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Wine 101: What is barbera?

Read time 3 Mins

Posted 17 Apr 2025

By
J’aime Cardillo

A round-up of barbera including Michele Chiarlo Barbera Palas, Billy Button The Affable Barbera, Lingo Adelaide Barbera, TarraWarra Estate Barbera.

The trendy Italian red you’re about to fall in love with.

Barbera, pronounced 'bar-bear-uh' (not like your mum's friend, Barbara), is most famously found in the slopes of Northern Italy. In its homeland, barbera is referred to as the 'everyman wine' or the 'wine of the people' because it's just that – for everyone and just about every meal or occasion. 

Not only is barbera damn delicious, but it's also budget friendly (read: cheap). Barbera is meant to be enjoyed young, which means you don't need to wait around for it to reach its peak – it's ready to go. Into it already? We're here to give you the 101 on barbera.

What is barbera?Barbera is a red wine grape that is high in acidity (similar to fellow Italian grape, nebbiolo), but it's lower in tannin than a nebb. Widely planted in Italy, barbera is most commonly found in the Piedmont region. It's known for its deep, dark fruit flavours and subtle hints of spice.
What does barbera taste like?Okay, what can you expect from barbera? Flavours of sour cherry, licorice, blackberries, dried herbs and even tar (yes, like the road). If you're a fan of merlot or Spain's tempranillo, we're sure you'll love barbera. These wines are usually light and fruity – it's this style that's made to be opened in its youth. It's less common, but not unheard of, for barbera to be aged in oak. The result is a richer, more complex barbera, which will show notes of spice and vanilla.
What should I eat with barbera?Now for the important stuff – what is the best food match for barbera? Barbera is a medium-bodied red wine, which makes it great with food. It's right at home with steak, roast pork or roast duck, along with lamb chops. It (of course) perfectly matches pizza and pasta, especially especially with rich ragu sauces. When pairing barbera to veggies, go for mushrooms and root vegetables like carrots, potatoes and beets. And for those looking for a cheese plate pairing, barbera will match the herbaceous notes of your favourite blue.
Where is barbera found?In Italy, outside of the Piedmont region – where it is the most planted red grape – barbera is also grown in Emilia-Romagna and Campania. You'll also find barbera in California in the US and in Argentina. In our backyard, you can find it in regions like the Hunter Valley, Orange, McLaren Vale, the Adelaide Hills, and the King Valley and Alpine Valleys.
Four excellent barberas to tryBright, fruity and ready to drink – we reckon these four barberas are the perfect pairings for your next Italian feast.

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1. Michele Chiarlo Barbera Palas

Barbera Palas hails from Piedmont, and it's a dry, medium-bodied wine that comes from Michele Chiarlo. The Barbera d'Asti (d'Asti means 'of Asti', the Asti region can be found in Piedmont) has a bright ruby colour with juicy red fruits. This wine is crying out to be paired with a tomato-based pasta, but, if you're going all out, pair it with steamed mussels in a tomato sugo – Nonna would be so proud.

2. Billy Button The Affable Barbera

Billy Button's Barbera is one of the most popular wines in winemaker Jo Marsh's collection with the fruit, which comes from Myrtleford in Victoria, showing red berries, morello cherry, licorice and subtle herbs. This wine is called 'The Affable', which means friendly and good-natured, and that's exactly what it is. We reckon this is the ultimate pizza night wine.

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3. Lingo Adelaide Barbera

Lingo's 'Barbs' is a vibrant, early-drinking barbera that is rich with blackcurrant flavours. This mid-week quaffer will match a huge slab of lasagne (salad optional) or even a bowl of pasta alla puttanesca, which heroes tomato, olives, capers, anchovies and garlic. Yum.

4. TarraWarra Estate Barbera

This wine isn’t available everywhere, but if you see it, grab it. This is a drier, fuller-bodied example with juicy fruit flavours of raspberries, blackberries and cranberries, which are rounded out with plum notes. You'll also taste juniper and dark cherries. This Yarra Valley barbera should be reserved for your Sunday night lamb roast with a side of duck fat roasted potatoes, baby carrots doused in honey and maybe even a few peas.

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Shop related products
Michele ChiarloBarbera Palas
Barbera Palas
$21.99 each
 
Billy ButtonBarbera
Barbera
$34.99 each
 
LingoAdelaide Barbera
Adelaide Barbera
Member Offer
$15 per bottle Non-Member: $19.99 each
 
TarraWarra EstateYarra Valley Barbera
Yarra Valley Barbera
$34.99 each
 
Authour image
J’aime CardilloJ’aime is the Editorial Content Lead at Dan’s Daily, a Western Bulldogs tragic, and has been known to swap a protein shake for a Margarita.
Tags
Hit ListBarberaFood pairingsRed WineWine 101WineItalian region
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