Those looking for good wines to match with pizza, simple pastas and other basic Italian fare usually look to Chianti.  Although Chianti fits the bill well for such meals, I think Barbera does equally well.  Barbera d' Alba wine is wine made from the Barbera grape, grown in the Piedmont town of Alba (also famous for white truffles).  Barbera can not compete with the Nebiolo based wines from Piedmont's towns of Barolo and Barbaresco in terms of complexity and ageability, but Barbera is a great wine nevertheless.  Barberas are drinkable on release, and pair well with a variety of Italian dishes.

The 2004 Barbera d'Alba from Pio Cesare is a fragrant wine with rose petals and black fruit on the nose, and plenty of mixed red-black fruit on the palate.  The wine has moderate acidity, and stands up well to tomato sauce based food.

3 stars.  Wine was purchased at the Wine Connection in Del Mar for $19.99

 

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