Bad Barbera

This is a bad Barbera.
It’s also NOT a bad Barbera.

Confused?
I’ll explain.

This is a lovely 2010 Barbera that retails for under $20. I’d bet it was gorgeous through 2015, but probably started to decline after that.

So, what happened here?

Before I was a sommelier, I used to buy a lot of wine that the somm in my local liquor store recommended. He was nice and knowledgeable and usually made great recommendations. One day he pulled out this wine and said, “I found all of this old stock at my distributors and we’re selling it. It’s aged and ripping!” If I knew then what I know now, I would’ve quoted my nephew Rhys and said, “Uhh, no thanks.” But I scooped it up cheap—with about 4 other wines—and every last one of them was BAD.

Why?

1. Wines that were forgotten at a distributor probably weren’t stored with the best care, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they were exposed to light and heat.

2. Most wines aren’t meant for aging, especially not your run of the mill $17.99 red wines. Drink these when they’re young and fresh. That’s how they were meant to be consumed: within a few years of production.

3. This wine—and the others I poured down the drain-were probably great ten years ago. But, don’t listen to a sommelier trying to sell you an old cheap wine. They weren’t meant to keep. (Most wines over a decade old that are worth saving are more expensive!)

How did I know it was bad?

It had the flavor of alcohol and grape juice and nothing else.

🍷Chin!
Hope this helps you avoid buying and drinking bad wine.