Feteasca Neagra

            Feteasca Neagra (“Black Maiden”) is an old variety cultivated traditionally in the south of Moldavia province in eastern Romania, according to a 2007 paper by the University of Agronomical Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest. Recognition of its potential for quality red wine has led to its spread throughout the country, and dozens of versions are now produced, most of them dry. Importation to the U.S. is becoming more frequent, as evidenced by the appearance of this wine from the Recas Winery at my local Total Wine superstore.

            According to the university’s paper, wine from this grape resembles that made from major international varieties – so much so that one prominent Romanian taster confessed that he identifies it by a process of elimination (“that is, after dismissing the possibility of a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Pinot Noir”). That was my impression. Its flavor was pleasant but undistinguished, a generic red-wine taste with average intensity, acidity and astringency, and no particular fruit flavor standing out above the others. Tasters often mention currants and plums.

            Food pairing: Disregarding the bottle’s inevitable recommendation of roasted red meat and anticipating a middleweight wine, we drank it with chicken chili, and it was serviceable. Some recommend lean, mild meats such as pork and veal.

Pignoletto

            The Pignoletto grape is known as “the king of the Colli Bolognese wine zone,” according to the excellent blog Fringe Wine, one of the most comprehensive sources of information about obscure grape varieties that I’ve found on the Web. But it’s little known and less consumed outside Emilia-Romagna, which is known in the U.S. mainly for Lambrusco and wine from international varieties such as Chardonnay, Merlot and the rest of the familiar crowd.

            One young producer, Alberto Tedeschi, is making a name for himself with his wines from two rented vineyards planted with this grape. His Spungola Bellaria, named after the two vineyards, is a quite distinctive wine. As he explains in this interview with importer Louis Dressner, Tedeschi produces it as an organic, natural wine because “I don't even know how to work with chemicals; I've never tried!”

            The thick-skinned grapes are pressed and the juice is left outside overnight. Fermentation begins in stainless steel, and then the juice is transferred to 500-liter old oak casks, where it stays on the lees for 12 months. This results in what’s known as “orange wine,” and it’s really quite flavorful for a white. The question is, is it a flavor that you will enjoy? For me, “interesting” comes closer than “enjoyable.” It has elements of sour orange, apple cider, vanilla and nuts. But the main takeaway is the oxidized character, and while this is intentional and natural – I’m sure that centuries ago a lot of white wines tasted like this – I can’t get past my prejudice that oxidized white wine is wine gone bad.

            Food pairing: We had it with salmon and pesto. The wine certainly stood up to it, but not particularly harmoniously. Tedeschi himself suggests bacalla, a stew made from salt cod, or else chicken, turkey, “something spicy” or less-fatty meats.

Carlos

            Carlos is a muscadine variety (V. rotundifolia) developed at the North Carolina Agricultural Extension station at Raleigh in 1970 by crossing varieties called Topsail and Tarheel. It has become the top “bronze” muscadine grape for juice and wine in the southeastern United States, according to the University of Florida.

            This product of Casa de Sue Winery in Clinton, La., has a deep yellow color and a powerful, pure muscadine flavor, which has been accurately described by one grower as "just like a grape but different."

            Food pairing: This dry wine’s assertive character stood up well to the strong flavors of a classic regional dish, shrimp creole spiced with black pepper, red pepper flakes, cayenne powder, hot paprika, allspice, a few shakes of Tabasco and worcestershire sauce – all in moderation, of course.

Abouriou

            Abouriou is a traditional, and reportedly disappearing, grape of the Marmandais, a region southeast of Bordeaux.

            This wine’s producer, Stephanie Roussel, is a practitioner of biodynamic agriculture, a style of organic farming that emphasizes the interrelationship of plants, animals and the soil and avoids chemical inputs to the greatest degree possible. Chateau Lassolle wines are often praised for their purity and genuine varietal character, and this bottling was produced without fining, filtering or added sulfur.

            It has a rustic, unpretentious character, but there’s plenty here to engage the palate. “Le rouge qui tache” is a phrase used to describe simple, strongly flavored reds, and one reviewer says this wine tastes like “it was grown in a rugby field.” Another taster says it combines the forward, fruity personality of Gamay with the leathery, black-olive accents of Mourvedre (Monastrell).

            Food pairing: It’s a wine to drink with roasted red meat or, as has been suggested, duck breast.

Edelweiss

            Edelweiss is a cold-hardy hybrid developed by Elmer Swenson, whose grape-breeding experiments dating back to the 1940s have left a lasting mark on the wine industry in the northern U.S. Edelweiss has a little V. vinifera in its pedigree, but a lot more V. labrusca – including Concord on both sides of its family tree – and some of the Minnesota V. riparia that’s often found in Swenson crossings.

