colonelgrape: 96. This was an outstanding bottle. It had everything I look for in a great Barbera: a combination of red and black fruit, minerals, lots of acid, and low tannins. It had great structure as well, hitting all the right places on the palate at the right times.  At $36 this is an expensive Barbera but I still say it’s a value bottle due to the quality. It’s hard to find any bottle of wine this good for $35…I’d highly recommend picking a few of these up. Top notch pairing for rustic Italian meals.

MobyGrape: 86. In my attempt to be more domestic I made some crazy Moroccan chicken skewer things (compliments of my more cooking-inclined friend at www.foodstorm.wordpress.com).  The last time I tried to make something involving wooden skewers I was trying to impress the Colonel when we were dating and set the skewers on fire.  I’m pretty sure that meal tasted like smoked shit, but he kindly ate it anyways and hey, he married me after all so let that be a beacon of hope for you ladies out there who aren’t exactly Suzy Homemaker.  While my cooking skills have improved somewhat, there’s a reason I write on a wine blog, instead of a food blog.  I didn’t think a white in our repertoire would stand up to the amount of stuff I put on that chicken so I boldly requested a red that was acidic, possibly a pinot noir or an italian that wasn’t a montepulciano.  I could hear the Colonel laughing all the way to the basement but he still showed up with something I kind of asked for so I’m taking it as a win.  This did pair well with the chicken, it had a tart kick to it but wasn’t too overbearing.  Reminded me of cherries right off the bat.  And after the meal the wine was still easy to drink, seemed to mellow out a bit. So try the skewers, and the wine.  And maybe keep a fire extinguisher handy, just in case.

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.