Red grape variety
Bonarda
Argentina’s second most planted red, producing soft, juicy, dark-fruited wines.
What is Bonarda?
Bonarda produces soft, generous, dark-fruited wine at consistently low prices, and is Argentina’s reliable everyday red.
Old vines in the east of Mendoza and in San Juan are producing increasingly serious examples.
Barbera's structure is unusual and explains everything about how it is used: very high acidity, very low tannin, deep colour. Most red varieties deliver acidity and tannin together; Barbera does not.
That makes it exceptionally food-friendly and easy to drink young, and it is why Barbera is the everyday wine of Piedmont while Nebbiolo is the one sold abroad. It ripens earlier than Nebbiolo and can be planted on sites Nebbiolo would not finish on.
It was treated as a workhorse for most of its history. Serious attention from the 1980s — lower yields, riper picking, barrique ageing — produced a fuller, oakier style, and both that and the traditional fresh version are still made.
Barbera d'Asti is generally the more structured and Barbera d'Alba the riper. Neither needs decanting and both are best within five to eight years.
Savoie in eastern France, where it is called Douce Noire.
The Vitis International Variety Catalogue, maintained by the Julius Kühn Institute, holds this variety as accession 2826 under the prime name CORBEAU, with berry skin colour noir and country of origin france. Checked 2026-08-17.
- Barbera — Argentine Bonarda is unrelated to the Italian varieties also called Bonarda (Bonarda Piemontese and Croatina). The name is shared, the grapes are not.
What it tastes like
This is the envelope across every expression of Bonarda, not a description of one bottle. Wide ranges are the honest answer.
| Dimension | Typical | Range | Variation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetness | low | Consistent | |
| Acidity | medium-plus | Some variation | |
| Tannin | medium | Some variation | |
| Alcohol | medium-plus | Some variation | |
| Body | medium-plus | Some variation | |
| Fruit intensity | medium-plus | Some variation | |
| Aromatic intensity | medium | Consistent | |
| Oak influence | low-medium | Some variation | |
| Savoury character | low-medium | Consistent | |
| Floral character | low | Consistent | |
| Herbal / green character | low | Consistent | |
| Spice | low | Consistent | |
| Earthy character | low | Consistent | |
| Perceived freshness | medium | Some variation | |
| Texture | medium-plus | Some variation |
Common flavours
Where it grows
- Mendoza — Argentina
If you like Bonarda, try…
Every suggestion says why it is connected and what will be different.
Closest matches
What is most like this?
Malbec
Argentina’s other red, sharing dark fruit and plush texture.
More structured and floral, and better known.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be more savoury, and softer and rounder.
Montepulciano
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be more savoury, and softer and rounder.
Similar but lighter
Something like this, but lighter?
Dolcetto
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be softer and rounder, and more tannic and structured.
Colorino
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be more tannic and structured, and less oaky.
Rondinella
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be sweeter, and less oaky.
Similar but lower in alcohol
Something like this, but less alcoholic?
Cerasuolo di Vittoria
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be fresher, and more floral.
Dornfelder
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be sweeter, and more floral.
Muscat Bailey A
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be lighter, and sweeter.
Similar but fuller
Something like this, but richer?
Argentine Malbec
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect it to be more floral, and spicier.
McLaren Vale Shiraz
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be spicier, and more tannic and structured.
Toro
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be more tannic and structured, and more savoury.
What to eat with it
Ranked by WineHQ's pairing engine, which reasons from the structure of the dish.
Fillet steak
Works because the finished dish, not the raw ingredient, sets the target.
Turkey
Works because the finished dish, not the raw ingredient, sets the target.
Grilled chicken
Works because ripe fruit balances the bitterness of char and smoke.
Roast chicken
Works because a substantial dish needs a wine of matching weight.
Pork chops
Works because a substantial dish needs a wine of matching weight.
Pork
Works because a substantial dish needs a wine of matching weight.
What to avoid with it
Dishes the pairing engine scores badly, and the principle that explains why. A short list: most things are fine.
Tuna
Noticeable tannin is a risk with fish even where the wine is otherwise a reasonable weight.
A summer barbecue
A dry wine will taste thin and sour against a sweet dish.
Barbecue
A dry wine will taste thin and sour against a sweet dish.
Salmon in a cream sauce
Noticeable tannin is a risk with fish even where the wine is otherwise a reasonable weight.
How to serve it
Temperature
15–17°C
59–63°F · Cellar cool
Most modern rooms are warmer than this. Twenty to thirty minutes in the fridge before serving usually gets a red into range.
Decanting
Optional — it will not hurt, and may help a little
Dense, full-bodied wines tend to open up and show more aroma after time in a decanter.
Glass
Universal wine glass
A medium tulip-shaped glass handles almost everything well. If you own one set of glasses, this is the set to own — the difference between a good universal glass and a grape-specific one is far smaller than the difference between a good glass and a bad one.
Ageing
Most wines made from this grape are for drinking now, but certain styles reward keeping.
Argentina’s second most planted red, and genetically Douce Noire rather than the Italian Bonarda. Usually made soft and fruit-forward for early drinking; old-vine bottlings from the east of Mendoza have more structure and hold several years.
Sources
Sources consulted
- Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) — Julius Kühn-Institut, Institute for Grapevine Breeding Geilweilerhof
- Wines of Argentina / Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura — Wines of Argentina; INV