Barbara Festival - Summertime Drinking in Amador

When I first heard of Barbara Festival almost a year ago, it peaked my growing interest in the Amador County wine region. But when I tried to find tickets about a month before the event, they were long gone - so I had to wait till the following year - this year - before I could go.

It was worth the wait. This festival isn't only varietal centric, on Barbara of course, but it also bring some of the best wine in the region of it's name and those you would want drinking it all to one area. More than 2,150 people attended the 2nd Annual Barbera Festival held Saturday, June 9 at scenic Cooper Ranch in Plymouth, California, an increase of 200 people from the inaugural event in 2011. 

Among notable wine names in the area, the likes of Darrell Corti and Dick Cooper (as in Cooper Ranches, as in all the grapes in most of the wines in Amador and notably the award wining Rehnquist Wines). 

This wine event unlike many others that I go to, had artists, Live Music, famous restaurants, wine lines up and down the ranches, and all among the trees and the vines of Cooper Ranches. 

Above Dick Cooper and Darrell Corti

The real winners (other than us wine tasters) are the local charities that will benefit as all net proceeds go to the Jackson, California-based Amador Community Foundation that works to connect local generosity with local needs. Other winners were Amador County and the Sierra Foothills wine regions, which have established themselves as ground zero for the new popularity of barbera wine.

One grower leading the charge is Dick Cooper of Cooper Ranch, the host venue of the festival and where barbera is the principal varietal making up 35 acres. In California, about 7,000 acres of barbera are planted; with nearly 200 California wineries producing the varietal.

Exhibiting at the event were over 85 wineries from the Sierra Foothills, Paso Robles, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake County, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Ventura County, Lodi and the Bay Area participated in the event, along with eight of the area’s top restaurants and caterers and 35 arts and crafts vendors.

“This event proves that there continues to be an overwhelming interest in barbera by consumers and the wine industry,” said Event Organizer Brian Miller of The Barbera Festival. “We actually sold out in just 30 days – two months prior to the festival taking place.

Although it was only our second year, due to the popularity of the event we were able to double the amount for the Amador Community Foundation from $10,000 to more than $20,000 for 2012.”

The weather was warm and the wine was flowing all around, the music was a lively bluegrass/ rock twist that kept the mood lively and I finally got to really try some Amandor wine! Wines of my particular note were: Hovey, Scott Harvey, Rehnquist, Yorba, and Thomas Fogarty Vineyards.

Barbara unlike other varietals can be fruit forward, thick and robust, or thin and acidic - it's an Italian Grape that's primarily known for producing good yields and is known for deep color, low tannins and high levels of acid - in tasting at this festival you can taste multiple types of the styles that this varietal can be made in. 

Next year’s Barbera Festival is tentatively scheduled for the second Saturday in June (June 8, 2013), and Miller recommends those interested become a fan on the event’s Facebook page or submit their email address via the event’s website, www.BarberaFestival.com, to receive alerts about the 2013 event and take advantage of early bird ticket pricing.