Let’s look at three of the Piedmont reds: Barolo, Barbaresco, and Barbera d’Alba. Barolo and Barbaresco are stately wines which can reach a great age. When they are good, they smell like wet fir trees and taste like the forest floor. Barolo is the more sonorous and formidable; Barbaresco is ready to drink sooner and can be less austere. Their names identify regions where the wines are made. Both come from the Nebbiolo grape – the “little foggy one” named for the mist which lies over the vineyards at night and in the early mornings. Never turn these wines down if someone offers you a glass.

Barbera d’Alba is different. To begin, Barbera is the name of a type of grape, not a place name. Barbera is grown all over Italy. The vines maintain a high level of acid in the fruit even when grown in heat. Barbera is typically crisp, light, and happy. The wine is ready to drink a year or two after harvest. d’Alba identifies a region close to the small town of Alba in the heart of the Piedmont.

2006 Stefano Farina Barbera d’Alba is a wine which you will want to bring into your house to drink every day. It is a handsome dark garnet color. The nose is delicate with a bare mention of fruit. The first taste shows the balance and restraint of the wine which is one of its most pleasing qualities. The wine remains lightly acid and fresh without sourness. There is a taste of fruit and sun, but it remains hidden until the end when it slips forward to balance the cranberry qualities of the acid. This is a dry wine made to drink with traditional food – say, polenta and sausage or risotto with a gamey fragment of truffle.

Dedalus has this beautiful little wine for you for $13.75.

Tuta 2/3/09