Greg and I are standing in the kitchen in the middle of the afternoon with our noses each in a glass. I’ve entrapped Greg into participating. He surfaced briefly from his office and his day full of meetings and I pounced on the opportunity to rope him into tasting with me. Believe it or not, this often takes more coaxing than you might imagine. He’s got a great palate, but understandably, he doesn’t always feel like reveling in wine-geekiness as I do. Despite this, and somewhat to his detriment, he makes a great sounding board for my pairing ideas. 

I’d been contemplating what to pair with the aged Chablis in our glasses for a couple of hours. One of the reasons I love doing these “Cooking to the Wine” posts is that by starting with the wine, I often come up with ideas for dishes way outside our usual repertoire and it’s much better than anything I might have come up with in advance. Sadly, I can’t take the credit this time.

I was just about to start hitting Greg with my thoughts when he gets a particular look on his face that makes me think that he’s about to make a sarcastic quip. I brace myself. Instead, his expression shifts again a second later and he shoots out: “A swordfish sandwich on a buttered brioche bun with Asian pickles or slaw.” 

It was such a complete and direct thought, shot out so quickly after tasting the wine, that it completely surprised me. Some muse was clearly speaking through him! Like I said, he’s usually great to brainstorm with, but the ideas are not typically so fully formed right off the bat. With inspiration striking like a lightning bolt from on high, I clearly had no choice but to run with it. The muse didn’t lead us astray. It was an awesome pairing. 

Poor Greg. This is how he keeps getting himself roped into my projects. 

AGED CHABLIS

We’ve explored Chablis a few times on this blog, and in-depth here and here. I invite you to take a look at either of those posts for more background on this subregion of Burgundy. Chablis produces unique Chardonnays that are famous for their steely minerality that’s often tinged with notes of crushed oyster shells. 

Since we’ve looked at the basics of the region before, I thought this time I’d do something a little different and explore how this wine ages. A wine that’s known for its intense steel rail minerality might not seem like an obvious candidate for long-term aging beyond a few years to let the wine's intense acidity chillax. Nonetheless, my understanding had always been that the top-tier examples can do it and they often evolve a completely different flavor profile. The fruit notes become more rounded out and golden over time, moving from crisp, green apples, lemon, and lime, to golden apples, apricots, tangerines, and oranges. Nuts and other savory notes also join the party, while the wine’s minerality remains. 

The following descriptions from Vivino lay out how the flavors of Chablis evolve over time in more detail: 

• 1-3 years: Fresh lemon and green apple citrus aromas will be prominent with a backbone of white florals. Other savory aromas at this stage will include white mushroom, yogurt or crème fraîche. And always with Chablis, you have a salty oyster liquor or sea spray aroma. Chablis is undeniably youthful at this stage, but usually quite appealing, particularly the Village wines.

• 3-7 years: The Premier and Grand Cru wines will begin to fully integrate in this age window, and the balance of fruit and savory aromas in the wine will be at its most even. The wines will often begin to display a slight nutty (hazelnut, chestnut) aroma. Cheesy aromas will also become more prominent.

• 7-12 years: Savory flavors will begin to overtake fruit at a rapid pace, but if you like your wines more savory than fruity, many of these wines will still be improving to your taste. Premier Cru and Grand Cru wines are the best candidates for improvement. Village wines will almost all be on the decline.

• 12-15+ years: Only the best wines from top producers will still be improving.

I had a good intellectual understanding of all of this, but I’d never actually experienced it for myself. I really like Chablis’ youthful notes of brine and steel, and these work so well with seafood that most bottles I buy don’t last in the house very long. I also don’t usually have many examples that would be good candidates for aging. . .  except for two. I’ve been holding onto a couple of bottles in “my cellar” with precisely the idea of tasting just what happens. I decided it was time to pop one open! 

