Wine Review - 2009 Bersano Barbera d'Asti: Easy drinking wine from Italy

This wine was a promotional wine for the new Air Miles program. We had other Barberas from the NSLC but not this one. We consider Barbera to be equivalent to Pizza wine overall and by that we mean, it goes well with Italian dishes such as Pizza where you have Cheese, Sauce, and Dough to balance against so the wines have a bit of acidity and tannin. This example from Bersano fits that bill but does so really nicely.

The wine is somewhat light in colour which typifies a lot of Italian reds.  It has a brightness in the glass which is attractive to the eye.  The nose is quite fruit forward and bold with a bit of heat.  Same goes for the taste as it is a fruity wine with a good amount of acidity but it has some balance which is nice, though there is some hotness there until the wine opens up.

Overall, it is a good example of Barbera and at $15 it is great value.  We liked this one in general but it is a perfect pair for Italian fare (spaghetti and meatballs comes to mind).

	Tasting Notes:	Score:
Sight (0-5)	Light coloured wine, but very attractive in the glass.  Cranberry shade.	4.0
Smell (0-5)	Cherries and blueberries with a bit of heat and some almost minty characteristics.  Nice smell.	4.0
Taste (0-10)	Medium bodied wine with the cherries and hotness passing through to the palate.  Pretty good balance overall and a good food wine.  We like.	8.0
	Total:	16.0 / 20  (80.0%)

A drinker for sure and would be a great accompaniment to any Italian dinner party you might have.

Keep on drinking!

Chris & Shannon