Category Archives: Piedmont

2011 Bartenura Moscato

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I picked up this bottle at Vin Bin a month or so ago when I went hunting for our usual bottle of Moscato. It was more expensive at $19 but I thought we’d give it a try. How did it compare?

ColonelGrape: 80. I gave the bottle I’ve liked the most an 85 (Soria Bruno Cascina del Santuario) so I’m going a little lower here. It was the usual Moscato being very light, mild bubbles, and big on sweetness. It’s very low alcohol content makes it easy to drink and perfect for an aperitif, desert, or even with some light meals…I’m sure Moby would even have it with breakfast. Definitely a wine you need to be in the mood for but when the time is right it’s a nice wine to relax with.

MobyGrape: 88.  This wasn’t my favorite Moscato that we had, but it pretty much lived up to what I expected.  Delicately bubbly (enough so you have an excuse to pull out the champagne flutes) and a very light flavor, it was sweet without being overbearing.  Like if you get too ambitious and you kind of chug it because it’s delicious (not that I’d ever do that) you won’t find yourself having to try and keep an unruly burp from erupting (once again, not that I’ve ever done that) and come off as less Bond girl, and more Bud girl.  I think it’s safe to say that at this point I like Moscato, it’s just a matter of finding my favorite producer.

2010 Renato Ratti Barbera d’Alba

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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.

2007 Silvio Giamello Vicenziana Barbaresco

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Barbaresco is made from the Nebbiolo grape in Piedmont. You might be thinking that sounds familiar and you’d be right because Barolo is also made with the same grape in the same region.  In fact, these two wines are produced as close as 10 miles apart in some vineyards.

While they share many similarities there are also differences between the two wines hence two seperate classifications. The main difference is the terrior, or effect the land has on the product, of the wine. Barbaresco is grown in a more southern and maritime climate therefore the grapes reach ripeness sooner. This allows earlier fermentation and a wine with softer, albeit still strong, tannins. Barbaresco is approachable sooner than a Barolo but doesn’t have quite the aging potential. These are all subtle differences though and the only way to really experience the difference is to try multiple examples of each wine and see for yourself. I purchased this bottle at the Wine Library for $35 and we weren’t disappointed. We enjoyed it with rigatoni with meat sauce and garlic bread.

colonelgrape: 91. Like most big wines (Cabernet, Barolo, Barbaresco, etc) I would recommend decanting for at least 30-60 minutes prior to drinking. This will allow the tannins to soften, the flavor to come out, and the wine to reach a more appropriate drinking temperature. Right away I tasted notes of cherry, earth, leather and Moby detected hints of anise. Definitely a classic Nebbiolo wine. The tannins gave the wine structure but weren’t in your face after decanting. The finish was long and pleasant. This wine is very drinkable right now and over the next few years. I’d recommend it with a rustic meal like osso buco, porketta, or lasagna.

MobyGrape: 87. Let this one breathe for a minute before you drink it, the first sip right away (because I couldn’t wait, obviously) was super dry and kind of sour tasting but it really turns around after a few just hanging out. I picked up a kind of musty earthy anise taste and smell, but not in a bad way, it was subtle like a nicely flavored cookie kind of way, not like chewing on a piece of licorice.  Then I heard the Colonel mention cherry, and I certainly pick that up as well, but it wasn’t overly fruity, or like drinking a cherry you picked up off the ground.  I know this sounds like an odd combination but trust me, it’s quite good, and the flavors work well together.

2011 Soria Bruno Cascina del Santuario Moscato d’Asti

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Moscato d’Asti is an Italian sparkling white wine made from a white variety of Muscat grapes called Muscato Bianco. It’s typically thought of as a desert wine due to it’s sweetness and low alcohol content (5.5% in this case) however I also think it can work as an aperitif. Here’s where it gets slightly confusing:

Asti: A region of Italy in Piedmont; Also a sparkling white wine made from Muscato Bianco

Moscato d’Asti: Like Asti (the wine) however less sparkling and less alcohol. Also made from Muscato Bianco.

Aperitif: Alcoholic beverages normally served before a meal.

As you can see Asti can refer to the region of Asti or the sparkling white wine. I have no idea why they decided to do it that way but they did and now we have to deal with it. What’s the difference between Moscato d’Asti, Asti, and Champagne? Two things: First, Champagne can only come from the Champagne region in France, regardless of the wine itself. Second, the true difference is the way the wine gets it’s sparkling properties. Champagne uses secondary fermentation and Asti wines use the Charmat method. It’s a long and detailed story describing the methods but if you’re ever curious look them up!

We decided to open this bottle as an aperitif on Christmas eve since two of our guests are not into non-sweet wines (I’ll have to work on that). We enjoyed some nice honey goat cheese and crackers and the wine was great:

MobyGrape: 89. I thoroughly enjoyed this guy!  I tend to enjoy
the sweeter varities of sparkling wines, and this was just sweet
enough without being overbearing, and wasn’t too fizzy so it was
perfectly fine to have with appetizers or really light meals.  It was
the Goldie Locks of sparkling wine for the evening.  Just right.  I
feel like this would pair well with french toast, and it’s light
enough to enjoy with a nice brunch.

colonelgrape: 85. Full disclaimer: I am not a huge sparkling wine fan as we know so take my rating with a grain of salt. That being said…this Moscato d’Asti was quite good. I liked how it was only semi-sparkling compared with Champagne or Asti…sometimes the bubbles are too much for me, I don’t even like soda that much. It had nice fruit notes and was very mild. I personally prefer Port, Sauternes, or Ice Wine for my desert wines but this would do nicely and it worked well as an aperitif. I don’t think I’d want it with a meal though, it’s so mild I think it would be overpowered easily.

Dinner at 3 Guys

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Moby and I braved the Friday evening traffic to make it to NJ in time for a nice dinner at 3 Guys Pizzeria. It’s a local Italian favorite that serves fantastic pizza as well as a sit down restaurant. The best part is they allow you to BYOB and we took full advantage. UncleGrape appeared from the wine cellar with 3 Barberas to try and off we went.

We started with an assortment of appetizers and the 2011 Bovio Barbera d’Alba: clams casino, fried calamari with mild and hot marinara, broccoli rabe and sweet italian sausage, and garlic bread with mozzarella. That bottle didn’t last long and we were onto the 2010 Renato Ratti Barbera d’Alba. I had the chicken and veal parm while Moby had the gnocchis with vodka sauce. We finished off dinner with the 2009 Camp du Rouss Barbera d’Asti and headed home to get ready for a big day Saturday.

Moby was under the weather for most of the trip so I thought I’d rate and discuss the wines rather than rate them. My rankings for this dinner:

1: 2010 Renato Ratti Barbera d’Alba

2: 2009 Camp du Rouss Barbera d’Asti

3: 2011 Bovio Barbera d’Alba

All three wines were delicious but I think the clear winner was the Renato Ratti. It had the best balance of fruit and acidity and I’d most certainly recommend it. All 3 of these wines should be readily available for less than $25.

How awesome is BYOB? Sadly it’s not a big thing here in New England but they have it everywhere in NJ. Sometimes they charge a corkage fee per bottle but often times it’s still less than the markup on a traditional wine list. I can’t tell you how many times Moby and I have been out to see $25 bottles we love on wine lists for $75 and we simply can’t justify buying it. UncleGrape recommended calling ahead and seeing if local places will charge corkage fees and allow us to BYOB and I’m going to give it a try. Corkage fees may range anywhere from $10 to $25 per bottle…I guess we’ll find out.