My bottle for this very scientific experiment was the Joseph Drouhin Drouhin-Vaudon Vaudésir Grand Cru Chablis 2013. Since I don’t have tasting notes of my own for this wine’s early years, I’m going to borrow two examples to give us an idea of where this wine started:

• Wine Enthusiast: “The great flavor intensity comes from the sunny side of Vaudésir. The wine is rich, yet crisp and packed with lemon and apple fruits, a touch of spice and a steely, young aftertaste. It needs to age, so drink this from 2018.” - Roger Voss

• Wine Spectator: “Offers alluring aromas of ripe apple, floral and citrus, with flavors of mineral and lemon. This white is harmonious and intense, lingering with vibrant acidity that frames the herb and stone accents. Excellent length. Drink now through 2020.” - Bruce Sanderson 

Fast forward eight years from the wine’s vintage and the flavors have definitely evolved. On the nose, there are notes of bruised apples, preserved Meyer lemons, along with a little grapefruit zest. Peaches and apricots are hiding behind the citrus, along with toasted almonds, as well as a dusting of earthy spices and herbs like curry powder and saffron. Greg added that it also had a honeyed note on the nose that made him think the wine was going to be sweet – it was not.

I thought the palate was really interesting and it really took me for quite a ride. Rather than subsiding, the fruit remained very present, in fact, it was more like it had expanded, rounded out, and intensified, rather than being crisp, snappy, and precise. The flavors were similar to those that hit me on the nose –– gold apples, apricots, Meyer lemons, and oranges – and they now had a tangy quality about them. There were some oxidative nutty notes, as well as a sprinkling of the earthy herbs and spices like chamomile, turmeric, coriander, and saffron. Greg added that there was a note that made him think of tart green grapes that had somehow become meaded. The briny flavor I expect from good Chablis was always there, but it took a step back and became more of an undercurrent that rose up at the end to carry the finish.

It was definitely complex and it took us a minute to wrap our heads around the wine. My internal monologue probably went something like this: “Oh that’s interesting! . . . also, kind of  weird. Good interesting or bad interesting? Huh, not sure  . . . Do I like this? Still not sure. . . . No, wait . . .  yeah, yeah I do like this. In fact, I really like this! Gimme more!”

This may sound crazy, but I also think this wine kind of tasted like this sunset.

In this post, you'll find another Grand Cru bottle I opened a few years ago that had 6 years of age at the time, as a point of comparison.  I also have a bottle of another 2013 still on my wine rack, so maybe we’ll check back in another few years and see how that evolves further. 

THE WINE 

Joseph Drouhin is a large operation with vineyards throughout Burgundy, and they also have Domaine Drouhin in Oregon. It’s also family-owned and now in its fourth generation. While they have sizable holdings, they put a strong emphasis on farming conscientiously, and all of their estate vineyards in Burgundy were converted to organic farming by the late 1990s, were certified by Ecocert in 2009, and are now mostly farmed biodynamically. We compared bottles of their Pinots from Burgundy and Oregon in this post from last November, and I went into more detail on the company and family history in there. 

Joseph Drouhin was originally from Chablis, so it’s fitting that his grandson Robert would decide to expand the family’s holding in Burgundy by purchasing vineyards in Chablis. At the time, in the 1960s, that Robert Drouhin began buying land in Chablis, a lot of the vineyard land had been abandoned. He was at the forefront of revitalizing the area. Their headquarters in Chablis is the Moulin de Vaudon, an 18th Century watermill straddling the Serein River, close to the Grand Cru vineyards of Chablis. The company decided to begin adding the name “Vaudon” to their wines from Chablis as of the 2008 vintage, as a sign of allegiance with their historical terroir. 

Photo borrowed from Joseph Drouhin's website.

The Chablis Grand Cru is interesting in that all of the vineyards are located on one single southwest-facing hillside, just outside the town of Chablis on the right bank of the Serein River. It’s all considered one single appellation, but it’s divided into seven official climats, are basically specific vineyard sites with unique characteristics: Blanchot, Bougros, Les Clos, Grenouilles, Preuses, Valmur and Vaudésir. Altogether, Grand Cru Chablis wine makes up about 1% of the region’s production.

