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MonteStregone

Strja Barbera d'Asti 2018

Price: $26.95
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Tasting notes

Strja delivers what Barbera d'Asti does best: bright cherry and strawberry fruit, a lively salty finish, and natural acidity that makes the wine impossible to put down at the table. The 2018 vintage gave the grapes full phenolic ripeness without sacrificing freshness, which comes through in the wine's juicy, clean palate.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
CherryStrawberryBlackberrySaline
  • Style: Dry, medium-bodied red; deep ruby; cherry, strawberry, dark berry; lively acidity; low tannin
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Barbera; Barbera d'Asti DOCG; Acqui Terme, province of Alessandria; calcareous marl and clay-limestone hillside soils; 90-300m altitude
  • Winemaking: Natural wine; Barbera vinified to preserve primary fruit and acidity; no heavy oak treatment indicated
  • Serving: Serve at 58-62F; no extended decanting needed; can be served slightly cool
  • Pairing: Tomato-based pasta, porcini risotto, salumi and cured meats, vitello tonnato, aged Piedmontese cheeses
  • Similar To: For fans of food-friendly, acid-driven reds like Dolcetto d'Alba or lighter Sangiovese who want Piedmont character without Nebbiolo's tannin

Strja is a 100% Barbera from MonteStregone, a small Piedmont producer based in Acqui Terme in the province of Alessandria, within the Barbera d'Asti DOCG zone. The winery was founded by two trained winemakers and longtime friends, Alessandro Gallo and Roberto Orsi, who named the project after Monte Stregone, a hill near Acqui that local legend claims is so inhospitable that even vines cannot grow there.

The 2018 growing season in Piedmont brought heavy spring rains that replenished water reserves after the drought-stricken 2017, followed by warm days and cool nights through the late summer harvest window. Those cool nights in August and early September allowed the Barbera grapes to develop intense aromatics while reaching full phenolic maturity. The resulting wine is deep ruby in color with notes of ripe cherry, strawberry, and dark berries, a characteristic juicy texture, and a salty finish that lifts the long acidity.

Barbera is the main variety of the Monferrato hills, harvested in the second half of September from sun-exposed hillside sites. In this wine it is handled to preserve its natural freshness rather than to add oak structure, resulting in a medium-bodied red with low astringency and a lively, food-friendly profile.

The wine carries the Barbera d'Asti DOCG classification, which requires a minimum of 90% Barbera from vineyards in the provinces of Asti and Alessandria, and was elevated from DOC to DOCG status in 2008.

Barbera's high natural acidity and low tannin make it a natural match for tomato-based pasta dishes like tajarin al ragu or pappardelle with Bolognese. It works equally well alongside cured meats and salumi, a classic Piedmontese antipasto spread. Try it slightly cool (around 60F) with a plate of vitello tonnato or a simple porcini risotto.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Barbera
Farming:, Sustainable
Vintage:, 2018
Alcohol:,
Country:, Italy
Region:, Piedmont
Appellation:, Barbera d'Asti DOCG
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.


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If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.


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Placed an order. What next?

1. You will receive an order confirmation email with your order summary.*

2. As soon as your order ships from the warehouse, usually within 2-3 business days, this applies to all shipping rates, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information. 2DAY shipping refers to shipping time; we still need 2-3 business days to prepare an order. We need to pick and pack, QA, add printed collateral, and palletize the orders.

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Returns Policy

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

Producer profile

MonteStregone

MonteStregone is a small winery located in Acqui Terme, in the province of Alessandria, within the southern reaches of the Barbera d'Asti DOCG. The project was founded by two Piedmontese winemaker friends, Alessandro Gallo and Roberto Orsi, who produce three wines from the territory.

The winery takes its name from Monte Stregone, a hill above Acqui Terme that carries an old local legend: it was said to be a meeting place for witches, and the folk belief held that not even vines could grow there. The name is a deliberate nod to the unlikely, place-driven character of the wines.

Barbera is the primary vine variety of the Monferrato area. MonteStregone plants it on open, sun-exposed hillsides, as the variety requires warm temperatures and well-draining soils. The Strja is produced from 100% Barbera grapes, vinified to express the variety's natural fruit character and acidity rather than to add oak-derived complexity.

Wine region

Piedmont, Italy

Barbera d'Asti DOCG spans 167 municipalities across the provinces of Asti and Alessandria in eastern Piedmont, covering approximately 3,400 hectares of vineyard. Vineyards are planted on hillside terrain ranging from 90 to 300 meters in altitude, with south and southwest exposures that maximize ripening in the continental climate of warm summers and cold winters. Soils vary across the appellation but are dominated by calcareous marls and clay-limestone, which give the wines structure and concentration. Sandier soils near the Tanaro River produce softer, more immediately approachable styles.

Barbera has been cultivated in the Monferrato hills since at least the 13th century, with the first written record of its vinification held in the city hall of Nizza Monferrato and dating to the 17th century. The appellation received DOC status in 1970 and was elevated to DOCG in 2008. Three sub-zones are recognized within the zone: Nizza, Tinella, and Colli Astiani. Nizza separated into its own independent DOCG in 2014. The Monferrato hills were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. Under DOCG rules, a minimum of 90% Barbera is required; the balance may include Freisa, Grignolino, or Dolcetto.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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