Washington Barbera v. Piedmont

Italy is one of the most cycling crazy nations in the world.  The pro race season wraps up with several one day races in Northern Italy in the Piedmont wine region.  If that wasn't reason enough to feature an Italian wine smack down, then the announcement of the 100th edition of the Giro d' Italia certainly is!

The Giro del Piemonte took place at the end of September with Italian Champion Giacomo Nizzolo taking a sprint victory on his home soil.

A few weeks later the route for the 100th edition of the Giro d'Italia was unveiled.  The 2017 route will start in Southern Italy, on the island of Sardinia.  The race will work its way North concluding in Milan after three breathtaking weeks of racing.

The next few Lucha Vino matchups will feature Casa Smith Italian inspired wines taking on a bevy of Italian challengers.

First up, this week's matchup features a Washington Barbera from Casa Smith taking on an Italian challenger from the Barbera d'Alba DOC.

2014 Casa Smith Barbera v. 2013 G.D. Vajra Barbera d'Alba

Washington Barbera vs. Piemonte

The past two weeks have featured several major races in Northern Italy.  Milan San Remo is one of the biggest single day classics on the pro racer's calendar.  What makes the race unique is the distance.  Milan San Remo is the longest race of the season at 298 km.  The Pogio and Cipressa are well known climbs that come near the finish of the race.  Even though these hills are given special reverence, they rarely make a substantial difference in the outcome of the race.

This year was somewhat different.  There was a crash near the base of the Cipressa that caught out the eventual winner, Arnaud Demare, the first Frenchman to win La Classicissima in 21 years.  The issue at hand is the question: Did he, or Didn't he?  There is a controversy surrounding how Demare was able to reconnect with the lead group after being caught behind the crash on the Cipressa.  His race data suggests that Demare recorded the fastest time up the Cipressa.  Sprinters aren't known for their hill climbing capabilities.  They are known for occasionally getting a favorable tow up a hill by their team car.  We may never know the truth.  Unfortunately, this could leave a dark shadow over Demare's victory. 

This week's challenge salutes the first of the Spring Classic Monuments with a matchup that features Washington Barbera taking on Piemonte.

2013 Hard Row to Hoe Barbera vs. 2013 Etorre Germano Barbera d'Alba

California Barbera v. Piedmont

This past week we had two, that's right TWO, top level Stage Races happening at the same time on two different continents.  The Giro d' Italia continued with its second week of racing and the Tour of California countered with 8 high powered races from San Diego to Santa Rosa.

I called in my expert from the South (California, that is) to deliver a Battle Royale featuring California Barbera tangling with Barbera from the Homeland - Italy.  So, here it is.  Without further ado, the Main Event.  Brought to you by Foxall...

I’m really excited to be guesting on Lucha Vino’s blog again.  When I dropped him a line to point out that this might be a first—two stage races in great wine country at the same time—he immediately took me up on the idea of a Tour of California v. Giro matchup.  Sure, lots of cycling races travel through great wine country—France, Spain, Europe, Australia all have major stage races—but two at one time!  

Then I learned that Lucha had already stolen California’s thunder by pitting our grape—our grape, I tell you!—Zinfandel against its Italian counterpart Primitivo.  I could have been crushed.

But there’s not just one Italian grape in California.  The first major Californian wine makers were people like Robert Mondavi and the Gallos.  Just recently, the last of their generation, Frank Indelicato of Delicato Family Wines, left us. 

Those aren’t French or Spanish names, my friends, and Italian varieties were planted all over the place back in the day, at least when you could tell what was growing where.  Not all of them did well, and you’d be hard pressed to find any old-vine Nebbiolo or Dolcetto.  There’s a smattering of Sangiovese (an ex-girlfriend of mine once noted that Mount Diablo, where Stage 7 of the California tour ended today, looks amazingly like Chianti), but not much of it is good. (One huge exception:  Two Mile Polesky-Lentz Sangiovese.)

But those old Italian farmers drank Barbera, and eventually a lot of it wound up in the Central Valley.  Grown for volume, most of it wasn’t very good.  But up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, they grow some excellent examples.  So, tonight’s match—think of it as the undercard to the Zin v. Primitivo with a couple middleweights-- pits a Barbera from Amador County, California, against an established grappler from Piedmont, in the foothills of the Alps.

2010 Montevina Winery Amador County Barbera v. 2009 Marchesidi Barolo Ruvei Barebera d’Alba