Giacomo Fenocchio, Barbera d’Alba Superiore (Piedmont, Italy) 2022

 Every time I drink Barbera, I thank my friend (and sadly recently deceased) Ed McCarthy.  Ed, of course, was known as “Mr. Champagne” but he also had forgotten more about Italian wine than I know.  And he wisely championed Barbera, and in the process, converted me to its charms.  So, when presented the wine list at Motorino, an excellent East Village pizza place in New York City, my eye caught sight of this one.  The succulent, but not overdone, black fruit balanced by zippy freshness — a characteristic of the grape — is the ideal match for the plethora of flavors found on pizza.  Not really a “pizza wine,” because Fenocchio’s Barbera has far more character than wines I generally put in that category, it still works well with pizza.  Thank you, Ed.