Why This Barbera Became My Go-To Wine
There are wines you like, wines you love, and then there are wines that become a part of your life—woven into the fabric of your daily rituals like an old friend who knows just when to show up. The 2023 Paitin ‘La Serra’ Barbera d'Alba is that wine for me. This wasn’t just a staple on the wine list at a restaurant I managed; it was my nightly companion, the quiet exclamation point at the end of every long shift. And believe me, when you have the pick of the cellar, you don’t settle—you choose the best.
Grown on the more delicate slopes of the Serraboella in Neive, this Barbera is the kind of wine that makes you appreciate the art of patience. The vines have been tended with organic methods, no shortcuts, just old-school farming with a reverence for the land. The result is a wine that balances intensity with freshness, depth with lift. It spends a year resting in large Slavonian oak barrels—not to be tamed, but to gather itself, to come into its own. By the time it hits the glass, it’s humming with dark cherries, violets, and that unmistakable whisper of earth and spice that only the Langhe can provide.
Now, let’s talk texture. Some Barberas can be brash, all acid and enthusiasm, but Paitin’s ‘La Serra’ plays it differently. It’s polished but not pretentious, generous but not overbearing. The fruit is deep and pure, the structure firm but forgiving. It’s a wine that makes food better—which is probably why I reached for it night after night. Whether it was a simple bowl of pasta al pomodoro at the end of service or a rare indulgence in a perfectly seared steak, ‘La Serra’ was the right answer. Every time.
2023 may have been a challenging year in many ways, but it graced us with this Barbera—a wine that’s as reliable as it is expressive. It’s drinking beautifully now but will reward those with the patience to let it evolve. But honestly, why wait? This isn’t the kind of wine you squirrel away for a someday that may never come. It’s a wine for now, for tonight, for whenever you want to remind yourself why you fell in love with wine in the first place. .
So here’s my advice: get a case, make it your ritual, and see if it doesn’t become the bottle you reach for without a second thought. Some habits are worth keeping.
