Behind the Cork™ - Shadow Ranch Barbera

2017 Shadow Ranch Barbera ($25)

Shadow Ranch, located in the Sierra Foothills of California, embraces the concepts of sustainable farming and having as little impact on the environment as possible. Their operation is solar powered and their vineyards are organically farmed.

With ten acres of vineyards at Shadow Ranch, their vineyards are planted in the fine-grained, well drained, decomposed granite which is common in the Fair Play region. Hilltop exposure positions the vines to receive cooling breezes in summer, preventing the grapes from maturing too quickly. In the winter, the hilltop exposure allows cold air to drain to the valley, which limits the damage from frost. This allows the grapes to stay on the vines long enough to develop the necessary complexity and concentration required to make great wine.

Sourced from their Sierra Foothills Vineyards, these Barbera grapes soak up the warm days and cool evenings of the hillsides. Fermented in small lots, these wines were pressed to 30% new French oak and aged 21 Months prior to bottling.

This Shadow Ranch Barbera is delightful with flavors of raspberry and blackberry. It is medium-bodied, with moderate acidity and light tannins. If you love Barbera, like I do, from the Sierra Foothills, this is an excellent example. And, their 2022 vintage was a Gold Medal Winner at the 2024 Foothill Wine Festival!

This is a great wine at a very affordable price which makes it a great fit as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Barbera: A Wine That Doesn't Get the Respect it Deserves

Several years ago, while visiting northern California, I was served a glass of red wine from Amador County that made me do a double-take.  When I asked what is was, I was told but the varietal didn't mean anything to me. I ended up having another glass and again asking about it, but it just wasn't a varietal that I'd heard of before that point in time.  Finally, I asked one more time what I was being served and was told it was a Barbera. I had never heard of it, but I knew I really liked it.

Excited by learning about this varietal, I returned home from my trip and, at my first opportunity, headed out to a nicer wine seller in search of a Barbera. I looked up and down the aisles but wasn't able to find the Barbera.  There was a very knowable wine guy at the store, but he was busy helping another customer with a wine selection and talking extensively to the customer about the wines they were interested in purchasing. This was definitely the guy I wanted to talk to, knowing he'd help me find a great Barbera. After waiting for quite some time, the wine guy became available and it was my turn to have a conversation with him. I walked right up and asked "Do have any Barbera wine that you'd recommend?"  After a bit of an awkward pause, he uttered one word; "No."  I was somewhat put on my heals but asked if he sold any Barbera wine. Again, the one-word answer was "No."  I thanked him politely and walked away. Had I said something wrong?

Well, it turns out that Barbera has been widely planted in California for a long time, but in the past, it was solely used as a blending component in mass-produced jug wines. Hence, it hasn't had a very good reputation as a varietal and still doesn't seem to get the respect it deserves. 

But, all that changed with the Barbera planting in the Amador and El Dorado Counties in the Sierra Foothills of California. Today, they continue to produce nice Barbera varietal wines.  They are not widely distributed, so they are still hard to find.

So, if you haven't ever heard of, or tried, a Barbera varietal, keep your eyes out for one. And, if you are so lucky as to come across one from the Sierra Foothills of California or from anywhere, give it a try. You're likely to be surprised by this wonderful medium to full-bodied wine with great dark fruit flavors of blackberry, black cherry, and plum, And, when aged in oak, it also develops even richer full-bodied fruit flavors with a hint of chocolate.

There is another wine region of the world that produces nice Barbera. And, we'll explore that region next time. Until then, Cheers!