Bewildered by Italian Wine: Barbera, Barolo, Barbaresco, and More!
– B is for 'baffled no more' & 'breaking down' Piemonte & Tuscany label barriers
Bolgheri Vineyard & Mediterranean Sea in background - Photo credit: Eric Malcolm
Barbera, Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello, Bolgheri… Beyond confusing! B’s, Bs Everywhere are B’s!
How many times has a Cork Fine Wine customer said, “I would like a bottle of Italian. I like Barolo, Barberesca, Barbenese, and Barberella!” Other than Barolo, these are not real names! People are just so confused they are mixing up the syllables. (And well maybe I embellished a little, I just invented Barbenese because, why not, right?)
How do I politely ask which one they really know without embarrassing them? Or do I just focus on Barolo as they got that one right?! I want people to feel bold between the bottles. Let’s break barriers by breaking it down!
The buzz begins on a Piemonte wine bottle label. I mean literally on. Humor me by honing into your imaginary inner bug or buzzing bee walking along the surface of the label’s embossed font.
Insert eye roll … you have really outdone yourself this time!
I don’t want to be banal or boring! I am concerned that this is too technical a read!
Back to Piemonte, which is in Northwest Italy with Torino (Turin) as the area’s main city.
Let’s begin with:
B is for Barbera,
Barbera is a grape. Barbera labels create confusion with the names: Barbera d’Asti, Barbera d’Alba, and Barbera del Monferrato. In this case, these are the names of the sub-regions that cites both the grape (Barbera) and the towns in proximity: Asti, Alba, and Monferrato respectively.
I wrote about the Barbera sub-region called Nizza a few weeks ago. What I later realized is the featured wine does not include “Barbera” on the bottle ANYWHERE! So, in this case you must be aware that Nizza sub-region produces 100% Barbera … tricky! Problematic really, particularly as Piemonte’s other “B”s have a very different taste profile! It’s not like you just want to mix and match these wines in this case (pun intended!)
Recap:
Piemonte: Wine Region.
Barbera (red): Grape.
Asti, Alba, Monferrato: Towns.
Barbera d’Asti, Barbera d’Alba, Barbera di Monferrato, Nizza: Wine Sub-regions.
Style: Old world medium body red - refer to Nizza post
B is for Barolo & Barbaresco.
Also befuddling, given that the first three letters, like Barbera, are B-A-R. And these wines are all still from Piemonte (see the map!) No wonder customers are making names up!
Barolo & Barbaresco are both sub-regions that take their brand from their respective nearby villages. These wines are both made with 100% Nebbiolo grape.
Double ‘BB’!! In the middle of a name! Bonkers!
Other Piemonte sub-regions where wines are made with Nebbiolo: Nebbiolo d’Alba, Roero, Langhe* Nebbiolo, Gattinara, and Ghemme. These all have different nuances in their taste profiles due to their different terroir. Remember that the best vineyards in Piemonte are generally reserved for the bigwigs: Barolo and Barbaresco! Barolo is often called the King of Wines and the Wine of Kings … but that legend is for another post!
Caution. Producers add confusion to labels by using the name Barolo in their winery name (i.e.Terre del Barolo, Marchesi di Barolo) or they print that the winery is located in Barolo on the front label, meaning the town of Barolo, though the grapes are not grown in a Barolo sub-region vineyard. I wonder if they are intentionally being deceptive.
Check the label for the name Barolo, prominent and on its own, followed by the words Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG):
Recap:
Piemonte: Wine Region.
Nebbiolo (red): Grape.
Barolo, Barbaresco : Villages.
Asti: Town.
Nebbiolo d’Alba, Roero, Langhe* Nebbiolo, Gattinara, & Ghemme: Wine Sub-regions
Style: Old World Full Body Red - refer to Nebbiolo post
Note: Both Barbera and Nebbiolo can also be made from the Langhe, Monferrato, and Piemonte wine sub-regions. Wines with theses sub-regions on their labels can be made from many different grapes. They can make white, rosé, or red wines. To ensure you get what you want, check that it has your desired grape written on the bottle. In this case they ACTUALLY WILL have grape varieties written on the label!!
