Cantine Barbera Nero d’Avola and pork chops with sun dried cherry sauce

Owner/grower Marilena Barbera

One of winemaker Randall Grahm’s favorite ways of referring to the under-appreciated wine grapes of the world is as ugly ducklings. Or, if you prefer a word of the day: heterodoxical – unorthodox to the point of making a point. In respect to wines: appreciation of lesser known grapes that challenge the orthodoxy of the current hierarchy (re Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay as the “king” and “queen” of wines respectively, with well knowns like Pinot noir, Merlot and Riesling heading up the rest of the aristocracy).

Italy’s deeply pigmented, black skinned Nero d’Avola is one of those grapes. Despite being the most widely planted red wine grape in its native Sicily, there was a time, in the 1980s, when Nero d’Avola seemed headed towards demise. Some Sicilians seemed more interested in transplanting to non-native Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.  

But thank goodness for the rising tide of heterodoxy, as during the past ten years winemakers and importers have found renewed enthusiasm for Nero d’Avola. Why? Because it makes incredibly rich, juicy, full yet smoothly textured red wines that can be sold at incredible price points ($8 to $16 retail). For today’s thrifty wine lovers: godsend!


The 2007 Cantine Barbera Nero d’Avola is exactly that kind of wine: nearly black colored; teeming with luscious, sweetly aromatic black cherry, dried blackcurrant aromas; and the feel of a rounded, medium body filled out by soft tannin, plummy flavors, zippy underlying acidity, and twists of peppery spice. (Note: Barbera is the name of another grape, but in this case Barbera is the name of the well respected family making this wine).

Who’d love this wine? Anyone who appreciates the big but soft, generous taste of $20-$30 Australian Shiraz. Only this is Nero d’Avola: a little zestier, a little spicier, just half the price of higher quality Shiraz bottlings, and a lot sexier sounding as it rolls off the tongue (neh-ro daah-vo-lah).


For reds like this, one would immediately think of a charred ribeye of beef, rubbed with olive oil and cracked peppercorn, along with roasted green or red chile peppers, and you wouldn’t go wrong. Cardamon or juniper berried pot roasts is not such a bad idea either. While there is just enough tannin in a good Nero d’Avola to absorb beef fats, the tannin is also soft enough for leaner cuts of pork (center-cut chops or loins). This recipe for pork chops with sun dried cherry sauce highlights the energetic black cherry fruitiness of the Cantina Barbera, underlined by a dose of balsamic vinegar highlighting the grape's wine's natural acidity. 

Ugly duckling, indeed!


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