L'Italo-Americano

PAGE 20 L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2012 are no better in Piedmont, Tuscany, Puglia, Veneto and other grape growing regions. Add in rising labor, processing costs and the recession, and this year could rival the terrible 2002 crop. New world wines on the coast it was never too hot, and it was a longer growing season. There was a huge crop of white grapes, the merlot, zin and sangiovese were up." Paso Robles reported some The Electric White Wines of Italy DAVID WHITE TERROIRIST.COM The Harvest of the Decade BY FRANK MANGIO CONTRIBUTOR of wineries up and down the state resonated in all corners of the industry. The weather, front and center, was a force to be reckoned with and it sorted the winemaker pros from the rest of the pack. Too much rain, too much cold, too much heat was the hue and cry, while our friends in France and Europe took advantage of better weather conditions to gain an advantage in reviews and sales. Their current wine releases show bigger imports into the U.S. The crop for 2012 will change all that. From Temecula to Washington, In 2010 and 2011, the struggles Aaron Piotter, the winemaker for premi- um winery Ferrari-Carano in Sonoma, praised the 2012 wine grape growing season as one of the best in a decade. west coast vineyards and wineries are grinning from ear to ear about the results. The bad news this year is confined to France and Italy. French wine production has slipped 20% to the lowest in 40 years with the double wham- my of bad weather and disease, especially in the Champagne and Beaujolais regions. Italy had a steaming hot spell. White sparkling wine grapes suffered a 20% drop in Italy's most popular sparkling wine varietals. Results will be the best in years. Washington re-ports the complet- ed growing season was near-per- fect. The quality was exceptional and quantities were way up. Up in Spring Mountain, Napa Valley, they loved the clockwork consis- tency of the season. The fruit was beautiful and abundant. Perfect clusters were the norm. Over in the Dry Creek District of Sonoma, Jim Pedroncelli of Pedroncelli Winery wrapped up the 85th harvest with a "bounty of grapes, and a seamless year. We were truly blessed to have such a great year," he joyfully asserted. His yields were up 20%. Aaron spectacular fall weather allowing extra ripeness and development into the vines. Cass Winery has 150 acres planted, just east of the Templeton Gap. It specializes in Rhone varietals like Syrah, Grenache, Viognier, Marsanne and Rousanne. Owner Steve Cass is expecting more grapes for his hand picked estate varietals, now about 35% branded with the Cass name. The rest is sold off elsewhere in the market. Jim Hart can speak for Temecula Wine Country and the Ramona Wine Trail in San Diego County. He makes wine for both Hart Winery, one of Temecula's oldest, and Milagro Farm, the biggest winery in the Ramona Valley. "Both wine countries are similar in soil and weather condi- tions. What grows well in Temecula, does well in San Diego County, and this harvest will turn out to be the best in years. We are very excited about the crop." All this evidence augurs well for the west coast 2012 vintage. The juice still needs to go through fermenting, aging and bottling and no one can really know, but when you see this great year on the shelves in a couple of years, I would advise you consider buying it by the case. Frank Mangio is a renowned Piotter is the red Wine maker for Ferrari-Carano, not far from Pedroncelli. He calls it a "fantas- tic year, after two very challeng- ing years. We got more heat but wine connoisseur certified by Wine Spectator. He is one of the leading wine commentators on the web. View and link up with his columns at www.taste- ofwinetv.com. Reach him at mangiompc@aol.com. for thousands of years. When the ancient Greeks colonized south- ern Italy, and "was taken by its fresh aro- mas, its crispness, freshness and the way it paired effortlessly with foods." The next day, he drove to northern Italy's Alto Adige region, where Italy's best Pinot Grigio is grown. Upon arriving, he visited a local restaurant and ordered every Pinot Grigio on the wine list. Of the 18 bottles, Terlato most enjoyed the offering from Santa Margherita. He visited the win- ery the following day -- and returned to the United States as its sole importer. Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio from northeast Italy, particularly the regions of Alto Adige, a neighbor to Austria and money. More grape varieties are planted in Italy than any other country in the world. Thousands of Italian wines make their way to the United States. The most exciting whites come er, Pinot Grigio has become a victim of its own success. Santa Margherita isn't cheap -- it retails for $25. So the market has been flooded with cheap alterna- tives, led by brands like Cavit, Ruffino, and Ecco Domani. There are better wines for the took off. Today, it's America's most popular imported restau- rant wine. Over the past 33 years, howev- in America in 1979, when wine importer Tony Terlato visited Milan in search of the "next great white wine." Terlato tasted a Pinot Grigio "Oenotria," or land of the vine. Pinot Grigio gained a foothold utation of all Italian white wines. That's a shame, because Italy produces the most exciting whites in the world. Even Pinot Grigio can be spectacular. Italy has been producing wine this retort. All too often, Pinot Grigio is simply a sub- stitute for water. Mass-market bottlings are refreshing and fruity -- and deliver a buzz -- but they're never very com- pelling. This reality has tarred the rep- story has been used to spark a conversation about the futility of blind tasting. The wine world's smart alecks, however, have taken to replying back with a joke: "Why didn't he peg it as Pinot Grigio?" Sadly, there's some truth to what this is," he exclaimed, "but I can assure you it's something I've never had before!" Traditionally, this challenge was a glass of water. Upon smelling and sampling it, the taster expressed bewilderment. "I have no idea they called it obsessed with Kerner, as it seems to work with everything. Top eral-driven than Pinot Grigio. Gewurztraminer, Muller Thurgau, and Kerner are excep- tionally aromatic -- and display enough sweetness and acidity to complement cream sauces and even spicy foods. In recent months, I've become ple, is more floral and min- the founder and editor of Terroirist.com. His columns are housed at Palate Press: The Online Wine Magazine (PalatePress.com). more distinctive wines than any other nation -- and its whites are positively electric. David White, a wine writer, is duces some of the finest red wines in the world. Top Barolo and Brunello di Montalcino eas- ily command hundreds of dol- lars per bottle. But too many consumers disregard Italy's whites thanks to the flood of cheap Pinot Grigio that's come ashore. They shouldn't. Italy produces delicious whites. My favorites come from Campania, where a grape called Fiano thrives. At first, Fiano typically comes across as an easy-drinking quaf- fer. But it can hold its own at any table -- and the better exam- ples gain complexity with age. One of my favorites, Feudi di San Gregorio's Fiano di Avellino, runs less than $20. It's no secret that Italy pro- also known for producing rich, complex blends and crisp, clean Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Southern Italy also generates monly shortened to Friuli, is home to a host of obscure, fun, and versatile grapes like Ribolla Gialla and Friuliano. Producers in the region are Kofererhof and Abbazia Di Novacella, which both make bottlings for under $20. Friuli-Venezia Giulia, com- producers include Bianco, for exam- P i n o t British wine taster was once pre- sented with a flight of wines while wearing a blindfold. He nailed each wine, correctly iden- tifying the grape and the region in which it was grown. Toward the end of the Legend has it that a renowned world's best Pinot Grigio, but dozens of varieties flour- ish there. Switzerland, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, which borders Slovenia to the east and Austria to the north. Alto Adige is still home to the

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