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Barbera is a dark-skinned red wine grape variety from the hills of north-western Italy. Found in several Italian wine regions other than its native Piedmont (these include Emilia-Romagna, Puglia, Campania and even the island regions Sicily and Sardinia), it is nation's third most commonly planted red wine grape, behind only the ubiquitous Sangiovese and Montepulciano. Barbera grapes are used both in blended wines and varietals, the latter of which will become increasingly common as Italy continues its move towards varietal labeling.
Most wine authorities cite the Monferrato hills around Asti as the variety's birthplace and the vine has traveled widely in the past two centuries. Its peregrinations have led it most notably to Australia, Argentina and California, most likely shadowing Italian migration patterns over the centuries (© All rights reserved, Wine-Searcher). It has this in common with Nebbiolo, although Barbera has adapted much more readily to these new environments than its fussy Piedmontese cousin, and is now responsible for wines of very high quality in each of these countries. Like Nebbiolo, Barbera has been the source of much debate over how it is best treated, with traditionalists arguing in favor of longer maceration and less oak and modernists championing rounder, more approachable wine styles softened by time in barrel.
Being naturally high in acidity, Barbera can be grown in warmer climates without producing overblown, flat wines. Even warmer sites in Sonoma Valley and the Sierra Foothills of California have produced balanced Barbera-based wines. This acidity complements the cherry-like flavors found in typical Barbera, and has contributed to the (largely justified) stereotype of Italian red wines as being ripe, bright and tangy rather than voluptuous and earthy. When young, most Barbera wines have a red cherry zing about them, distinguished from Nebbiolo's zing (by which Barbera is all too often overshadowed) by softer tannins and a certain roundness. When matured in barrel and allowed to age in bottle for a few years, this turns to a denser, sour-cherry note, like baked morello cherries with a hint of vanilla. A warm Merlot-like plumminess is also commonly detectable, although the variety is more closely related to Mourvedre than Merlot. When overheated, a Barbera vine will produce comparatively flat, dull wines with notes redolent of baked prunes and raisins and the trademark cherry flavors turn towards kirsch.
Barbera reaches its zenith in the Piedmont DOCs Barbera d'Asti and Barbera d'Alba, particularly when planted on well-drained slopes with a warm southerly aspect.
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