Image borrowed from GuildSomm.com

Vaudésir’s wines are known for their elegance and tend to be softer than other Grand Crus, with floral characteristics to balance Chablis' minerality. The vineyard is shaped like an amphitheater. Its particular location on the slope makes it a bit of a heat trap in the summer so that the grapes tend to ripen nicely while maintaining acidity.  This gives the wines a balance that combines weight and minerality. Vaudésir’s soils feed into this effect. There tends to be a higher percentage of clay in the soils of this climat, but the Kimmeridgian soils the area is famous for still run beneath it. The combination of soils adds to the balance of richer fruit notes, while still having beautiful minerality. 

THE PAIRING

I’ve already told you what the wine tasted like to me and how we arrived at the idea of pairing it with a swordfish sandwich on a brioche bun. I executed on Greg’s thoughts and then elaborated on the idea by taking flavor notes I picked up on in the wine and adding them to a marinade for the swordfish – orange juice for the citrus tang, toasted sesame oil for nuttiness, turmeric, and ginger for the earthy aspects. While the dish had a vaguely Asian bent, this in no way was intended to be representative of any one cuisine. I just added flavors I thought would complement the wine. 

When I went to buy the fish and other ingredients for this dish, I happened upon this Turmeric-Ginger-Jalapeño Sauerkraut from Local Cutlure and I thought the flavor combination would be perfect, and an ideal stand-in for the requested “Asian pickles or slaw.” I also found several recipes online for similar sauerkraut including this one and this one. 

If I hadn’t come across this, I was planning to make a broccoli slaw with a peanut or sesame-ginger dressing, and I do this that would’ve still worked well. The sauerkraut added an extra delicious dose of tang, and a little Kewpie mayonnaise added a little extra creamy decadence.

Altogether, this was an incredibly easy dinner to make and it still felt decadent and special enough to match the wine. The flavors all worked really together, and the combination of richness and brininess in the wine was ideal to stand up to a stronger fish like swordfish. The buttery brioche buns also played off the richer notes in the wine beautifully. It was one of those pairings that had us MMMMMM-ing every couple of minutes. SO good and an A+ to Greg for coming up with the idea.

The swordfish would also be delicious served on its own, as shown here.

OTHER POSSIBILITIES 

Before Greg gave me his idea, I was toying with ideas of savory curries of various kinds, as well as options involving saffron. I still think dishes with those flavors would be really good possibilities for this wine. 

Here are a few other dishes on this site that I think would go well:

• Sous Vide Coquilles St. Jacques
  
• Saffron Chickpea Stew with Seafood
  
• Chicken in Saffron Broth with Vegetables
  
• Savory Citrus Chicken with Couscous

PRO TIPS

I wouldn’t recommend serving an aged wine like this tooooo cold, because it will hide some of the fruit. In the case of a lot of aged wines, the fruit notes might be starting to fade, and the last thing you want to do is hide the fruit flavors that are still there. Just pull the bottle out about 20 minutes before you intend to drink it. I also went ahead and decanted it to help the wine open us as well. 

GEEKY DETAILS

You can find a detailed tech sheet here.

Viticulture: Biological cultivation since 1990 and biodynamic cultivation since 1999. Only authorized products for biological cultivation are used.

Harvesting: by hand.

Pressing: very slow so as to respect the fruit. Juices from the last pressings are not retained.

Ageing: Used oak barrel (0% new wood) for 12 months.

seafood, sandwiches, swordfish

dinner

Asian

Servings: 4

By: Nicole Ruiz Hudson

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Orange-Soy Marinated Swordfish Sandwiches

Prep Time: 20 MinCooking Time: 15 MinTotal Time: 35 Min

Ingredients

For the swordfish

• 1.25 to 1.5 lbs swordfish steak (5 to 6 oz per serving. You can cut a large steak into portions ahead of time, or after grilling. Cutting them ahead of time will make for a neater presentation, while keeping a large steak whole will be easier for grilling.)
• Juice of one orange (optional, add a little bit of the orange zest to the marinade as well)
• 2 to 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• ¼ tsp ginger
• ⅛ tsp turmeric
• Pinch of coriander
• Generous pinch of salt

For the sandwiches

• 4 brioche buns
• Butter
• Mayonnaise, to taste (we used Kewpie mayo)
• Turmeric-Ginger-Jalapeño Sauerkraut, store-bought or made, about a ¼ cup per sandwich or to taste (feel free to experiment with slaws or pickles with other Asian-inspired flavorings as well)

