Australian Wine from
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BarberaBarbera is an Italian red wine variety that is best known as the second most important Piedmontese variety after Nebbiolo. It is in fact the most widely planted variety in Piedmont. Its role has been mainly to produce the everyday drinking wines of the region.
De Long's Wine Grape Varietal Table describes Barbera as
Mainly cherries, wide variety to styles from spicy and rich to smoky and smooth...
After years of being in the shadow of Nebbiolo this Italian variety is getting more attention from growers and winemakers and the resulting wines are much better. New methods including yield restrictions and barrel maturation have created what amounts to a new style.
Barbera d'Alba and Barbera d'Asti compete for the title of the best Italian varietal wines made from this variety.
The naturally high acid levels of the grape are a beneficial characteristic of the variety especially in warmer climates. There are considerable plantings elsewhere in Italy as well as in Argentina, California and Australia. Gladstones includes the variety in Maturity Group 5, which means that it will ripen at about the same time as Shiraz and Merlot, and a little earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon and Nebbiolo. On this basis it would seem that there are a large number of potential vineyard sites for Barbera in Australia. The ideal terroir and viticultural regime for the variety has not been agreed upon its native Piedmont, so that there may be many years before we see the best wines produced here. What seems reasonably clear at the moment is that Barbera has probably been easier to get results from in Australia than its noble cousin Nebbiolo. Some of the Australian producers of Barbera wines include
Barbera wine and food pairingThe savory flavours and high acid levels in many Barberas make them ideal accompaniments to Italian style cuisine. You could serve Barbera with most dishes that have a tomato and herb based sauce. Try them with a mushroom risotto.Fatty foods such as roast duck also benefit from being served with acid wines. Maybe you could use Barbera with Duck and Orange Sauce. The wine would be robust enough not to be overwhelmed by the citrus sauce. More food pairing suggestions for this variety I'd love to hear about your suggestions for food pairing with this variety. Back from Barbera to Varieties Index Compare Prices for Barbera |
Barbera at the AAVWS
Twenty-two wines were entered in the Barbera Class at the 2008 Alternative Varieties Wine Show.
David Hook Wines of the Hunter Valley was awarded a gold medal for their 2006 Barbera, and Bronze medals were awarded to Angullong 2007 Barbera (Orange), Brokes Promise 2006 Barbera (Hunter Valley), Clovely Estate 2007 Left Field Barbera (South Burnett) and Mt Langi Ghiran 2007 Nut Tree Hill Barbera (Grampians). Two Fosters company wines were given commendations. Albarino to Zinfandel
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