Viansa '21 Sonoma Mountain Altura Barbera

The 2021 Altura Barbera catches your attention with its beautiful dark purple color in the glass. The perfumed aromatics of plum, black currant, sage, anise, and a hint of oak abound. Flavors of fresh blackberries, black cherries, graphite, and savory herb are balanced with a vibrancy of beautiful chalky tannins and a long finish. Try this vibrant Italian varietal with a charcuterie board, tagliolini with truffles, or sausage pizza with marinara sauce.

Barbera is naturally higher in acid and needs more time on the vines to allow for some of the acid to be respired through the grape skins. We harvested the fruit for this wine later in the season to allow for better acid balance. The fruit from the vineyards was fermented separately with Clos yeast and F83 yeast respectively. These strains were selected to help enhance berry fruit aromas and produce rich and rounded wines. Fermentation lasted two weeks, then the wines were drained and pressed to tank where the heavy lees were settled, and the wine was racked off the solids to barrels for aging. 20% new Francois Freres, World Cooperage, and Quintessence barrels were used, and the wine was aged for 20 months.

Label Artwork: Barbera is known to have a beautiful, deep purple color, yet has a surprising lightness on the palate. With its dark, rich colors and lighter splashes woven through, this piece by Maria Giannini was inspired by that contrast.