Now, allow your imaginary label little self to bounce off the Piemonte bottle and begin southbound to Tuscany where the Sangiovese grape boldly rules. The city of Florence is the main boss there. Once arrived, bound back onto another B bottle…
B is for Brunello!
In full, ‘Brunello di Montalcino’ is the wine sub-region, with wines made 100% from the Sangiovese grape. Brunello is also the name of a Sangiovese clone. Montalcino is the closest town. The past Montalcino post discusses the Rosso di Montalcino subregion, with the same grape and same overlapping geographical border as the Brunello sub-region, but a different label for a variety of reasons - check out the post if you are curious!
Boy-O-Boy!
Recap:
Tuscany : Wine Region.
Sangiovese: Grape.
Brunello: Sangiovese Clone.
Montalcino: Village.
Brunello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino : Wine Sub-regions.
Style: Old World Full Body Red - refer to Montalcino post
Now head west towards to the Mediterranean Coast, no Tuscany bye-byes yet as we are not leaving it.
B is for Bolgheri
I have yet to write about Bolgheri – shame on me!
Bolgheri is a wine sub-region in Tuscany on the Mediterranean Coast. Most wines are red (80%). This is the birthplace of the wines nicknamed “Super Tuscan!” Super Tuscans are basically Bordeaux blends, but some are single variety wines (100% of one grape only). The wine laws allow up to 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and/or Merlot (all Bordeaux grapes). They also allow non-Bordeaux grapes; up to 50% Syrah and 50% Sangiovese.
Rosé wines are permitted to be made with these same grapes.
The white grapes allowed are Sauvignon Blanc, Vermentino, and Viognier.
Recap:
Tuscany : Wine Region.
Red: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Syrah, and Sangiovese: Grapes.
Whites: Sauvignon Blanc, Vermentino, and Viognier: Grapes.
Montalcino: Village.
Bolgheri: Wine Sub-regions.
Style: Full body wine - Deep colored, moderate to pronounced intensity wines with red plum, blackberry and black currant, vanilla, and sweet spice.
You blabbed to me before that you were going to also embrace the “B”s of France too… But to be blunt! I believe you better break off now! My brain begs for a breather!
Boy, I am beat too! Let’s touch base back in France’s B-ville another time!
On that basis … I beseech a bottle of …
B is for Barbaresco…
Lodali Barbaresco Rocche Dei 7 Fratelli 2019 from Barbaresco, Piemonte, Italy
Style: Old World Full Body Red
Varieties: 100% Nebbiolo
This moderate intensity, elegant yet well-structured wine has aromas of rose blossoms and flavors of sour red cherry, sweet red cherry, strawberry, cinnamon with the complexity of tar, cheese-funk, cedar, and wet leaves. It has very high tannins that started rustic and softened with decanting. This wine is just a smidge short of being outstanding.
Best pairings: Veal Tomato Sauce over Fresh Linguini, Grilled Beef Steak, Stews, Duck, Genoa & Calabrese Sausage, & Smoked Gouda, Jura Montagne, & Parmigiano Reggiano.
Serving Temperature: 18 degrees Celsius
Price: ~$64 (incl. Shades of Grape 15% discount & 5% gst)
Serving Tips: Decant for minimum 1 hrs depending on your desired level of tannins. (after 1 hour the tannins were still a little rugged but no longer “rustic”)
I have compiled all my relevant wine recommendations in one place. I will do my best to keep this up to date. This version also has links on where to find the wines in Alberta. I also include the link(s) to the article in which the wine was featured.
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You have questions or have a topic you would like me to cover? Or anything really! Click on the comment button below!
SOURCES:
Langhe Doc " Italian wine central (no date) Italian Wine Central. Available at: https://italianwinecentral.com/denomination/langhe-doc/ (Accessed: 04 March 2024).
Langhe, Piedmont [piemonte] - italy wine region: Wine-searcher (2023) Wine. Available at: https://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-langhe (Accessed: 04 March 2024).
Robinson, J. (2015) The oxford companion to wine. 4th rev. ed. Corby: Oxford University Press.
Wine & Spirit Education Trust (2021) D3: Wines of the World - An accompaniment to the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines. Version 1.2. London: Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Laughed my way through this. A wonderful way to take us on the BAR journey!
Bairrada, Beira Interior are my fave B regions. I am completely Portugal biased 🤣