As much as we love Barolo and Barbaresco, it’s always fun to point out that these together make up only 3% of all the wines produced in Piedmont. In Piedmont, they are considered wines for the tourists. The locals drink what are affectionately known as the “little” wines, and chief among them is Barbera d’Alba.

It is easy to understand Barbera’s appeal. It has much the same earthy charm, red cherry fruit, and wild mushroom minerality that you find in Piedmont’s great wines. But it comes almost entirely without tannins, making it as easily drinkable as pure juice.

The best producers of Barbera are, almost without exception, also the best producers of Piedmont’s Barolos and Barbarescos. One of those is Davide Rosso, who took over his family winery, Giovanni Rosso, about 20 years ago.

Davide is increasingly being recognized as one of the emerging superstars of the region. Partly, this is because he owns what some call the “Romanee Conti of Barolo” - an historic parcel in Serralunga’s Vignarionda - and makes from it one of Italy’s most expensive wines. But it’s also because he’s a genius wine-maker with a style that is perfectly suited for contemporary tastes, perhaps best summed by his desire to make wine that is “a perfect copy of its terroir”.

No surprise, then, that his Barbera is flat out gorgeous. It comes from vines that the Rossos purchased just south of Serralunga back in 1999. It’s a corner of Piedmont that makes a dense, rich Barbera, that remains nonetheless eminently drinkable thanks to its friendly structure.

Barbera is the quintessential “every day” wine in Piedmont; with Barbera this good, you will want to drink it every day yourself.

Giovanni Rosso Barbera d'Alba Donna Margherita 2019 $23.99