InterWined.com

Liquid Refreshment

6

Mar

Beginning with Barbera

Jacob Gaffney  in Red Wines, Barbera , ,

Today is the first taste of the wine tour of Italy, undertaken by InterWined in order to try to get a better handle on why Italian things make book authors cry.

So it seems only fitting to start with the popular, and often mass produced wines made from the Barbera grape. Wines made from Barbera strike me as the true Italian table wines. Now, slow down, I know many of you probably think different (with images of those baskets of Chianti rocking back and forth in the mind), but Barbera fits the profile better; it’s soft and approachable and usually a disaster in the under £10 range.

Still not convinced? Go to Pizza Express and ask for a bottle of Barbera d’Alba, and you will get a monstrosity of tartness for £15. Yet, great Barberas still often come in at the under £10 mark on the retail side. You just need to do some digging.

For instance, online food and wine merchant, Natoora, used to sell an exquisite Barbera d’Asti for around £6.50. Alas, not anymore. But that’s OK.

I got one even better.

The 2005 Cascina Suria Barbera d’Asti retails around £8. It shows plenty of mineral and ripe red fruit, with even some dried cherry. The wine is nice, with a light body, yet somewhat chewy. Unbelievably, the tannin is quite gripping, whereas with many other Barberas, there is usually sourness instead. Look for a hint of matchstick woodiness to lend a bit of harmony. And chill a bit for the ultimate BBQ pork pairings. This wine is not the stunner the review makes it out to be, but it is really well-rounded, and well priced. And for that, 8.9 points.

Like what you've read? Why not subscribe to InterWined.com and get the lastest posts delivered fresh to your feeder.

Respond To This Topic

Subscribe to this post's comment rss or trackback url

Please Note: Comments are often subject to moderation to help reduce spamming.