Grape of the Week

  I have decided to do a grape of the week, not sure why, but I just decided. Maybe it's because we just got a "talking to" about being somewhat aware of how our wine list is set up. The list is broken down into different sections, ie; California reds, Italian whites, Northern Italy; and then each section is seeded lightest to fullest. Apparently one of our servers did not know this and to make a long story short no one really knew anything because the big cheese was out of town and the manager from the OTHER place downstairs ended up talking to the table. Which he knows nothing about wine. Which the whole thing is rather embarrassing. Which now we have to show up early and learn more about the wines on our list. Fine by me, I know a thing or two about the world of grapes. So maybe I decided to be nice and share some of my wisdom with you. Don't get used to the nice part.
  I think Old World wines can be intimidating to people who aren't used to them. Understanding a French or Italian wine label can be a bit much if you aren't familiar with the wines. They don't always tell you what's in the bottle. Burgundy isn't a grape, it's a region. That white wine from Burgundy is a chardonnay, that red wine from Burgundy is a pinot noir. In Italy, that bottle of Barolo is made from nebbiolo, and that Barbera is made from.....barbera.
  What??? Yes it's confusing. But that's ok, you'll get over it. I think barbera is a nice grape to start with for the grape of the week. When you see barbera on the label, you are drinking barbera. If you've never had an Italian red before, barbera is a good grape to start with.
  Most barbera is grown in the Piedmont region, which is in northwest Italy. The top of the boot. It is a pretty easy drinking wine. Characteristically, barberas are a bit more fruit forward, and not too tannic at all. Think red and blackberries, maybe some cherry, and a bit of toast or smoke from barrel aging. The lack of tannins are what will make barbera appealing to a novice red wine drinker. Don't know what tannins are? Tannins are what make your cheeks suck in when you taste a wine. Pucker up.
  As far as food, I feel that barberas tend to lend themselves well to quite a few different foods. Of course red meat, but not anything big like a ribeye, which could overwhelm the poor little barbera. Heartier seafood like salmon, or tuna would be ok. Just stay away from anything spicy, or too acidic, like vinaigrettes or tomato sauce. Barberas are pretty acidic, it would just be an awful, acidic mess in your mouth. Trust me.