Yipee! It’s from the Piedmont region in Italy, and costs less than $20.
For me Barbera is the Holy Grail of red wine. I love the down-to-earth feeling, and the un-mistakenly Italian frankness and joyful energy. For me it is not so much a flavor experience but a soulful one ““ nourishing me and lifting my spirits like no other wine. Drinking Barbera makes me happy to be alive. What more can I say? Except to tell you about the wine below, and why I think it’s the best Barbera in the world.
The Viberti family run a small, delightful country restaurant called Buon Padre, in the heart of Italy’s famed Barolo region. Third generation son Claudio carries on the tradition of local hostellerie ““ selling wine and groceries. From the outside everything looks old-world cozy, but once you taste the wines, you’ll realize that Claudio is on the cutting edge of winemaking in this region. One of his projects was to plant a high-density vineyard to produce a more concentrated, less tart Barbera ““ and to name the wine in honour of his mother Maria, the cook of 50 years at Buon Padre restaurant (and a Barbera fan who is a ~ twin, hence La Gemella).
The first time I experienced La Gemella was at a pre-dinner tasting at Buon Padre where it was poured in the company of big-hitting Viberti Barolos. Every wine was a star, but for me Barbera stole the show, and it keeps doing it each year when Kato and I return to Buon Padre with our Italy tour group.
I’m sure you can imagine my excitement when I learned La Gemella was coming to the LCBO ““ for you to experience, and possibly share my love of this wine. A tremendous value.
VIBERTI 16 Barbera d’Alba “˜La Gemella’, Piedmont, Italy
632372 Vintages $18.95
Go to http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo/
P.S. Your bottle(s) will have a little sediment ““ meaning the wine was not overly filtered, stripping it of character, and bacteria that aids digestion.
Speaking of Italy, due to a great response we decided to add ANOTHER TOUR TO ITALY in 2020. Join us and taste Viberti’s Barbera (and a slew of other Barberas and Barolos)! It’s a beautiful part of the world, and a wonderful opportunity to taste incredible wines.
ITALY, Piedmont
September 4 to 14, 2020
Leaves Toronto September 3
More info here.
