MASSERIA VENDITTI Sannio Bianco 2015
This esoteric white wine is from Campania, southern Italy (the shin-Mediterranean side). It is 70% Grieco di Castelvenere, 30% Cerreto. Cold soak for 3 days, then pressed off for a 2-3 week fermentation. Really cool wine…lemon zest, candied orange peel, fresh green olives, grapefruit, coriander, white pepper. It has medium/high acidity and an oily texture. […]
RONCHI DI MANZANO Ribolla Gialla 2017
A delicious skin-ferment white wine, this spent 4 months on the skins, half the time fermenting. While it fits into the “orange wine” category by its ferment, the Ronchi di Manzano Ribolla Gialla is not orange. It’s a light lemony-yellow color with an ever-so-slight haze. Let’s get to the important stuff-smell and taste. Smoked whole […]
PIEVALTA Verdicchio Castelli di Jesi 2016
This is a delicious, light, crisp white wine from the Le Marche region in central Italy, Adriatic Coast on its east side. It’s a go-to fish wine of the area, and for Italian white drinkers everywhere. Smell and taste lemon zest, orange blossoms, tangy green apple skins & flesh, kiwi and nectarine. Bright for sure, […]
VILLA VARDA Friulano 2017
A native grape to Friuli, Friulano flourishes next to the better known, better-selling Pinot Grigio grape (Villa Varda also makes a delicious Pinot Grigio for about the same price, by the way). Zippy and earthy (in a crushed white rock kind of way), the Villa Varda Friulano brings together a bright, citrus-driven fruitiness and a […]
MURGO Etna Bianco 2016
Best known for red wines, Sicily’s Etna wine region is capable of making delicious (and great value) white wine as well. This MURGO Bianco is 70% Carricante, 30% Catarratto (both native grapes of the region). This starts with a piercing, citrus zest, spring blossoms, rocky aroma. Tangy, lemon/orange acidity and exotic honeysuckle flavors. Very dry, […]
VADIAPERTI Coda di Volpe 2016
I love the fruitiness of this wine. From beginning to end get orchard fruits (peach, pear and apple), fresh orange and a little bit of lemongrass. Take all this and drizzle a thin stream of honey over the whole kitten-kaboodle. It’s not sweet by most definitions, but I do perceive a little more “sneaky sweetness” […]
VADIAPERTI Fiano di Avellino 2016
Zesty, zippy, “electric” white wine with an unmistakable “minerality” weaving through. Smell and taste lemon zest, citrus blossoms, Granny Smith apple (skin-on), crunchy pear and crushed chalky rocks. The best Fianos (like this) marry tangy with creamy a la bright Chardonnay (think Chablis) and dry Riesling. Similar, but different. The Vadiaperti is spot-on delicious and […]
WASSERERHOF Pinot Bianco, Alto Adige 2016
This is high-quality Pinot Bianco (aka Pinot Blanc, aka Weissburgunder) as it should be. Lovely, bright fruit, ample acidity, more mouth feel than Grigio, crisp and lingering 15 second finish. In the fruit realm get pears, green apples, Meyer lemon and nectarine. Aging on its lees is for body, not flavor. This is a great […]
CA’ LOJERA Lugana Bianco 2016
Made from 90% Verdicchio (aka Trebbiano di Lugana). This light, solid-structured white wine smells & tastes of kiwi, lime, river rocks, fresh white flowers and honeydew melon. All steel tank ferment and aged. This is crisp and refreshing as all get-out and still with a texture that gently lingers on the 15 second finish. Drink […]
CONTE ROMANO Malvasia Istriana 16
Malvasia Istriana (one of the many grapes in the Malvasia family) is originally from Croatia, which is less than 100 miles southeast from the vineyards of Conte Romano in the northeast corner of Italy. An ancient grape of style and substance, Malvasia makes a wine I can fairly call a “wine geek’s delight” because it […]
ALOIS LAGEDER Weissburgunder “Haberle” 15
Finding top-notch Pinot Blanc is quite rare. That’s one reason I’m excited about this northern Italian representative. Grown at 1500 feet in rocky soils, so intensity and “nerve” is natural for the wine. Smell and taste lemon/apple, citrus zest, Bosc pear, touch of fresh bread crust. Lightness but with more stuffing than it’s more popular […]
