Definition/History
Like Dolcetto, Barbera is the wine named after the grape from which it is made.  With its easy adaptability and versatility, it is grown all over Italy and has even been transplanted to warmer climates such as California and Argentina.  But Barbera thrives most famously in cool Piemonte where it is the most widely planted varietal.  Alba and Asti stand out as the two areas that produce some of the best examples of this wine.

Barbera wasn't considered more than second fiddle to Nebbiolo, that is, until the 1980s when maverick producers such as Giacomo Bologna and Renato Ratti began experimenting with the wine and coddling it with the kind of care and attention usually reserved for Barolo and Barbaresco.

Grape/Flavor Profile
If Nebbiolo is celebrated for its gargantuan tannins, Barbera is distinguished for the very opposite reason.  Barbera's fruit and stems have virtually no tannin at all but compensate for it with a high level of acidity.  Instead of mouth-drying austerity, Barbera's acidity activates the salivary glands and the effect is mouth-watering crispness.  It is for this reason Barbera is one of the easiest wines to pair with food.

But it was the lack of astringency that pushed Barbera to the back of the pack until producers such as the aforementioned Bologna began experimenting in Asti with barrique aging.   Because toasted oak imparts its own tannins and the French barrels' smaller capacity allows for a higher ratio of wood to wine contact, a new kind of Barbera emerged, one with serious body, structure, and aging capability.  Syrupy aged balsamic vinegar, dried figs, ink, black cherries, vanilla, and leather are some of the notes detected in Bologna's acclaimed Bricco dell'Uccellone, first released in the early 1980s.

Meanwhile in Alba, Angelo Gaja, the upstart who turned Barbaresco on its head in the 1960s, also began aging his Barbera Vignarey in French oak and found it harmoniously rounder with a fine balance between acid and tannins.  These days, oak-aged Barbera commands the hefty price expected from those wines deemed worthy to spend time in expensive barriques.  More interestingly, Barbera has been combined with other Piemontese varietals, offering blends that reflect the unique terroir of this northern region, an excellent example of which is La Spinetta's luscious inky Pin from Asti made from Barbera, Nebbiolo, and Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Pairings
As with most Italian wines, the food of the region from which the wine originates is the best pairing.  We recommend anything tomato-based. 

Oak aged Barbera will call for something sturdier, such as osso bucco.