The pivotal moment of the tale is a feast that the marchioness prepares to welcome her guest. Wine is served, of course. The narrator notes that there were “vini ottimi e preziosi.”

In fact, what we did drink were Nizza that, if anything, wore their years as well as any aging heartthrob.

The fact of the matter is that Barbera was the grape of Piedmont at the time and, gauging from Odart, possibly the grape of Italy.

A translation of Giorgio Gallesio’s landmark description of Barbera grape

Now that I have arrived in Monferrato, I hope I have set the scene for a journey into this rich historic region.

If it weren’t for Prohibition and the disruption of the commercial wine trade in California, we’d probably be drinking Barbera today instead of “Napa Valley Cab”

Why are the best wines if the world are so ageing worthy? Is it because ageing gives wines more complexity, aromas and better balance? Or is it a mere notion of a time travel we are undertaking when drinking such wines?

Wine blogger and educator Jeremy Parzen joins the My Name Is Barbera editorial team!

And yeah, I do just kind of get lucky that way when I taste Nizza. Please don’t hate me…

There is something different about the backroads in Barbera land, both in size and purpose. Driving through Monferrato you get the sense that the land is the purpose.