Italian Grapes on American Soil
ByPietro Buttitta
American Wine Society National Conference 2014
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
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