Italian Grapes on American Soil

ByPietro Buttitta

American Wine Society National Conference 2014

pietro@rosadorovineyards.com

Why?

• Why do gatekeepers find domestic Italians suspicious and unworthy?

• Why are they held to an Old World model much more so than French grapes?

• With so many Italian producers why so few Italian grapes?

• Why have we growers and producers failed to raise the game?

Sangiovese• The most planted grape in Italy, and one of the least planted here

• A very difficult grape that could not

possibly dominate the market today

• 200 California acres in 1991, 2,000 in 2010

Barbera

• Unique attributes – low tannin, good acid, oak, blendable, adaptable

• In 1919 – 5,000 acres 1968 – 1,214 acres 1980 – 20,000 acres 2010 – 6,800 acres• Modernists in

Piedmont gave it a second life

History 1600-1850

• Edward Antill plants in Jersey 1764• Jefferson, Mazzei plant many

Italian cultivars• 1825-27, the South Carolina plan• Mission period in California• The California Gold Rush hits

History 1850-1900

• The Gold Rush - population 18x in 4 years

• Establishment of Southern California colonies and their demise

• San Francisco growth, Haraszthy• Phylloxera, Krug and Spanna, Henry

Crabb and Napa Valley• Italian Swiss Colony• Italian immigration explodes

History 1850-90continued

• The UC system and Eugene Hilgard• Charles Wetmore and production • To Kalon has 1100 acres and 400

cultivars, Borreo Vineyards nearby• Typical bottling lineup: Tokay, Hock,

Port, Angelica, Zin and maybe a Claret

• Rise of the California Wine Association

History 1900 - Prohibition

• The California Wine Association and the pros and cons of growth. By 1902 the CWA controlled 73% of production

• The Italian Vineyard Company - 4,000 acres, blending and Grignolino

• Dry table wine just barely stays ahead of sweet production

• And then the lights went out…

CWA wholesale

offerings in 1908

Nebbiolo• The real heartbreak grape

• Pedigreed by 1890, but always confusing consumers

• Never recommended for planting by agricultural authorities

• 169 acres in 1997

Primitivo/Zin/Tribidrag

Zinfandel (1850)

Primitivo (1900)

• CrljenakKastelanski

Refosco

• Where did it go?• Was one of

Hilgard’s highly recommended grapes

• To Kalon vineyard was Refosco ground zero

Prohibition and the aftermath

• Particularly difficult on farmers• Creative solutions like concentrate

and dehydrated bricks• In the 40’s distilleries started

buying up all of the wineries, hurting quality even more

• 3 out of 4 bottles sold were sweet, and Gallo did very well with this

1940 - 1960

• Fork in the road - Tchelistcheff and BV, barrels and Bordeaux ideology succeed

• The irony of Gallo, Cribari, Roma, Gambarelli, DaVito and consolidation

• In 1952 Mission was still the 4th most planted grape, Palomino was king white

• Wine Advisory Board: Burgundy and Claret, Chablis and Rhine for fine wine

• Schoonmaker pushes for varietal labels

The Modern Period

• Wine becomes sexy and publishable

• European travel, Tuscanization• UC Davis continues

Bordeauxization• The Judgement of Paris• In 1967 table wine overtakes

sweet wines and Gallo plants Barbera

• Planting experiments take hold again

Back to the Italian future…Grapes we should be seeing

more of

• Fiano - heat loving powerful and age- worthy whites

• Montepulciano - heat loving earthiness with good productivity

• Sagrantino - Umbrian native• Aglianico - Southern Italy’s

Cabernet

Bright spots in the 70’s and 80’s

• Sierra Foothills - Montevina, Vino Noceto, Cooper

• Zonin and Barboursville in Virginia• Caparone, Pepi, Nebbiolo

experiements in the Central Valley and Tulare

• Cabernet pays the bills but winemakers want to play with an international deck and Italian varietal labels do appear

1990’s Near Tragedy

• Antinori and Mondavi and Atlas Peak, even after Tignanello creates modern Chianti

• Proof of the difficulties of growing Italian grapes and their responsiveness

• Despite this marketing setback at home, the improving quality of Italian wines holds interest, and after a generation many have forgiven and forgotten

The encouraging present

• Millenials want new and exciting wines

• The culinary world is interacting in positive ways

• Hipster sommeliers and Jon Bonné

• What is old is new again…• Frankly, Italian grapes are really

interesting and stylistically diverse

A brief bibliography

American Vintage - Paul Lukacs

A History of American Wine 1 & 2 - Thomas Pinney

Curse of the Blue Nun - Mike Veseth

A Companion to California Wine - Charles L. Sullivan

Soft Soil, Black Grapes - Simone Cinotto

Wine Heritage - Dick Rosano

Thanks to Darrell Corti, Charles Sullivan, Ted Seghesio, Foundation Plant Services and to all who communicated and donated wine for the tasting.

Harrington WinesNebbiolo

Paso Robles, Ca.

Rosa d’OroRefosco 2012Yolo and Lake County, Ca.

Rosa d’OroPrimitivo 2011

Lake County, Ca.

Castelli VineyardsNebbiolo

Green Valley, Ca.2

Vino NocetoSangiovese

Riserva 2010

SeghesioSangiovese

Sonoma County, Ca. 2011

Vino NocetoSangiovese

Riserva 2010

Enotria Barbera 2010

Mendocino, Ca.

Rosa d’Oro Barbera 2012

Lake County, Ca.1Seghesio

SangioveseSonoma County,

Ca. 2011

Enotria Barbera 2010

Mendocino, Ca.

Rosa d’Oro Barbera 2012

Lake County, Ca.1

3 HarringtonFiano 2012

Paso Robles, Ca.

Rosa d’OroMontepulciano

2012Tracy Hills and

Lake County,. Ca.

BenessereSagrantino 2009Napa Valley, Ca.

Rosa d’OroAglianico 2012

Lake County, Ca.

Flight One Tasting Notes

Seghesio 2011 Sangiovese $30seghesio.com

Vino Noceto2010 Sangiovese Riserva $24noceto.com

Enotria 2010 Barbera, Mendocino, Ca. $18grazianofamilyofwines.com

Rosa d’Oro Vineyards2012 Barbera, Lake County, Ca. $24rosadorovineyards.com

Flight Two

Castelli Vineyards2009 Nebbiolo $22-34castellivineyards.com

Harrington Wines2010 Nebbiolo Paso Robles $30harringtonwine.com

Rosa d’Oro Vineyards2011 Primitivo Lake County $24rosadorovineyards.com

Rosa d'Oro Vineyards2012 Refosco California $28rosadorovineyards.com

Flight Three

Harrington Wines2012 Fiano, Paso Robles $27harringtonwine.com

Rosa d’Oro Vineyards2012 Montepulciano Californi $24rosadorovineyards.com

Benessere Vineyards2009 Sagrantino Napa Valley $50benesserevineyards.com

Rosa d'Oro Vineyards2012 Aglianico Lake County $28rosadorovineyards.com