2010 Franco Serra Barbera d’Alba
We had this wine a while back with a minestrone I made. We picked it up at Plum Market for $10, and when I checked some of the reviews on Cellartracker later, they seemed quite unanimous in that this wine is better with food than on its own. So when we had minestrone with our friends, I decided to pop the bottle.
I am still very puzzled by it. I am not very familiar with wines from Northern Italy, and given that we were having a feast, I also did not bother to properly taste it and take notes. What I can say is that it worked marvelously with the tomato based minestrone I had made, giving it an herbal depth and adding distinct earthy flavors. On its own, it seemed quite tannic and acidic and I also found some slight bitter notes, but with the food this bitterness vanished. I simply could not wrap my head around this one, it was intriguing. I will probably pick up some more bottles, because I like to make minestrone throughout winter, and I really thought this pairing worked very nicely. Would not have thought that when I first tasted the wine. I definitely agree that it should be paired with hearty food.
the winegetter 
I’ll send you my recipe for Beef Barbera (Bourguignonne–replaced by Barbera). I’m pretty sure you’d love this dish, made with and drunk with this wine. And it’s far less complicated to make than schnitzel is. The oven does most of the tending for you.
I do have a boeuf bourguignon recipe that I consider sacred! :) But please, send me your manzo barbera recipe…looking forward to it. I will actually be cooking boeuf bourguignon for Christmas again, maybe I will replace the pinot noir with barbera…
Well, that’s all you need–a sacred bourguignon recipe using barbera, and, of course, saving some to drink with the meal.
With crusty French bread, of course.
Mine is pretty much like all others, except I use whole pearl onions, parboiled then skinned, then sauteed in butter and roasted until tender, after which they’re stirred into the slow-simmered stew 15 minutes before serving. They pop. But peeling them is a bit of a chore.
Thanks!! I love my boeuf with mashed potatoes, I have to say….and I throw in whole, small, peeled shallots and cook them in the sauce which makes them insanely creamy.
I don’t drink it very often- no particular reason, just don’t. It usually is acidic, but usually not very tannic. So that’s a surprise. But if u found a good combo, I’d say its worth it.
Thanks for the feedback. Since the review was written without notes in retrospect, maybe what I considered tannins were not actually tannins. Who knows?