Instructions

1. Combine the orange juice (and zest if using), soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, ginger, turmeric, coriander, and salt in a bowl. Place the swordfish in the mixture, toss to coat, and allow it to marinate for 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Lightly butter the brioche buns and warm in a toaster oven until very lightly toasted. Keep warm.
3. Heat a greased grill pan (or grill) over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the swordfish and grill for 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and cook on the second side for another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Build your sandwiches by adding a little mayonnaise and piling on a little sauerkraut onto each bun, followed by a portion of swordfish. Serve.

https://www.sommstable.com/2021/05/Aged-Drouhin-Vaudon-Chablis-with-Swordfish-Sandwiches.html

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For more on Chablis, check out these additional posts:

• Cooking to the Wine: Jean-Marc Brocard Sainte Claire Chablis with Clam and Burrata Pizza
  
• Domaine Savary Chablis Vieilles Vignes with Scallops and Brussels Sprouts 2 Ways
  
• 2 oz Pours: Oyster Pairings at Hog Island Oyster Farm
  
• 2 oz Pours: 16 French Wine Values

This post contains affiliate links, including the following Amazon Associate links, from which I might receive a commission at no cost to you.

Today I’d like to introduce you to my nominee for Italy’s Miss Congeniality Grape award: Barbera. It’s bright, it’s lively, it’s food-friendly, and you don’t have to wait a million years for it to be ready to drink. It’s sometimes referred to as “the people grape,” because while it never seems to get the limelight given to Italy’s superstar grapes, it is what people are drinking day-to-day.  Basically, she’s the fun girl next door you really want to be hanging out with at the party while the cool kids are hogging all the attention. 

Barbera is planted in many areas around Italy, however, it is definitely most associated with the Piedmont region in the northwestern country where it is the most planted grape. It’s believed to have originated here in the hills of Monferrato east of Turin, although this isn’t certain – it’s an ancient grape and its origins are fuzzy. Poor Barbera has long played second-fiddle to Nebbiolo in terms of fame in its home area. Nebbiolo is a fussy diva, both to grow and to make, but it commands high prices so it tends to get preferential treatment when it comes to getting the sweet spots in the vineyards.

I think Barbera may still have its Cinderella moment though. Persnickety Nebbiolo has generally not traveled well. Italian immigrants tended to bring their wine grapes with them as they settled in the New World. While Nebbiolo just never seemed to be quite a home anywhere but Piedmont, Barbera has been more adaptable. It also has a big plus in its favor going forward. This grape tends to show lots of acidity, and it keeps it even when it’s fully ripe in warm climates. I can absolutely see plantings climbing as global warming increases, particularly in areas that already tend to be warm like parts of California and Australia. 

Barbera has another plus in its favor even back home in Italy. While Nebbiolo tends to take years to be ready to drink thanks to its rather harsh tannins, Barbera is good to go much more quickly. There’s a saying that Barbera (along with Dolcetto) is what you drink while you waiting around for the Nebbiolo to be ready. This definitely holds true around here. I have lots of bottles of Barolo and Barbaresco that I’m waiting on to be ready. I also tend to treat them as special occasion wines, whereas Barberas are on regular rotation. 

Barbera tends to show flavors of bright sour cherries, often with a plush, plummy quality, sometimes mixed in with darker fruit flavors, as well as licorice, with a hint of pepper, and dried herbs. I personally also often get a savory tomato note, along with warm earthy flavors as well. You might also get notes of baking spices depending on if the winemaker chose to use oak. It’s made in a range of styles that can vary from juicy, bright and rustic, to deep, dark, polished, and spiced up with oak treatments. The wines tend to show a good depth of flavor and a medium to full body that often feels much lighter thanks to that bright acidity and fairly low tannins. 

This grape is one of my go-to’s for red sauce Italian and one of my very favorite grapes to pair with pizza. Its bright tangy quality works so beautifully with tomatoes, and the flavors of the sauce are mirrored so well in many of the wines that it makes me want to just grab a glass and hunker down next to a pot of simmering tomato sauce with a big hunk of garlic bread. The earthy notes work super well with mushrooms too. Barbera is also a great choice if you’re looking for a red wine to go with seafood thanks to those low tannins. 

