Keeping with the Italian Theme

Having just finished family night at the Spaghetti Factory, here we find ourselves starting the weekend with some more pasta at home. Throwing together a sauce seemed like a good idea while I was waiting for Boo to get home. The tomatoes were crying out to be used and we do have that seemingly endless supply of zucchini.

159. 1998 Le Rocche Dei Barbari Alivio Riserva Barbaresco (Barbaresco DOCG - Piedmont - Italy)

Like the Spaghetti Factory, my cooking may not be Zagat-rated, but this sauce was a good one if I do say so myself. Or maybe it was just that we liked this wine better than the other night's Chianti and it made the food taste better.

I don't recall the pedigree of this bottle, but despite its 1998 vintage, I think I just saw it on a sale rack at the local provincial liquor store awhile back. With the recession an all, I hear there are plenty of bargains to be found as the various stores are trying to clear out stock. That sounds like great fun, bargain hunting, but the No-Buy Leash is pretty tight at the moment. I kind of have to make sure that Boo is with me in the store at the time and coax him into suggesting, himself, that it might be a good idea to buy a bottle or two.

I couldn't find out much about this producer on the web. They have a website but I couldn't see any information on it - other than the location and contact number - except for the fact that "we produce wine in Barbaresco."

Found up in Piedmont, Barbaresco is sometimes referred to as "Baby Barolo" since it made from the same Nebbiolo grape and it is generally not as tannic as most Barolos in the years closer to the actual vintage year. Barbaresco wines are also not required to be aged as long as a Barolo before they can be released to the public - however, a Riserva wine, like this one has to be aged a minimum of four years before release. Most people are not as familiar with Barbaresco though as there is three times as much Barolo produced and it has been dubbed the "King of Wines."

Our wine might have been a baby and not the king, but for this evening's needs, the Alivio was just right.