Winemaker and marketing queen
Thrace Bromberger (center) from
Napa Valley's Gustavo Thrace
visited and tasted with Vino owners
Becky and Kevin Hudson.
If you’ve been enjoying red wines for more than a few years, and you’ve dared to taste beyond the endless variety of Cabernet Sauvignons, you may have experienced a Barbera.
Now, they’re quite common among Italian wines. It’s the third-most-planted grape in Italy. Most of it is blended, but the light-yet-versatile Barbera d’Asti and the richer, more elegant Barbera d’Alba (and don’t get them confused near an Italian winemaker) are relatively common throughout the wine world.
But a recent tasting at the wine shop Vino 100 in Ormond Beach spontaneously expanded to include a California Barbera. And the entire experience was memorable.
Thrace Bromberger, co-owner of Gustavo Thrace Vineyards in Napa, poured several of her 13-year-old boutique winery’s goodies. And the conversation turned to Barbera, of which winemaker Gustavo Brambila had made a 200-case lot.
Gustavo, who is played in the film ``Bottle Shock’’ by Freddy Rodriguez of ``Ugly Betty’’ fame, is a Mexican-born winemaker who worked for the producers of the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that won the 1976 ``Judgment in Paris’’ tasting, the subject of the film. But Gustavo had no hand in making that wine.
Yet the tale of the Barbera is equally bizarre, since Gustavo made this one with bartered grapes, never having tasted a Barbera before. Call it beginner’s luck, but call that 2006 Barbera delicious.It recalls the Louis Martini Barberas of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s when California began to turn its nose up on this hearty, high-yield grape.
This is awash in rich, ripe red and black fruits with a touch of spice and a finish that meanders on into next week. Yet it’s not a jammy wine, though nowhere does it lack for fruit.
Suffice to say that, even at $36, there won’t be much ’06 Barbera from Gustavo Thrace around. Fortunately, many other Barbera options exist.
For more information: Vino 100 Nova Shoppes 175 S Nova Rd. Suite 2 Ormond Beach (386) 677-9800
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