87 Winetex; $20

I’m always searching for a good everyday wine to serve with tomato sauce dishes. A few wines from this winery recently hit our market so I decided to give them a try.

This wine is a barbera blend that includes Barbera, Croatina, Uva Rara and Vespolina. The color was a dark ruby with cherry and plum jam on the nose. In the middle there was more plum jam with some toffee and coffee notes and finishing with a nice floral, probably violets. In style it was rustic with some acidity. This was one instance where the winemaker’s notes were right on.

This is their low-end wine but was of sufficient quality that I am looking forward to trying their Pinot Nero and single vineyard Barbera. Oddly enough they also do a Riesling.