Gourmet Guy and I uncorked a 2005 bottle of Bada-Bing Barbera last night from Red Oak Winery in Middleton. Wow! How to explain the complex character of this grape juice ... it rocked on. No Robert Parker here. A friendly wine for a Monday night. But showy enough to crack out w/ prime rib and unexpected company (does this quaint notion happen anymore?). I stumbled upon this Mass. winery (talk about an oxymoron) on Route 114 just north of North Andover and thought, why not? What makes stopping into Red Oak more pleasing then stopping by the local packy, is being able to try the wines before you buy em. Good policy. How many times have you hemmed and hawed over the great marketing on the label, gotten home only to be faced w/ another yellow tail in disguise? Too many, too damn many. The concept is great. Winemaker gets his grapes from Lodi, California and makes the wine (mostly reds) in French oak barrels. You can go inside the wine room and see the casks, offered to me w/o prompting. I recommend the award-winning chard too. I'm going back for a mixed case soon. Local is local is local, right? www.redoakwine.com