Oh, man. . .there is NOTHING like a really good Italian wine.  Yes, there are excellent French wines.  Of course, there are big, bold Australian wines.  Understandably, there are amazing Argentine wines.  BUT, when it comes to  ‘old world’ taste at new world prices, Italy and Spain clearly get it!  Yes, there are wines from these countries that can cost a lot of money and we’re pretty sure they’re awesome wines, but what we had in mind was something a little different.  We were thinking of a wine that was young, affordable, tasty and easy to find.

“HOLY COW” . . . as Harry Caray used to say on Cubs’ broadcasts–you mean that we’re asking for the big 4?  We want a wine from Italy that’s young.  Okay, this is a 2011 Barbera that has a lot of fruit–not a lot of structure–but a nose that says fruit salad!  And, we want a wine from Italy that’s affordable.  Let’s face it, when you buy an Italian wine in the middle of the week that costs (retail) less than$15 . . . it will grab your attention!  As it should. . .c’mon, this is an Italian wine – value should be its middle name!  It IS–and the price is well within most folks’ wheelhouse; we like this wine because it retails for under $13 a bottle and when you can combine a young wine with a lower price-you’ve got a nice combination!

But wait–you want taste?  You gotta be kidding us?  Really. . .?  It’s not enough to bring you a young, affordable wine?  You want taste?

YEAH, we completely understand!  This wine is sneaky–it’s got a great nose on opening, but the initial taste will cause you to pucker up!  HOWEVER, if you’re willing to decant and wait, this wine will be a winner.  We were really impressed by how much the wine opened up when decantered.  The wine took on different characteristics, taste and nose once we poured it from the bottle to the decanter—AMAZING!  Which leaves us with ‘easy to find’–UM, yeah!  So, if you are a ‘regular’ shopper at full line H-E-B stores, there’s a good chance that the 2010 Barbera del Monferatto is available.  IF?  Well, sometimes the variety is available and sometimes-not!

Simply put, this wine “is a lively and brilliant dark ruby-red. The perfume is fresh and intense with clean scents of wild berries, currants and sour black cherry. A light hint of vanilla and toasted oak. The flavor is warm and robust, full-bodied, pleasant and balanced. This Barbera’s sensory attributes make it an outstanding accompaniment for imposing first courses and main-course, meats boiled or roasted.”    Not sure what that means to those of us who just like to enjoy a good wine, but we’re guessing that it means–this is good wine!  Which is OKAY with us!  Having enjoyed a number of good Italian wines over the years, we’ve learned that when you have a wine with “Intense aromas of wild summer berries, red currants, and cassis, with a hint of licorice. Restrained on the palate, offering black currant and raspberry over light notes of toasty vanilla oak”. . .you’d better grab a hold of it!

We DID!  More importantly, we are excited to bring an ‘Old World’ wine with a great, fruity taste to the ‘New World”.  But, wait–NOW, it’s YOUR turn!  Yep, that’s right!  We’re interested in your opinion. . .so let us know.

Thanks for reading–thanks for enjoying wine–thanks for caring about the community, and thanks for being willing to bring this wine to your friends!!

Please remember to enjoy your favorite wine with responsibility, AND recycle whenever possible.