[13]

Barbera is also a parent variety behind

Cabernet franc), Nigra (with Merlot) and Prodest (also with Merlot).[13]

Despite similarities in names, Barbera has no close genetic relationship with the Campanian wine grape

color mutation of Barbera but rather its own distinct variety.[13]

Synonyms

Barbera is known under a variety of local synonyms throughout Italy and worldwide. These include Barber a Raspo, Barbera a Peduncolo, Barbera Amaro, Barbera Crna, Barbera Forte, Barbera Mercantile, Barbera Nera, Barbera Nostrana, Barbera Riccia, Barbera Rissa, Barbera Rosa, Barbera Vera, Barberone, Barbexinis, Besgano, Cosses Barbusen, Gaietto, Lombardesca, Perricone, Pignatello and Ughetta.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-19-860990-6
  2. ^ "Wine Varietals Guide - Types of Grapes | Wine of the Month Club". The International Wine of the Month Club. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  3. ^
    ISBN 1-85732-999-6
  4. ^ Radden, Rosemary. "Grapes and Wines of the World". The State Library of South Australia, GPO Box 419, Adelaide SA 5001. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
  5. ^
    ISBN 0-15-100714-4
  6. ^ F. Ziliani "Barbera Renaissance in Piemonte" Wine Business Monthly, December 1, 2003
  7. ISBN 978-1-922064-67-7
    .
  8. ^ "Duetto". Casa Valduga. Archived from the original on 2007-08-15. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
  9. ISBN 978-0-9945016-1-5
    .
  10. ^ Higgs, Darby, Emerging Varietal Wines of Australia, Booksurge, 2005
  11. ISBN 0-520-24869-4
  12. ^ Amaranth Ridge, Oakland, Oregon
  13. ^
    ISBN 978-1-846-14446-2
  14. ^ Maul, E.; Eibach, R. (June 1999). "Vitis International Variety Catalogue". Information and Coordination Centre for Biological Diversity (IBV) of the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (BLE), Deichmanns Aue 29, 53179 Bonn, Germany. Archived from the original on 11 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-18.

External links

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