Michele Chiarlo, Barbera d’Asti (Piedmont, Italy) 2015

 Barbera is often a “go-to” wine for Italian food because its inherent acidity keeps it juicy and lively throughout the meal.  The difficulty is that the spectrum of Barbera is enormous, from astringent and hard to swallow to captivating.  Put Chiarlo’s Le Orme in the latter category.  More polished and elegant than many Barbera, it’s still juicy and vigorous.  Try it the next time you’re having pasta with a tomato mushroom sauce.