But there’s another factor that goes into the longevity and age-ability of red wines: Acidity! And acidity is something that Barbera has a lot of.

A recent Wine tasting and seminar in Houston had a group of seasoned tasters literally swooning in their seats. They couldn’t believe it, they said, that they were tasting expressions of Barbera d’Asti that stretched back to the late 1990s.

Most wine-savvy Americans think of Barbera as a wine to be drunk young. They love the freshness, bright fruit flavors, and  its light body. And they often sing the praises of its food-friendliness. But when you ask most American wine lovers, even those with a lot of wine eduction under their belts, if they’ve ever had an aged Barbera, the answer will most likely be no. And if you ask them if they think that Barbera can age, likewise the answer will probably be no.

In most cases, it’s because they have never had an aged Barbera. But a lot of people, especially those that have spent some time studying viticulture, will say that it can’t age because it lacks tannin and “tannic structure.”

It’s true that robust tannins help Red Wines to age. They act as a sort of anti-oxidant that stops the wine from oxidizing as quickly as it would otherwise. That’s why old red wines can still have rich fruit flavors even when aged over the course of decades.

But there’s another factor that goes into the longevity and age-ability of red wines: Acidity! And acidity is something that Barbera has a lot of.

I first discovered the joy of aged Barbera back when I was working in a wine shop in New York. Wines with ten and even twenty years of bottle age, I found, showed brilliantly, with great freshness and primary, secondary, and tertiary flavors. These were not tired old bottles to be drunk for curiosity’s sake. These were regal bottles to be enjoyed with aged cheeses.

It was no surprise to me that people enjoyed 20-year-old Barbera the other night in Houston. But it made me think about how, again and again, this true “king” of wines is often misunderstood because of how it is perceived.

The post CAN BARBERA D’ASTI AGE? appeared first on My Name is Barbera.