Barbera, Barbera, Barbera

Last Saturday I had lunch with my friend Ken Knight, my vineyard manager Tim Schultz and my neighbor Mark Lyon. The menu was simple: Roasted rosemary chicken and Italian sausages, roasted eggplant and corn. We also had sautéed greens with shaved almonds. For dessert we had fresh fruit.

On the other hand we were very fancy on the wine side: We had three wonderful California Barbera bottles: “Il Gufo”, “Uvaggio” and our own Laughing Raven “Nuovo”. Sometimes business is a tough duty so we had to try them all. ;)

Il Gufo comes from Lodi and it has nice fruit but not as much as Laughing Raven. Uvaggio had more oak but less fruit than the other ones. It was also interesting to taste more alcohol even though the three of them were 14.5% alcohol.

I think our wine showed how much work and caring Mark has put into this small Barbera plot. From the location (close to the river on gravely soils) to the pruning and watering the Cloverdale Enterpise’s Barbera is a showcase of terroir and meticulous maintenance. In the end it more than compensated for the oak and aging. “Nuovo” is fabulous  and the “Il Gufo” and Uvaggion do reflect the fun that Barbera wine can be.