At Cascina Baricchi in Barbaresco, food and incredible wine bring people together.
This article originally appeared in the October/November 2024 issue of The SOMM Journal.
JUST BEFORE I sat at my desk to write about visiting winemaker Natale Simonetta and his family at their humble Cascina Baricchi winery in the Langhe, between Cuneo and Asti in the Italian region of Piedmont, I flipped through the August/September issue of The SOMM Journal and reread Karen MacNeil’s piece on her new Come Over October campaign. I was struck by the importance of the idea, and I hope you’ll read about it in detail at comeoveroctober.com.
In its simplest form, Come Over October is a counterpoint to Sober October (or Dry January) that aims to focus on the positive, communal aspect of wine. MacNeil’s challenge is to create a connection by inviting a friend, a colleague, a neighbor, or a family member to come over and share a glass. It made me think
of so many adventures I’ve had that have been centered around that very activity. For example, in the fall of 2009, Jeff Morgan of Covenant Wines invited me to come over and taste his Chardonnay, a simple act that began a lifelong friendshipand mentorship in wine writing.
And just last spring, a simple invitation to “come visit” is how I ended up with my wife and daughter at Simonetta’s home in the tiny hamlet of Neviglie, Italy. I had met Simonetta at Offspring restaurant in
Boonville, California, one month before our trip; though he spoke no English, his friend Clay McLachlan, a well-known photographer who owns and manages two rental properties through his company, Italian Wine Villas, translated for us. “He says you should visit him when you are in Piedmont,” McLachlan explained, suggesting that we exchange WhatsApp numbers—and so we did.
Fast-forward a little more than a month later, and there I was, my family in tow, in Italy, navigating a rental car down a narrow, one-lane road that ended in a cul-de-sac. On a stoop sat an older woman in a slightly stained apron—reminding me of my late grandmother, who always wore an apron in case someone suddenly needed a bowl of pasta. After parking the car, we strode toward her. “Cascina Baricchi?” I asked, unsure if we were in the right place. “Per il vino?” she answered, motioning to a modest neighboring house. “Grazie mille,” I offered, then turned to see the charismatic Simonetta, grinning from ear to ear. His wife, Francesca Gambato, translated for us as we toured the small family winery and their prized Barbaresco vineyards before sitting down in their dining room for hours of conversation, storytelling, and laughter, all over handmade ravioli with artichokes and spinach, fresh salads, and a host of wines—young and old.
My wife, Amanda, and I drank some of the best Barbaresco wines of our lives while my 8-year-old
daughter, Penelope, played basketball with the couple’s young children. It didn’t matter that Penelope didn’t speak Italian or that their children spoke very little English: The pure act of playing is a common language we all understand, just as the deliciousness of a particular wine speaks its own language
of pure pleasure. And as I prepared to take notes on a riveting 2004 Riserva Barbaresco, Simonetta made his advice very clear: “No work, no notes—just drink today and enjoy.” It’s a good thing I wasn’t
practicing Abstinent April.
If you are lucky enough to find some Cascina Baricchi wines, imported to New York, California, and Massachusetts by Polaner Selections, The Rare Wine Co., and Oz Wine Company, respectively, I hope you’ll share them with good-spirited, like-minded people. Check them out at cascinabaricchi.com.
