Wine of the Week 1/25/22

Sulin “Terre D’Aleramo” Barbera Del Monferrato 2018
Regularly $10.99/On sale for $8.79

“Legend has it” that baby Aleramo was abandoned by his German parents during a pilgrimage as they passed through the Piedmont. Raised as a nobleman, he answered King Otto’s call for soldiers and acquitted himself well in battle, endearing himself to both king and king’s daughter. As she was already promised to a politically expedient suitor, they eloped and lived in hiding for several years where he found work as a cook. Yet ANOTHER recruitment drive by Otto swept him back into the ranks, where he once again acquitted himself well, this time bearing a coat of arms featuring kitchen implements. Naturally, Otto demanded to meet this valiant cook/warrior and, rather than being cross when Aleramo revealed his true identity, the king embraced his new family and told Alermo he could be a Marquis to as much land as he could circumnavigate by horseback in 3 days and nights. This land became Monferrato and, 11 hundred years later, they make excellent wine there!

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.

The Sulin Terre d‘Aleramo is a perennial favorite that delivers seriously delicious bang for its buck.