Rainy season continues to linger in Napa Valley and presently it seemingly delivers a storm every few days.  With such weather comes the ideal opportunity to drink red wine but as spring also nears, one finds that the palate is somewhat exhausted from heavy tannins.  This bears a timely educational question.    Is all red wine tannic?   The answer is no.   There are red wine grapes which are harvested earlier in the season and do not have the heavy, overpowering tannins often associated with red wine such as cabernet sauvignon.   Barbera is one of these lesser tannic red wines.

Originally hailing from Northwestern Italy and grown in California, Barbera, simply put, is a “party wine”.   If found made well, it is easy going, flavorful with bouncy fruit and saucy acidity.  Even though it lacks tannins, do not assume that the wine lacks structure.  If grown in the proper region and harvested at the right time, the acidity and fruit components play off one another to create a lively lush red wine.  The grape itself does not like a lot of heat and is not overly picky about its soil.  While at first it seems like a low-maintenance grape, if it is grown in an area that is too warm for it, its alcohol level will be high and the fruit nuances will seem lacking or flabby.   But find Barbera grown in an area where it thrives, it is an affordable, bouncy, fun, vivacious red wine that you would want to invite to any festivity.

Leaving Napa Valley and heading over the hill to neighboring Sonoma Valley, Mayo Family Winery released a 2006 Barbera which embraces this carefree, casual and easy going nature of the grape.   Pouring it into the glass, the coloring of the wine exhibits the trademark beautiful, bright ruby jewel-toned hue for which Barbera is known.   As your nose explores the top rim of your wine glass, it is seduced by big aromas of luscious strawberry jam, cranberry, plum and a hint of spice.   The presence of red fruit in this wine is undeniable.   Despite the 2006 Barbera’s noticeable acidity, the wine is smooth.  The balance between bright red fruit and acidity is noted, so that the wine does feign a pleasant structure with flavors of cranberry, pepper, strawberry, red raspberry and warm fennel.   While the wine does not have a long finish (nor should it), its finish is short, sweet and uncomplicated (like many things in life should be).

As for food pairings, tomato-based dishes are intuitive due to Barbera’s inherent acidity.   While this leads the imagination to a bevy of Italian inspired dishes, it should be noted that due to the bright lush red fruit in the wine, vegetables in general will pair brilliantly and not get lost (as they do with other more tannic red wines).    Taking this into account, this week’s menu holds:

·        Vegetarian Lasagna

Preparing my vegetarian lasagna, I first chose my vegetables:   sweet onion, spinach, artichoke and carrot.   Rather than use a white sauce, I used a traditional red marinara sauce to pair with the acidity in the wine.   To add richer flavor and as a healthier alternative, I used whole wheat lasagna noodles.  Spices, mozzarella, part-skim ricotta, garlic were the next usual suspects but to add a different kick and flare to the dish, I crumbled herbed feta cheese across the top.

The result was a lively vegetarian lasagna compatible with the bright fruit and festive acidity of the 2006 Barbera.   The carrots in the dish became sweeter when noted with the wine.   It should be noted, however, that while artichokes were included in the recipe, they were kept at a balance such that they did not unduly influence the wine.   Artichokes must be used cautiously when pairing a wine because when taken together, the artichoke causes a chemical reaction which actually makes the wine taste sweeter than it truly is.   As a result, if you are seeking to truly appreciate the wine on its own merits, keep artichoke pairings to a minimum.

The lasting impression of the wine and food is mere pleasant simplicity.   The dish is not overwhelmed by the wine and similarly the 2006 Barbera does not get lost in the seasonings or flavors of the meal.   Instead, they are a copasetic duo which vividly remind one that not all things in life are meant to be complicated and instead to sit back, relax and dream of hopeful things to come.