A Young Italian, Nicely Balanced

Currado recalled a Wine Spectator wine-and-food-pairing event a few years ago featuring star chefs Mario Batali, Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck and Charlie Trotter that showcased the food-friendliness of his Barbera. "With the merlot and cabernet sauvignon, the chefs paired only red meat dishes. But with my Barbera, they were able to create four different dishes that all went with the wine: from Batali's pasta with tomato sauce to Puck's filet mignon with foie gras to Lagasse's salmon with a red-wine reduction.

"When in doubt, Barbera is an easy pick. That's why you'll see it so often by the glass in restaurants: It goes with everything," Currado said. "Also, Barbera is relaxed, a wine for sharing and enjoying when you're talking loud and laughing with friends, and you don't want to think too much."

At $24 a bottle, the 2005 Vietti Barbera d'Asti "Tre Vigne" offers a gentle entry to Vietti wines, both price-wise and flavor-wise, for those used to a fruitier, New World style who are making the move to an earthier, Old World style.

Another easy pick this week was the 2007 Cascinetta Vietti Moscato d'Asti ($16), the freshest, fruitiest and creamiest example of the variety we have ever tasted. With just 5.5 percent alcohol, Moscato d'Asti is often a Piedmontese's first wine, given the local tradition of dipping a baby's pacifier in it. You don't need to have been born that lucky to develop a taste for it. It is a delight, either solo or poured over sliced fresh strawberries.

"Wine is like food: The best is all about elegance and finesse and balance," Currado said. And as to balance: "In Italy, you order your food first and then the wine. Not like here [in the United States], where some wine drinkers are so serious they do it backwards."

We're glad to know Currado shares our passion for trying to even the scales.

Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, award-winning authors of "What to Drink With What You Eat," can be reached through their Web site,http://www.becomingachef.com, or atfood@washpost.com.

Tips: WINEMAN'S HOLIDAY

Tips: WINEMAN'S HOLIDAY

At home, Vietti winemaker Luca Currado doesn't drink his own wines; he says he does too much of that at work. "I'll drink other producers' Barolo and Barbaresco," he offered. That still sounded like work -- however pleasant -- so we pressed further until he admitted:

"I love champagne. I love Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millénaires [made from 100 percent chardonnay] and Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill . But Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Elisabeth Rosé is the best in the world to me.

"And I love Côtes du Rhône wines. Two of the most incredible of my life were a 1961 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle and a 1978 Château Rayas [Châteauneuf-du-Pape]. Mama mia, that was a monster!"