A blend of Barbera and Bonarda grapes, the 2013 Gutturnio Riserva Classico Romeo is the ultimate cheese pasta or pizza wine. It shows that tangy, edgy personality that makes such a perfect match to fat or dairy-based foods. The wine opens to a dark, purplish color with aromas of blackberry and red beets, backed by earth, metallic iodine and sanguineous notes. The 14% alcohol adds some power and punch to the finish.

The 2007 Gutturnio Riserva Romeo is 60% Barbera and 40% Bonarda that spent one year in oak prior to being bottled. This explosive red bursts onto the palate with myriad arrays of blackberries, blueberries, French oak, new leather and violets. A deep, immensely rewarding red, the Riserva Romeo should drink well for a number of years. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2017. It’s impossible to go wrong with any of these delicious wines from Castello di Luzzano, one of my favorite properties in Emilia Romagna. Importer: Vias Imports, New York, NY; tel. (212) 629-0200

Readers looking for a first-rate red will delight in the 2006 Gutturnio Riserva Romeo a cuvee of 60% Barbera and 40% Bonarda. This wine, from the little-known Colli Piacentini appellation, offers up an enticing array of violets, graphite, dark cherries and licorice. Although the wine possesses notable plumpness in its fruit, the tannins are also rather firm, suggesting that the best pairings will be with fairly hearty dishes that can balance out the wine’s structural components. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2012. Castello di Luzzano is located on the border of Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy, and is an excellent source for the wines of this little-known part of Italy. Importer: Vias Imports, New York, NY; tel. (212) 629-0200

The 2004 Gutturnio Riserva Romeo is a blend of 60% Barbera and 40% Bonarda aged for 12 months in small French oak barrels. It is soft and caressing on the palate, where it offers plenty of sweet dark fruit intermingled with subtle notes of toasted oak. A final note of freshness helps give this wine its gorgeous overall balance. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2011. Importer: Vias Imports, New York, NY; tel. (212) 629-0200