I often say I want to run away to Italy to live on a vineyard in Piedmont.

Today, I ran away to a wine from the region, the Barbera D’Asti. You know it’s a “day” when the Italians living in Minnesota start to open Italian wine. I had to look twice to see that DiPian really wasn’t “of pain.”  It was a tough week of moving culture shock and of bottling all workouts into this weekend. Pain seemed appros pos.

I’ve often shied away from opening Italian wine just for drinking–the high acids and tannins often leave me feeling like tumbleweeds-have-blown-through-my-mouth dry.  This wine: La Spinetta Ca’Di Pian Barbera D’Asti 2008 was really well balanced and fruit forward of red and black berries, balanced with vanilla, oak and earthy undertones, coupled with a nice medium finish.  Although the label came in at 14% alcohol, it felt much like a younger version of its big, bold Italian sister, balancing the high acid with the low tannin. It was lovely, as if a young Al Pacino came to my apartment to wish me a good night.

After Sangiovese and Montepulciano, the Barbera grape is the third most planted grape in Italy.  And if the interwebs is accurate, the wine must be made by March 1, immediately following the harvest.  Who knew?

This bottle averages $23.  Go buy one.  The beautiful part of this hard week is that I get to share it with my first friend in life (outside of the family, as we say).

Godere! (I think, or hope rather, the interwebs helped me translate this correctly).  Enjoy!

I am still going to make a workout in the morning, but wanted to celebrate the 4 workouts in 3 days I did make.  To the Pain!