Today we’re going to explore five examples from four different areas:

• Barbera d’Asti DOCG  -  This is often considered the best region for Barbera since the grape has less competition for the prime vineyard real estate from its frenemy Nebbiolo. Barberas from this area are known for their finesse, liveliness, and elegance.
  

• Barbera d’Alba DOC - Alba is also well-known for its Barbera, however, here it does have to compete with Nebbiolo for the prime spots. The Barberas here are known for their power and rich, bold flavor.

• Canavese Barbera DOC - This region was new to me. It’s a subalpine region located north of Torino, bordering Valle d'Aosta. The area is known for its castles bringing in a touch of fairy tale flare. They produce red, white, and rosé wines. Nebbiolo is the most widely planted grape, followed by Barbera, Vespolina, and Bonarda. The white wine is made from the Erbaluce grape. The Barberas of the areas are described by the Italian Wine Guide as being “ruby red wine with purple reflections, with a vinous characteristic and slightly fruity aroma and a dry, balanced and full-bodied taste.”

• Santa Ynez Valley, California - California wines almost always tend to express more fruit flavors upfront when compared to Old World wines, thanks to all the time they spend in the sun. The Santa Ynez Valley is in Santa Barbara county which has a great combination of factors in its favor. The hills here run east to west, rather than north to south, and this helps to channel wind inland. This helps grapes keep their acidity, even while they soak up the sunshine. Even for warmer sections of the county, like the Santa Ynez Valley, benefit from this and remain cooler than other inland sections of the state.

THE WINES

Agostino Pavia & Figli Bricco Blina Barbera d’Asti DOCG 2016

100% Barbera  | Average Price: $15 | Farming: Sustainable | Additional details here and here.

Agostino Pavia is a specialist in Barbera, producing four different bottlings of Barbera d’Asti in their line-up. The company is now largely under the control of Agostino’s sons Giuseppe and Mauro, who represent the 5th generation of the family to be in wine production. They’re located in Agliano, one of the best-known villages for the grape in the Asti zone. They farm sustainably and maintain very low yields, so as to showcase the grape at its best. The “Blina” bottling is named for the old-vine vineyard it’s sourced from and is intended as a straightforward expression of Barbera. This wine sees no oak, spending one year in stainless steel, 5 months in bottle. 

The winery also has an agriturismo where guests can stay – noting for future travels!

Tasting Notes: Aromas of black cherry, red berries, black tea, dried herbs, black licorice, and a hint of cinnamon on the nose which must have been coming from the grapes themselves, since there is no oak here. All of the flavors return on the palate and joined by a dab of tomato paste and more mixed herbs. It’s deep and bright with easygoing tannins. The wine is straightforward (as intended), and a good example of the grape. I have similar notes for the 2014 bottling, but with a more rustic vibe and no spice on the nose.

Pairings: I have bought this wine often as I find it to be a good value, so I’ve had it with lots of different things including lasagna, pizza, and arancini with tomato sauce. I’m showcasing it here with a shrimp sauté as an example of a really good red wine and seafood pairing.

There’s no need for a recipe to make this. Simply suaté onions and peppers until tender, then add garlic, tomatoes (canned or fresh), salt and pepper, red chili flakes, and savory herbs of your choosing like oregano or basil. Once everything is tender and saucy, add in shrimp and cook until no longer pink. Serve on its own or on pasta, orzo, or rice. 

Bel-Sit Sichivej Barbera d'Asti Superiore DOCG 2001

100% Barbera | Average Price for all vintages: $15 | Additional details here.

Bel Sit was founded in 1870 and belonged to the Rivella family for 6 generations. It has belonged to Andrea and Gianpiero Scavino since 2019, although they have been producers since 1996. They’re located in the municipality of Castagnole delle Lanze, halfway up an amphitheater-shaped hillside with a southwest aspect overlooking the Langhe. 

