Getting reacquainted with my old friend Barbera (#ItalianFWT)

Once upon a time, Barbera and I were the best of friends. Then I started to hang out with more of the 350+ native grape varieties growing throughout Italy’s 20 wine regions. Needless to say, I neglected my friendship with Barbera.

High time we got reacquainted!

When we first met years ago, I was looking for a reasonably priced Italian red that didn’t need years in the bottle to mellow. Barbera is also that wine I typically recommend to friends who complain of headaches from drinking reds.

“Are the sulfites to blame?” they ask.

“No, no,” I assure them. “Probably the tannins. Try a low-tannin red like Barbera.”

Now that Barbera and I are reconnecting, I can’t help but wonder whether my old friend is still as witty, bright, and cheerful as I remember. Oh yeah, Barbera does have that brooding, dark and complex side, too, which can add to this wine’s allure.

Hope you will join us Saturday 5/1 at 8 am PT/11 am ET when the Italian Food, Wine and Travel bloggers explore all sides of Barbera. A blog post isn’t necessary. Simply follow along on Twitter by using the #ItalianFWT hashtag.

Where’s Barbera from?

Barbera is the most planted red grape in Italy’s Piedmont region of northwest Italy. Though the grape’s become popular outside of Italy in recent decades thanks to improved winemaking technology, food-friendly Barbera was long the everyday red wine of northern Italians. The grape grows elsewhere in Italy, and in California, too, but the three main Piedmontese subregions known for producing high-quality Barbera are:

• Barbera d’Asti DOCG – In 2008, Barbera d’Asti was named a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG), the country’s most strictly regulated wine classification. Growers in Asti plant Barbera on warm, southern-facing hillsides. Two kinds of soil are found here – a “white soil” rich in calcium carbonate, clay, and silt, and the so-called “Asti sands,” made up primarily of marine sediments. High in magnesium, this sandy soil gives Asti wines their widely noted elegance and silkiness.

• Nizza DOCG – This subzone was carved out of Barbera d’Asti in 2000 and became a denomination with the 2014 vintage. Made up of 18 municipalities, Nizza and Nizza Vigna (a single-vineyard designation) must be aged for a minimum of 18 months, six of which must be in wood. Nizza Riserva and Nizza Vigna Riserva must undergo at least 30 months of aging, which includes one year in wood. Restrictions apply to yields, too. Bottlings of Nizza DOCG started with the 2016 vintage.

• Barbera d’Alba DOC – In the Langhe hills around the town of Alba, Nebbiolo is king. The best sites are reserved for Nebbiolo and the wines that this grape has made famous: Barolo and Barbaresco. But some growers are letting their Barbera (and Dolcetto) grow on hillside vineyards close to their Nebbiolo vines. Barbera thrives in this chalky, limestone-rich clay soil and is capable of producing wines that are bold and flavorful.

Reconnecting with the wine:
2017 Diego Conterno Ferrione Barbera d’Alba DOC
100% Barbera

After 20 years working alongside his cousins at Conterno-Fantino, Diego Conterno started his own business in 2000. He is now joined by his son, Stefano, in the Monforte d’Alba subzone, about four miles southeast of Barolo.

This single-vineyard Barbera “Ferrione” hails from a southwest-facing hillside on clay and marl (crumbly earth that contains a substantial amount of calcium carbonate), farmed organically, with a mix of younger vines and some as old as 55 years. Entirely destemmed and fermented in large concrete tanks. Aged for 10 months in large, 500-liter oak barrels.

With a lot of anticipation after this long separation, I invite Barbera to my house for a few meals.

• My tasting notes: This Barbera pours a deep ruby color with a flashy pink rim. Raising the glass to my nose, I get smoky violet, blackberry, and cherry aromas. Blackberry and cranberry dominate a peppery, high-acid and noticeably warm palate, with mild tannins. Medium+ finish. Alcohol: 14.5%. Price: $19.

I’m surprised – has Barbera changed or is it me? I wasn’t expecting this medium-bodied, assertive Barbera to show up. Could be the vineyard, the vintage, or the winemaking style. I suspect that 10 months in oak also deepened this Barbera’s personality. If I were to meet a Barbera grown in Asti sands or one that has spent less time in oak, I’d likely experience another side to this grape.

How did Barbera get along with the food?

Every so often I remind myself that Italy was a nation of city-states. Present-day Italy has only been a unified country since 1861. Various customs and dialects exist throughout Italy.

In the southern area of the Piedmont, geography and history link people to France and they speak a dialect that is a third French and two-thirds Italian. The cuisine also has more of a French influence than you find elsewhere in Italy. Instead of olive oil, Piedmontese cooks favor butter. Risotto and pillowy potato gnocchi are more common than pizza and spaghetti. 

Determined to serve an authentic Piedmontese dish, I found a recipe for gnocchi alla bava made from potato gnocchi and baked with layers of sliced Fontina cheese and pats of butter. Yummy! Barbera’s reaction? Meh. The wine overpowered the gnocchi and cheese.

Next, I went more traditionally Italian with “cacio e pepe” ravioli (black pepper pasta stuffed with Ricotta and Pecorino Romano cheeses), topped with Marinara sauce, and sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Perhaps the highly acidic Barbera would appreciate a tomato-based dish after all, I thought. “It’s OK,” says the Barbera.

Would this bold Barbera prefer meat? How about a Moroccan chicken couscous featuring turmeric and cumin? “No, thanks,” says the Barbera. How about a takeout pepperoni and sausage pizza? “Too spicy,” says the Barbera.

Apparently, I haven’t found the secret sauce, the magic ingredient, the right formula for an ideal Barbera pairing. I haven’t given up, though. I’d like to get together with Barbera again – perhaps a cousin who’s spent his/her formative years in Asti or Nizza. Meanwhile, here are all of the posts about Barbera from this month’s bloggers:

• Linda Whipple is Getting Reacquainted with My Old Friend Barbera on My Full Wine Glass.
• Nicole Ruiz Hudson has “5 Nights of Barbera” on Somm’s Table.
• Terri Oliver Steffes shares Abbona Barbera del Monferrato, Warm and Elegant on Our Good Life.
• Cindy Rynning writes It’s Time to Drink More Barbera! on Grape Experiences.
• Andrea Lemieux asks Wherefore art thou, Barbera d’Asti? on The Quirky Cork.
• Wendy Klik pours 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 Camilla.
• Susannah Gold shares “Barbera – A Look at Asti, Alba and Nizza on Avvinare.
• Jennifer Gentile Martin offers up The Abundance of Barbera in Piedmont with Fontanafredda on Vino Travels.
• Our host, Gwendolyn at Wine Predator, is featuring 2017 Aldo Clerico Barbera D’ Alba with Anchovies, Pizza, Sausage Orecchiette.

Sources: K&L Wines, The kittchen, Wine-searcher, Wine Enthusiast.