By Mike Dunne, Sacramento Bee

Though the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition in Sonoma County is a strictly all-American show, this year it drew 98 Barbera entries.

My panel at the competition tasted just one of the Barberas, Healdsburg’s Portalupi Wine 2013 Amador County Shake Ridge Ranch Barbera ($45), a faithfully vibrant and solidly built interpretation of the varietal. (The 2013 no longer is available, but the 2014 has been released at the same price.) It was the only one to be nominated for sweepstakes consideration.

Though the Portalupi wasn’t ultimately crowned the best red wine in the competition, it was fitting that a Barbera in the final round was from Amador County, which further enhanced its standing as the epicenter of modern Barbera production in the nation.

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