The Superiore designation requires that wines have at least 12.5% abv (one percentage point above the regular DOCG requirement), and be aged for at least 14 months, 6 months of which it’s stored in oak or chestnut barrels. I’m not sure about this specific vintage, but the specs for the current vintages say that the wines are fermented in stainless steel vats, then are aged for nine months in French oak barriques, after which they’re allowed to mature for another 15-18 months in barrique.

Tasting Notes: Barbera isn’t a grape that’s known for aging particularly well, but this bottle from 2001 that I pulled from “my cellar” was holding up pretty well with almost 20 years of age when I opened it up last year. It was showing some age, so there were even more savory and earthy notes going on than one would expect to see in a younger wine. Flavors of mushroom, leather, and tobacco were all on display up front, then followed by flavors of sun-dried tomatoes and dried cherries. The grape’s acidity helped to maintain a sense of vibrancy.

Pairing: I find that having an older wine with mushrooms brings an added sense of perceived freshness to the wine and helps to better bring out the fruit notes. This trick worked here. I mixed sautéed mushroom in with leftovers of this Italian Braised Pork which topped crisped up leftover polenta with a generous sprinkle of Parmesan. The wine’s acidity cut through the pork’s richness beautifully, and the mushroom tied all the earthy notes together. 

I opened the next two bottles together and enjoyed them over two nights, and each won the pairing battle one night.

Fratelli Revello Barbera d’Alba 2018 DOC

Barbera| Alcohol: 14.5%  | Average Price:$18 | Farming: Practicing Organic | Additional details here and here.

Brothers Enzo and Carlo Revello took over their father’s nine-hectare estate in 1990, and added a family-run restaurant to the winemaking business, working alongside their wives. The brothers are also very close to respected winemaker Elio Altare, who offered guidance as they switched to making wine full-time after leaving other careers. In 2016, the brothers decided it was time to pass the reigns to the new generation, and decided to split the estate so as to be able to make way for their respective children. Enzo retained the Fratelli Revello label and part ownership of each of the Revello crus. The estate is now under the leadership of his daughter, Elena, and his son, Simone. 

Tasting Notes: Dark cherry notes hit on the nose, along with hints of spice, and a little sun-dried tomato. Dark berries, plum, and black cherry continued on the palate along with black licorice, white pepper, and hints of medicinal herbs. There is a plushness to the texture of the mouthfeel, although the body doesn’t feel heavy (medium/medium +), the acidity remains to create lift, and there’s just a dusting of medium - tannins. 

Pairings: This was a great pairing for an Easy Cioppino. The acidity matched the tomatoes in the soup, and the fairly light tannins didn’t compete with the shellfish. It also worked quite well with gnocchi with beef ragu, but in this case, we would’ve liked just a little more tannin to match the meat.

Cantine Briamara Barbapreve Canavese Barbera DOC 2017 

100% Barbera| Alcohol: 13%  | Purchased for $16.70

I couldn’t find much on this winery, other than a little snippet on the Torino DOC website. This is apparently still a young company that is still evolving from dynamic owners. Elisa and Massimiliano combined the experience they gained from their families and have been focused on grape growing. The back of the bottle has some additional info.

I purchased this wine via Garagiste, and the email offer on this wine also had considerable details on the winemaking which are here abbreviated:

Vineyard altitude: 350 meters above sea level

Soils: Morainic, of glacial origin

Land exposure: South

Yield per hectare: 60 quintals / Ha

Vinification: destemming and crushing, maceration in steel tanks for about 10 days, with short and delicate pumping over.

Aging: 12 months in used Slavonian oak tonneau, minimum 2 months in bottle.

Serving temperature: 16/18 ° C.

Aging Capacity: Exuberant in youth, over time it tames reaching excellent harmony and a delicate balance.

Food matches: Excellent with medium-aged cured meats and cheeses, traditional appetizers, stuffed pasta, second courses with meat.

Tasting Notes: Lightly smoked cherries, red licorice, red plums, and sandalwood aromas hit on the nose. Some darker fruit notes join the smoky cherries and red plums on the palate, with some hints of dried fruits mixed in with the fresh fruit notes. Hints of white pepper, tomato paste, and dried herbs lead to a savory finish. The wine showed a lot of depth and despite being a little lower in alcohol and body than the Fratelli Revello, it showed more structure with more grippy tannins by comparison.

