There are two things Littlefoot is loving more than me this week: this box and this wine.
Her wine pick of the week is the Ercole Barbera Del Monferrato, a super chuggable red wine from the famous wine region Monferrato in Piedmonte, Italy. Barbera is a red grape varietal marked by full body, high acid, low tannins, and affordability. It is a lesser wine to Nebbiolo, another red varietal from Piedmont.
Often consumed as a young wine, great barbera often has notes of tart blackberry, dark cherry, and vanilla, which fits the Ercole perfectly. Juicy with red fruit and cinnamon spice, this wine from Monferrato checks all the boxes of high quality Barbera:
✅ Tart, long finish
✅ Bright red cherry and strawberry
✅ Pleasantly acidic
✅ Rich, inky red color
What else makes this wine so up Littlefoot’s alley, you ask? Being a cat who is all about community, she loves this wine not only because of its taste, but because of its place as part of a winemaking co-op of local growers in Piedmont.
Each fall, several growers from different vineyards in Monferrato get together and blend their excellent wines together under one label, creating a wine that is 100% Barbera and 100% community produced. In English, Ercole translates to “Hercules” and this wine is performing a herculean task in your wine cabinet: deliver a sensational product that drinks like the best barbera you’ve ever had and costs a third of the price. It is harvested later than other Barbera, around late September through early October. This allows the grapes to fully ripe before they are pressed, and the wine is then fermented in concrete before being aged in stainless steal, producing a sharper, sour cherry flavor.
Littlefoot particularly enjoys this wine with creamy mushroom pasta or roasted garlic polenta, but it is also delicious on its own.
At $15.99/Liter, this wonderful weekend wine is an absolute steal for anyone’s budget. Be sure to ask your local liquor store about their whole selection of Ercole wines!
Best Shot Co. 