Barbera Wine
Barbera is one of Italy's most versatile red grapes, prized for its deep colour, ripe red berry fruit and naturally soft, velvety mouthfeel.
At Soumah, Barbera plays a starring role in our d'Soumah range, where it's blended with Nebbiolo to create a savoury, elegant red with real length and character.
What is the Barbera Grape?
The Barbera grape is native to Piedmont in north-eastern Italy, traditionally grown below Nebbiolo across the region's cooler hillside vineyards. Where Nebbiolo is known for firm tannin and structure, Barbera brings the opposite strengths to a blend: ripe fruit, lower tannin and a naturally velvety texture, which is why the two varieties have long been paired in Piedmontese winemaking.
One of the most recognisable expressions of the grape internationally is Barbera d'Asti, a protected Italian appellation (DOCG) for single-varietal Barbera wines grown specifically in the Asti area of Piedmont. Soumah grows Barbera and also buys some King Valley Barbera fruit to supplement our own production.
Growing Barbera in a Cool Climate Vineyard
Barbera ripens at roughly the same time as Shiraz, earlier than Nebbiolo and Cabernet Sauvignon. What sets Yarra Valley Barbera apart from the fuller, riper style grown in warmer Australian regions such as Mudgee or the Adelaide Hills is restraint. Our cooler nights hold onto the grape's natural acidity instead of letting sugar run ahead of flavour, so the fruit stays fresh rather than becoming jammy.
Barbera Red Wine, Two Ways
Our Barbera red wine is presently blended with Nebbiolo rather than bottled alone. Although a straight Yarra Valley Single Vineyard Barbera will be available from the 2027 vintage onwards to supplement the popular blended wine. In the existing blend the Nebbiolo contributes tannin, structure and a lift of wild herbs and violets, while the Barbera fills in with ripe red berry fruit and a velvet mouthfeel, a pairing of two noble north-eastern Italian varieties that has become one of our most requested cellar door pours.
If you want Barbera on its own terms you will need to wait till our 2027 Single Vineyard wine is released or you can try one of our imported wines. We have two expressions of DOC Barbera’ Alba in our imported range. These are sourced directly from small Piedmont producers and sold alongside our estate range. Serve either style with a light chill, closer to cellar temperature than room temperature, to keep the wine feeling bright and savoury.
Try both all our Barbera wines at the cellar door, or shop the range on our website. A great place to treat yourself to a little slice of Italy delivered directly to your home.
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