Pairing: This was excellent with Cauliflower Gnocchi with Beef Ragù. The combination of acidity and that extra bit of tannin in the wine worked deliciously with the meat sauce.

I made this basically the same way as this Easy Pork Ragù, but with leftover braised meat. I’ve been making variations of this a lot and you can do this with any leftover braised meat. Check out these recipes for options:

• Cooking to the Wine: Lammidia Anfora Rosso from Abruzzo & Pot Roast with Tomatoes and Chickpeas
  
• Cooking to the Wine: Fontanafredda Barolo and Braised Short Ribs with Mushrooms
  
• Brunello, a Book, and a Boston Butt: Frescobaldi CastelGiocondo Brunello di Montalcino with Italian Braised Pork
  
• Cooking to the Wine: JB Neufeld Ciel du Cheval Cabernet Sauvignon with Instant Pot Lamb Shanks

It also wasn’t bad with the cioppino, however, the extra tannin worked against the wine in this combo.

L.A. Lepiane Walker Vineyard Barbera Los Olivos 2018

100% Barbera| Alcohol: 14%  | Price:$30 (sample), but currently sold out | Farming: Grapes are sourced from Walker Vineyard which is farmed organically. | Additional details here.

I spoke with L.A. Lepiane's winemaker Alison Thomson for participation in the Slow Wine Guide last fall, but her Barbera has been my favorite California expression of the grape since I first tried it a couple of years ago. It’s a wine that just makes me happy. 

She’s pretty much a one-woman show. Food and wine were important in her family. She also had a grandfather who immigrated from Italy and started a grocery store and winery in California, so the traditions were in her blood. She spent time in Piedmont learning on an internship where she learned the rituals of wine at the table.  She completed a masters in agronomy at UC Davis and then went on to work at wineries around California.  The time in Italy stuck with her though, and several of the wines she now makes under her own label are made from Italian grapes. She uses only neutral oak on this wine and minimal sulfur.

Tasting Notes: This wine tastes like summer to me! Sunny, bright red berries greet you on the nose while light floral notes waft in as from a terracotta pot somewhere in the background.

It’s exuberant on the palate with that mix of warm yet bright red fruits and wildflowers. Barbera’s savory notes of tomato and herbs join in on the finish. 

Pairing: I took this wine to share with Greg’s parents in San Diego at Christmas. We enjoyed it with dinner that was a bit of a mix of components. I made arancini out of a mushroom risotto I’d made a few days earlier. Meanwhile, Greg cooked some herbed chicken breasts sous vide which gives them a tender, silky texture.  I made a creamy mushroom sauce to enjoy with them both. This brought out a bit more of the wine’s earthy side, but its vibrance was in no way hidden. 

*****

The rest of the Italian Food Wine Travel group is also exploring Barbera this month. Be sure to check out their posts:

• Linda Whipple is Getting Reacquainted with My Old Friend Barbera on My Full Wine Glass.
• Terri Oliver Steffes shares Abbona Barbera del Monferrato, Warm and Elegant on Our Good Life.
• Cindy Rynning writes It’s Time to Drink More Barbera! on Grape Experiences.
• Andrea Lemieux asks Wherefore art thou, Barbera d’Asti? on The Quirky Cork.
• Wendy Klik pours Vietti Barbera d’Alba Tre Vinge 2018; Organic, Sustainable, Bio-dynamic" on A Day in the Life on the Farm.
• Camilla Mann is Exploring a Few Bottles of Barbera Plus Wild Boar Tamales + 2018 Cascina San Lorenzo Barbera on Culinary Adventures with Camilla.
• Susannah Gold shares "Barbera – A Look at Asti, Alba and Nizza on Avvinare.
• Jennifer Gentile Martin offers up The Abundance of Barbera in Piedmont with Fontanafredda on Vino Travels.
• Our host, Gwendolyn at Wine Predator, is featuring 2017 Aldo Clerico Barbera D’ Alba with Anchovies, Pizza, Sausage Orecchiette.