First things first let’s talk about the grape. Barbera is grown throughout Italy however in my opinion the best wine comes from two prominent regions located in Piedmont: Asti and Alba. I’ve only tried Barbera from these regions however my Aunt and Uncle have sampled many others and find they are lacking. Barbera wines can vary greatly from a nice medium body, fruity flavor meant to be drank young to a more complex, intense wine that may need aging. They do have one thing in common though: dark ruby color, tannins, and strong acidity. I think the versatility and deliciousness of this grape just furthers the notion that Piedmont is King when it comes to Italian wine.

Top notch Barbera producers according to my Uncle: Vietti, Renato Ratti, Bovio, Coppo, Conterno, and Giacosa. Once I find some of these wines I will let you know what we thing!

On to the wine…Moby and I spent Sunday afternoon making homemade tomato sauce with hot Italian sausage. We whipped up some garlic bread and headed to the wine cellar to find the perfect match and came back with this 2010 Barbera d’Asti. For $18 this young Barbera was just what we needed.

colonelgrape: 87. A very delicious wine. A deep red color but it’s young and alive. Low tannins but quite acidic, nice and tart. I taste a nice bouquet of fruit, both red and dark….but I’d say raspberry is the most prominent. Very fresh tasting. I think this is one to drink young, it doesn’t have the tannins to be  cellared but it doesn’t need it. Stands up without food nicely.

MobyGrape: 86.  This was a tasty wine, wasn’t super dry or winey, and it certainly wasn’t crappy.  There wasn’t a super strong flavor but was kind of acidic at the end (read: battery acid) but it gave it a little kick.  This is a good wine to drink when you just feel like having a glass of red wine but don’t want to commit to something enormous.  You don’t necessarily need a meal to go with it, but I think it would be up to the challenge of say, a nice meatball sub or some pasta (like we had with it).