It’s Time to Drink More Barbera!

This just in! Barbera is a delicious and affordable choice to pair with pizza night! I shared this revelation not too long ago with one of my pizza-loving Chianti-swilling friends. She was a bit leery to step out of her comfort zone, but once she did, the rest is wine history!

What about Barbera is so enticing? Once you taste, the answer comes quickly! Barbera is a medium-bodied wine with high acidity and soft tannins. Its fruit-filled aromas and flavors of berries, plums and cherries make it a sumptuous, slightly rustic choice to sip with rich and juicy foods such as burgers, lasagna, pasta carbonara and pizza. And lest I forget, Barbera is shockingly affordable.

The longer version of that answer lies in its backstory. Barbera is the most widely grown red grape and star of Piemonte in northwestern Italy. It was brought to the region after the phylloxera epidemic and flourished. Although Barolo and Barbaresco are more recognized, Barbera is the wine that the locals  consider their go-to drink.

Karen MacNeil, who termed Barbera a “diamond in the rough” in The Wine Bible, explains. “Beginning in the mid-1980s, the quality of Barbera rose dramatically. By planting it in better sites, limiting the yield, and aging the wine in better barrels, Piemontese winemakers began making superbly mouth filling rich wines packed with flavor. Top Barberas also have a natural vivacity – a precision and vibrancy that comes from the grapes’ relatively high acidity. Today, all of the great Barberas come from Piemonte.”

Barbera is cultivated throughout Piemonte, but outstanding examples are produced around Alba (Barbera d’Alba) and near Asti (Barbera d’Asti). Some producers blend Barbera with Nebbiolo in order to match Barbera’s black fruit energy with Nebbiolo’s complex structure.

Last week, I paired a cheesy pizza laden with my favorite vegetables, with a slightly chilled pour of FontanaFredda Briccotondo Piemonte DOC Barbera 2018 ($14), sent as a sample. Trust me when I say that this wine overdelivered on quality for the price. In fact, this impressive, crowd-pleasing wine could easily be shared at an elegant dinner party, picnic dinner, barbecue gathering, or [fill in the blank].

Fontanafredda Estate & Winery is the largest certified organic winery in Piemonte. The 250- acre property in Serralunga d’Alba is comprised of 247 acres of vineyards, 30 acres of woodlands and 10 acres on which lie the cellars and village buildings. Owned are vineyards in Serralunga d’Alba, Diano d’Alba, Barolo, Dogliani, Farigliano, Alba, Rodello, and Murinsengo, at altitudes between 200-400 meters. /The Barbera 2018 was harvested from vineyards across Monferrato and the Langhe with calcareous, sand-rich marly soils. Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks after which the wine was racked into concrete tanks for malolactic fermentation. Aged in Allier and Slovenian oak barrels for a few months, the wine was lightly fined and bottled.

Beautiful in the glass, I found aromas of sweet cherries, blackberries, plums, baking spice, pepper, and the slightest hint of wood. The fresh palate offered plenty of red fruit and spice framed with vibrant acidity and soft tannins. With each bite of pizza then sip of FontanaFredda Briccotondo Piemonte DOC Barbera 2018, I realized how much deliciousness I’ve been missing.

Can you remember the last time you had a glass of Barbera? Perhaps, you’re now enticed to explore Barbera after reading the following articles from my Italian Food Wine Travel (#ItalianFWT) colleagues. I hope so because I’ll be right there with you!

Cheers! ~ Cindy

For more Grape Experiences and a free infographic “4 Keys to a Stellar Wine Pick” click here. 

Enjoy the following articles about Barbera from my #ItalianFWT colleagues.

• Linda Whipple is “Getting reacquainted with my old friend Barbera” on My Full Wine Glass
• Nicole Ruiz Hudson has “5 Nights of Barbera” on SommsTable.com.
• Terri Oliver Steffes shares “Abbona Barbera del Monferrato, Warm and Elegant” on Our Good Life  
• Andrea Lemieux asks “Wherefore art thou, Barbera d’Asti?” on The Quirky Cork 
• Wendy Klik “Vietti Barbera d’Alba Tre Vinge 2018; Organic, Sustainable, Bio-dynamic” on A Day in the Life on the Farm/
• Camilla Mann is “Exploring a Few Bottles of Barbera Plus Wild Boar Tamales + 2018 Cascina San Lorenzo Barbera” on Culinary Adventures with Cam.
• Susannah Gold shares “Barbera – A Look at Asti, Alba and Nizza” on Avvinare.com.
• Jennifer Gentile Martin offers up “The Abundance of Barbera in Piedmont with Fontanafredda” on Vino Travels.
• Here on Wine Predator, we feature “2017 Aldo Clerico Barbera D’ Alba with Anchovies, Pizza, Sausage Orecchiette #ItalianFWT.”