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Slowly, but surely, we are seeing more Italian varietal wines made here in California. Hallelujah! Thanks to increased availability of all Italian wines in the US, winemakers are getting familiar with great wines from ALL Italian wine regions. This, combined with our heightened awareness of global warming, results in more folks willing to take a chance here on Italian wine grapes.
Prior, most growers and wineries focused on Northern Italian varieties. This makes sense since the wines from Tuscany (Chianti, Brunello), Piedmonte (Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera), Veneto and Friuli (Pinot Grigio, Pinot Bianco) are acclaimed, and accordingly, have better US distribution.
But, as a great songwriter once penned, “the times, they are a changing.”
Today, many of us are intrigued by Southern Italian wines, thanks to folks like Shelley Lindgren, founder of San Francisco’s A-16 restaurant, and author Robert Camuto. Camuto has two excellent books featuring quality-oriented and passionate winemakers in Sicily and Southern Italy, entitled Palmento and South of Somewhere. Lindgren has a book called Italian Wine, set to be released in late August 2023.
Our new releases feature several prominent Southern Italian wine grapes we have been farming since 2011. Undoubtedly you will see more Aglianico, Fiano, and Falanghina wines made here in California, especially as growers and producers attempt to adjust to global warming. So far, our results have been nothing short of amazing, especially considering the relatively short period of time. Imagine how good these wines will be when the vines get older and our experience develops. Viva Campania in California!
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43% Vermentino
30% Fiano
16% Biancolella
11% Falinghina
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It's baaack! Our (sort of) Southern Italian white wine blend, Bianco del Campo. Last year we infuriated many of you by selling out of the ’21 Bianco in about 2 weeks. This year we made a bit more, which will hopefully allow more of you to enjoy this excellent everyday white. Just as we did last year, our ’22 Bianco is a blend of our young vine whites which include Vermentino, Fiano, Biancolella and Falanghina. Think of our Bianco as an homage to the delicious white wines from Italy’s Amalfi coast, with the help of young vine Vermentino.
Vermentino is the special guest from Central Italy sitting in on this session, like when Jeff Beck played on Stevie Wonder’s Talking Book recording. Our young vine Vermentino (clones FPS 1.1 and FPS04) hails from Liguria and appears physically different from our original Vermentino vines we planted in 2004 (originally brought in by Tablas Creek). The young vine Vermentino has looser clusters of smaller berries versus our original Vermentino. It looks exactly like the Vermentino we saw during our trip to several excellent Ligurian producers 4 years ago. So far, we’ve noticed that our young vine Vermentino is less fruity with more complex, mineral flavors, and excellent structure from natural acidity. Not surprisingly, this is more like Ligurian Vermentino. This block really provides the depth, nerve, and structure in our 2022 Bianco del Campo.
Our young vine Fiano continues to impress us with its depth and minerality. The young vine Biancolella and Falanghina add a layer of expressive fruit. As always, we ferment and age in concrete and stainless-steel tanks to highlight freshness and fruit. Like our 2021 Segromigno, our ’22 Bianco is my kind of wine for drinking every day. It has the freshness and acidity I crave in all whites, with some depth and complexity. This is our last white for the year. Have at it!
405 cases produced
$28 / btl
$22.40 / when you purchase any 12 UNTI wines
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Both Ian D’Agata and Shelley Lindgren, the most knowledgeable people I know on Southern Italian wines, are quick to call Aglianico one of the world’s great red grapes. 2019 is only our fourth vintage making Aglianico, and if our results are any indication, we completely agree about its majestic stature in the world of wine.
Aglianico is the undisputed king of red wines in the Southern Italy, especially from the Taurasi DOCG in Campania. It makes wines that have a floral perfumed aroma, depth of ripe fruit, and plenty of structure from tannin and acidity. It is what makes some of the world's best Aglianico wines age-worthy.
With this kind of critically-acclaimed street cred, you would think winemakers in California would be clamoring to plant more Aglianico vines—especially considering our warm Mediterranean climate. Additionally, Aglianico responds to premium Cabernet winemaking methods here, meaning managing the tannins during fermentation, and aging in small oak barrels for 18 months to 2 years.
Yet upon reviewing the 2022 California Grape Acreage Report, there are only 73 acres planted of Aglianico here, and 12 of those aren’t even bearing fruit yet. Wake up people!
Our 2019 Aglianico is in lock step with the previous three vintages. Our 2-acre vineyard block seems to provide more perfumed aromas than most Taurasi wines, with similar depth, tannin structure, and complexity. To those lucky enough to have any of the 2016, 2017, or 2018 Aglianicos in your cellar, the wines are all still living large and youthful. This 2019 Aglianico might be a little more expressive earlier on than our previous vintages, but there is plenty of tannin to allow this wine to age gracefully for the next 6-10 years. Should our next trip to Italy include Campania?
275 cases
$45 btl
$36 when you purchase any 12 UNTI wines
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