Neither Hank Cooper nor his son Dick Cooper was the first to cultivate barbera in Amador County's Shenandoah Valley.

That distinction belongs to Cary Gott, who in 1971, as winemaker for Montevina Winery, planted the first barbera in the area. (Terra d'Oro Winery has succeeded Montevina, though Montevina lives on as a brand.)

The Coopers, however, share with the Greg Boeger family in neighboring El Dorado County credit for showing that barbera is as capable as zinfandel of yielding a wine both refined and respected in the Sierra foothills.

Not only has Dick Cooper expanded his planting of barbera on the family ranch over the past three decades, but he has been an effective proponent of the varietal in his role as a developer of vineyards for other growers in the region.

None of that might have happened without the urging of Sacramento grocer Darrell Corti. He was at a luncheon on the Cooper ranch in the mid-1970s when Hank Cooper asked him what variety of wine grape he should plant.

At the time, Cooper mostly was growing walnuts and prunes. During World War II, he had cultivated zinfandel for medicinal alcohol used by the military. Soon after the war, however, the market for zinfandel collapsed, and Cooper wanted nothing more to do with the variety.

Thus his question for Corti, who had a response but no paper on which to jot down his recommendations: dolcetto and barbera. Cooper didn't know those varieties, and to help him remember, Corti pulled from his wallet a dollar bill on which he wrote, next to the portrait of George Washington, the names of the two Italian grapes.

Cooper then got some cuttings of barbera from his neighbor Cary Gott and began to revive his vineyard.

That legacy has been expanded by his son with additional plantings, with the suggestion that other growers put in the variety, and with the founding of his own winery, Cooper Vineyards, where barbera is the principal varietal.

The dollar with Corti's cryptic recommendations was missing from the Cooper family's heirlooms when I last wrote of it four years ago, but since then, it's been rediscovered. While Hank Cooper took Corti's suggestion to plant barbera, he didn't take to dolcetto with the same enthusiasm.

That's understandable, said Corti. Cuttings of dolcetto at that time were scarcer than budwood for barbera. Also, dolcetto is more challenging to grow and market, even on its native turf in the Piemonte region of northern Italy.

"I told Hank that, and he probably was put off by it. But it would have been difficult to get cuttings here in any event," said Corti.

Nonethless, Cooper Vineyards doesn't lack for diversity in its wine portfolio. The current lineup includes a rich, spicy and long 2009 viognier, a ripe and earthy 2008 roussanne, a bright and zesty zinfandel, and a dense and floral orange muscat, among several other varietals.

Barbera, however, is Cooper's flagship wine. The current release, the Cooper Vineyards 2008 Amador County Barbera, is an unusually husky interpretation of the varietal, thanks to the ripeness of the fruit, the generous application of American and French oak, and the intensity of the alcohol. But despite its heft and its youth, it's a readily accessible wine. The fruit flavors are sunny and deep, the tannins supple, the finish long. Barbera's characterstic blueberry, cherry and plum flavors are in there, along with the varietal's typically uplifting acidity.

The Coopers now are up to about 35 acres in barbera, with more vines gradually coming on line. This has compelled Cooper winemaker Mike Roser to refine his techniques. With the 2008 barbera, for example, he brought in the fruit with three individual harvests, then fermented the grapes with five different yeasts, all necessitated by variable maturation rates in scattered plots of the expanding vineyard.

He and the Coopers, no doubt, are setting aside at least a few cases of the wine to have on hand June 11. That's when the first Barbera Festival is to be held, fittingly at the Cooper spread in the middle of Shenandoah Valley.

Brian Miller and Deirdre Mueller of Fiddletown, who are organizing the event, said more than 70 wineries that make barbera have signed on for an afternoon of tasting, crafts, arts and musical entertainment. For more information: www.barberafestival.com.

Cooper Vineyards 2008 Amador County Barbera ($25)

By the numbers: 15.2 percent alcohol, 827 cases, $25

Context: Given this barbera's heft, it's best served with heavier foods, including grilled ribs, culotte steak, osso buco, duck and pizzas, pastas and stews made with liberal use of tomatoes and cheese. Roser especially enjoys the wine with lamb, and ravioli in a red sauce.

Availability: In the Sacramento area, the barbera is carried by Beyond Napa, Nugget Markets, Magpie Catering, branches of Raley's in Jackson and El Dorado Hills, and Pokerville Market in Plymouth.

More information: The tasting room at Cooper Vineyards, 21365 Shenandoah School Road, Plymouth, is open 11 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays. www.cooperwines.com

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Longtime wine critic and competition judge Mike Dunne continues his relationship with The Bee as a contributing columnist to the Food & Wine section and www.sacwineregion.com. His wine selections are based solely on open and blind tastings, judging at competitions, and visits to wine regions. Check out his blog at http:// ayearinwine.blogspot.com, and reach him at mikedunne@winegigs.com.

• Read more articles by Mike Dunne