Barbera is the third most-planted red grape in Italy and creates laid-back, great-value wines that feature bright, authentic flavors full of food compatibility.

As a generously pigmented variety, barbera is often characterized by an exuberant fruit profile of red and black cherries, fresh plums and sometimes also blue fruit. Juicy by nature, barbera can have high acidity but also a rather delicate tannin composition, which unleashes its succulence and brings an upbeat, plump feel to the tongue, reminiscent of an Argentine bonarda (also once mistaken for barbera) with higher alcohol or a fleshy, round Beaujolais.

The essential terroirs of barbera are found in a trio of appellations in Piedmont: Barbera d’Alba, Barbera d’Asti, and the low-key Barbera del Monferrato. All three produce solid wines for everyday drinking, but Alba and Asti are most capable of producing excellent barberas, with top Alba expressions having a serious, fuller and richer style while the best Barbera d’Asti DOCG (in particular the new denomination Nizza DOCG) tends to deliver more details, structure and finesse. Barbera performs well in warmer sites with heavier soils to yield a deep and plump wine, so global warming means winegrowers in Alba, for example, could now reserve their cooler sites with lighter, chalkier soils for the more lucrative and elegantly powerful nebbiolo.

However, today’s most serious and exciting barberas often possess the complete structure and tactile flavor concentration of a lower yield while retaining a fruity vibe and great drinkability. Occasionally, they give hints of tar, violet, peppery spices, and a mineral twist. In these cases some restrained oak could round off the edginess that some perceive and add more likable layers, without which the wine could come across as one-dimensional, despite good potential.

We are particularly fond of the 2017s which have incredible exuberance and character due to the hot and dry growing season. The vintage highlights how hot years generally make exceptional barberas. It’s a wild combination of color, fruit, acidity and nicely poised high alcohol.

They are immensely drinkable on their own, yet most barberas go wonderfully well with food. This wine’s flamboyant style shines brightest with rich, flavorful, but fatty foods like pizza, burgers, and lasagna. Its tangy acidity knits together the vibrant fruit, rendering a tart quality that brightens the richness of these foods and cleanses the palate. When lightly chilled, it would become an excellent companion to some Asian hot-pots!

So if you are looking for a wine to smoothen a lush dinner or juice up a dense, heavy meal, the following eight bottles that cost a mere $15 are a good starting point.

– Zekun Shuai, associate editor in Beijing