Thankfully I already have 3 so my SH damage is limited to around $215 for today with the Cathedrals and his B-day sale.
My Scott Harvey damage for the day is only going to be whatever bottle of his I decide to drink tonight in honor of his birthday.
Nice 
Dang, and I’m just really starting to get into Piedmont wines too. My question is: how similar is Cali Barbera to good DOCG Barbera? How much does terroir matter, and do the Cali producers try to emulate the same winemaking styles as the Italians, or do they stick to methods they use on more common domestic varietals? And which one is the best?
Ok, that was more than one question
Ive had the Barbera and Zin though not sure the vintage. will check later today and maybe open one for impromptu notes. I will say that Lang wines are very New World, fruit forward, and tend to be a bit hot but not overly so. At $11 per from previous offers a nice, not great, QPR. Current price is about right though I am not sure I would pay more.
IMO they are not similar at all…but I like both for different reasons.
I love “in our hearts” – it’s certainly in mine, as I live and breathe Amador County on a daily basis. If I head up the hill just 1/2-mile, I can see out to the snow-covered Sierra Nevada mountains about 1 hour east of here (where my daughter is now skiing) and I can see my beloved Mt. Diablo about 2 hours west of here (in the East Bay Area where I was raised). That puts me in the middle of the two mountains, in the foothills of Northern California at about 1500 feet, about 1 hour east of Sacramento and 1 hour west of Lake Tahoe. By the way, from my window, I see grapevines, a walnut orchard, an olive orchard, a vulture circling above, a red-tailed hawk in a nearby oak tree, a lot of green grass, the dark red iron-rich soil of the foothills, and our Vino Noceto tasting room.
Hopefully Scott will chime in for Amador County Barberas, but in the meantime I’ll add my two-cents worth. We discovered Amador County Barbera in the early 80’s, and Scott’s Barbera has been, and still is, among the finest. This grape grows phenomenally well up here, with several great producers (Vino Noceto also makes a Barbera from the Linsteadt Vineyard). Several Amador County Barberas have come out on top of a major Italian Barbera competition, and Amador Barberas take a huge percentage of the awards at the California State Fair each year. Amador Barberas are typically bigger, riper and fruitier than their Italian counterpart, with less perceived acid – though, still with good acid. Basically, an Amador Barbera is more what you might expect from a California wine. Try googling “a year in wine barbera king for a day” for a great article on California (and Foothill) Barbera by critic Mike Dunne.
You’ll note that the Amador offerings include Zinfandel, Barbera, and Sangiovese. It’s not at all surprising, since these grape varietals thrive in Amador County. Some of the oldest Zinfandel vines in the country come from Amador County vineyards, and Amador has long been known for its Zinfandels. When we travelled to Italy doing our Sangiovese research in the mid-80’s, we brought with us for trade Amador County Barbera – that’s because the Amador Barberas are a stand-out. As for Sangiovese, we decided to produce Sangiovese specifically because we fell in love with the varietal, it was different from what anyone else was making, and we felt it would grow especially well in Amador County. We’ve never been sorry with our decision.
Vino Noceto and in particular Suzy has always been one of my favorites. Suzy is as strong a person as i know. always a straight shooter.
Glad you chimed in to represent Amador !
Great responses, Suzy. Thanks. And here’s the link for those too lazy to google:
http://www.ayearinwine.com/2011/06/barbera-king-for-at-least-day.html
I’m kind of disappointed that it’s going to be “Calified” Barbera, but I ordered some so I guess I’m not that shook up about it.
Sorry for the problems. I sent off for some corrections.
Looks like the Scott Harvey pic is from the 3 pack a year ago (which we bought): Scott Harvey Barbera and Syrah
Yay Amador! I wish Heringer Estates were able to produce enough to sell here. Their port is beyond ridiculous.
I think your math is incorrect on the woot side. $69.99+$5s/h is ~$75 for 3 bottles shipped through woot. This comes up to $25 per bottle, compared to the $27.20 per bottle on SHs site. That said, ordering direct give you the option to mix and match a few other interesting birthday sale wines in… and you get the free shipping over $100 along with the two SH wine glasses.
Just pointing that out and clarifying the two deals.
EDIT: Also include the tax to determine your personal total cost at woot. Mine is low, so total came out to ~$26.50 per bottle.
You’re leaving out the tax most of us must pay on the woot deal. With that factored in, it is indeed a little more expensive per bottle through woot, and doesn’t include the bonus glasses.
Yeah, just remembered these recent tax changes. In my case, it still worked out to the my advantage as I have lowish taxes. That said, if you can afford to go for the 4th bottle and are interested in the glasses the SH direct deal is likely better overall.
Ok, we’ve got the write-ups correct as to what you’re getting. Still working on the photos.
UPDATE: ok, I think everything is fixed now. I’m sure you’ll let me know if I’m wrong. 
Quit telling people about Amador County! It’s already getting too crowded for us locals who’ve been going there for years…
In for some more of the Vino Noceto Riserva, just can’t resist them…I tried tho