Western Living Magazine
Off-the-Grid Living: Exploring the Island Cabin near Desolation Sound, B.C.
It’s Always Happy Hour at These 7 Homes with Built-in Bars
Great Spaces: Vancouver’s Wildlight Kitchen and Bar Is a Natural Beauty
3 Parisian Bistro-Inspired Comfort Food Recipes to Bring a Taste of Paris Home
Recipe: Confit Lamb With Roasted Eggplant and Baby Potatoes
Recipe: Sausage With Aligot
The Maui Resort That’s Banking on Your Thoughtfulness
Your Ultimate Travel Itinerary: Brooklyn Like a Local
The 2024 Spring Road Trip Destination You Won’t Want To Miss
Trending for 2024: Top 10 Stylish Furniture and Home Design Picks to Revitalize Your Space
How to achieve kitchen perfection: luxury appliance brand Fisher & Paykel shares all
Editors’ Picks: The Best Books We Read in 2023
How Do I Enter the WL Designers of the Year People’s Choice Awards?
Introducing the Winners of Our First Annual WL Design 25 Awards
WL Design 25 Winners 2024: White Out
Barolo's trusty sidekick.
A few times a year Quebec’s liquor board oversees an auction of fine wine predominantly from France and Italy, a rarity in Canada and a chance to get some aged wine without paying import duties. This year a strange phenomenon was happening—bottles of barbaresco were selling for more than lots of barolo for similar years/producers—upending the traditional set-up where barolo is the Batman of Piedmont (or all of Italy, if we’re being honest) and barbaresco is the Robin, the loyal sidekick content to be a perennial silver medalist.The two wines share a grape (nebbiolo), a region (Piedmont, in the northwest of Italy) and both age well. But whereas classical barolos are known as among the most dense and tannic wines in their youth, barbaresco typically went for a slightly more approachable, softer expression and that partly explains the wine’s current ascendency. The other half is just the human condition of being different—barolo, with its oversized reputation, is the logical choice, while barbaresco still something of an upstart. All that aside, it’s a truly beautiful wine that deserves some attention for its amazing tasting notes typified in this well-priced bottle ($40) from the collective Produttori del Barbaresco: leather, tar and cherries in an intoxicating combo. It tastes like nothing else—except maybe barolo.
Are you over 18 years of age?