Wine of the Week 3/10/20

Ercole Barbera del Monferrato DOC
Regularly $14.99/On Sale for $12.46

Weston Hoard, aka “The Piedmont Guy,” used to roam the Langhe Hills with his faithful dog Ercole (Hercules) when he was working for winemaker Paolo Scavino. Now he imports some of our favorite Italian wines, and sources traditional Piedmontese grapes for these liter bottle quaffers. Ercole is a project that is made possible by a generations-old cooperative of local growers in the Monferrato area.

Many folks know the Barbera grape for its bright acidity, and this wine is no exception to the rule. Far less known is the fact that Monferrato’s most prestigious zones are dedicated to Barbera plantings. (The very opposite holds true in the Langhe, where Nebbiolo reigns supreme.) Typically planted to southern exposure, these vineyards yield wines of great depth and balance. Most experts have traced the origin of Barbera to the hills of Monferrato.