red grape · regional staple
Barbera
Monferrato, Piedmont, Italy
Say it
bar·behr·ah
On the palate
red cherryblack cherryblackberryraspberryred plumviolet
How you spot it blind: very high acidity with low tannin, unusual for a full-bodied red
The story
First written down · 1512, Municipality of Chieri, Piedmont
DNA analysis (Marrano et al. 2020, Scientific Reports) confirmed Coccalona Nera as one parent with the second parent unknown, incidentally making Barbera a half-sibling of Welschriesling.
Family tree: unknown × COCCALONA NERA
Where it lives
Barbera d'Asti DOCG (Piedmont) · Barbera d'Alba DOC (Piedmont) · Barbera del Monferrato DOCG (Piedmont) · Oltrepò Pavese DOC (Lombardy)
Shows up as
still redsparklingBarbera d'Asti DOCGNizza DOCGBarbera d'Alba DOC