This 2010 Renato Ratti is actually one of the wines we had down in New Jersey but didn’t review.  I found it at Wegman’s for $18 and I grabbed a bottle so we could try it again and Moby could actually taste it this time. Renato Ratti is one of UncleGrape’s favorite Barbera producer’s as we talked about in our last Barbera review so we were happy to try it again. We enjoyed this bottle with baked ziti, garlic bread, and our good friend BulbaGrape.

colonelgrape: 93. I really like this Barbera. It’s a serious, dark red color and on the nose you can tell it’s going to be acidic. On the palate it has flavors of ripe dark fruit, plum, some earthy spice and it’s all balanced with some serious acidity…it’s a firm wine but that’s how I like my Barbera’s, young and robust. I agree with Moby that if you’re looking to branch out into red wine and want something different than the usual cab/merlot (gross)/pinot noir get yourself a Barbera. BulbaGrape even liked it, well, said he could tolerate it….which is saying a lot because he’s not a wine guy. First step to oenophilia is tolerating it Bulba!

MobyGrape: 88.  I could have sworn no one liked this wine the first time we had it.  Thankfully the Colonel actually remembers these things however, because I would have been missing out if I never gave the Rat a second chance.  It’s not glamorous, but it’s a solid wine that was just fine to drink before, during, and after a baked ziti dinner.  It’s not overly anything, including expensive, so I’d bust it out for almost any kind of every day meal, or for someone who may kind of like wine but doesn’t know where to start branching out.  We had a guest this evening who’s not heavy into wine and even he enjoyed a taste.  I’m confident he would have had no problem telling us it tasted like garbage if he really didn’t like it.