            The notorious labrusca muskiness is said to be minimized by early harvesting of Edelweiss, and its precocious ripening – sometimes as early as August – makes it a natural choice for a Maine vineyard such as Prospect Hill Winery. Proprietor Richard Carle, a real Yankee craftsman, makes a wonderful dry, crisp and fruity version that might change some assumptions about Maine wine.

            Food pairing: We drank this bottle on the pier at Wellfleet, Mass., last summer with a bucket of takeout steamer clams, a green salad and some rolls. Absolutely perfect.

Mavrotragano

            Vines in the sandy, volcanic soil of the Greek island of Santorini were one of the few to resist phylloxera. But what the invading louse couldn’t destroy, commercialization nearly did. The sacrifice of vineyards to burgeoning tourism development and the rush to plant the excellent white Assyrtiko grape once reduced the indigenous Mavrotragano to less than 2 percent of the island’s production. Most of it was used for sweet passito-style wine for local consumption. The tide turned in the late 1990s after a couple of prominent growers began producing dry wines, and their quality is becoming more widely recognized.

            Estate Argyros is often mentioned as being among the top producers. While my bottle from a certain D.C. wine shop seemed ridiculously overpriced at $60, I would recommend it at half that. It comes to the table carrying a big club, thanks to its 14 percent abv and 18 months in small oak barrels. But it’s not really a brute-force wine. Garnet in color, its spicy cherry-berry flavors are carried on a middleweight body and with restrained tannins, so the oak doesn’t overpower.

            Food pairing: Lamb is a natural partner.

Forastera

            A specialty of the island of Ischia near Naples. Its name is said to mean “foreigner” in local dialect, and this may be appropriate, as some sources say it’s originally from the Canary Islands.

            Casa d’Ambra buys the grapes from local growers and vinifies them in stainless steel. The wine is dry and light in flavor, vaguely citrusy and supposedly with hints of apricot and almond, although you’d have to taste hard to discern them.

            This bottle was a good accompaniment to our Easter-dinner salad of arugula and fennel with green olives and toasted almonds. The recipe was from the “A16 – Food and Wine” cookbook, which recommends a pairing with Biancolella, Forastera’s frequent companion in Ischia Bianco wine. (The cookbook, from the San Francisco-based southern Italian restaurant, provides good details on many regional varietal wines and in general gives wine equal billing with the cuisine.) 

Frontenac Gris

            Frontenac Gris originated as a sport, or spontaneous mutation, when a cane with bronze-gray fruit sprouted from a vine of the Frontenac black grape at the University of Minnesota Horticultural Research Center. Subsequent propagation consistently yielded fruit with the same qualities.

“Due to … high levels of both sugar and acidity, Frontenac Gris wines often require leaving residual sugar in order to produce a well balanced wine in northern climates,” according to UM. That’s the case with this product of Grovedale Winery, a small family-run operation in northeastern Pennsylvania. It’s a very pleasant wine that has won several regional awards and always seems to be appreciated by our guests. It’s deep yellow thanks to the grape skins and has a peachy-citrusy flavor -- not overly sweet and with a refreshing tang -- and a creamy texture.

            Food pairing: It went well with the bowl of fresh mango and strawberries that was our Easter dinner dessert.

De Chaunac

            De Chaunac is a hybrid created by the French breeder Albert Seibel with an American-style diversity of origin. It is an interspecific crossing, and how! Tracing its lineage in the Vitis database turns up no fewer than five grape species -- labrusca, lincecumii, riparia, rupestris and vinifera -- within four generations. And that’s just on one parent’s side. How’s that for a melting pot?

            It’s most widely grown now in the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada, to which it was introduced as Seibel 9549 in the mid-20^th century by the Canadian enologist Adhemar de Chaunac. It was once quite popular, due to its ability to survive very cold winters and produce wine with complex fruit flavors that are enhanced by oak, according to Hudson Valley Wine Magazine.

            This offering from Altamont Vineyard and Winery near Albany, N.Y., is probably not the best ambassador for the grape. While certainly drinkable (we finished the bottle), it was somewhat thin and bitter. Hopefully this is not what Upstate New Yorkers consider to be passion.

            Food pairing: A rice casserole with spinach and cheese might work.

Merlot Noir

            Merlot Noir, the queen of Bordeaux, has the feminine characteristics of softness, roundness and opulence to complement the sterner qualities of King Cabernet Sauvignon. (And in the tradition of European royalty interbreeding, they are in fact half-siblings, each having Cabernet Franc as a parent.) It is reportedly the most widely planted grape in France and has been adopted almost wherever wine is made, thanks to its ability to produce large quantities of juicy, enjoyable quaff.

            This has engendered a certain lack of respect for the varietal wine among serious oenophiles, most famously expressed in the “I’m not drinking any fucking Merlot” line from the film “Sideways.” So, as I begin to upgrade the classic varieties in my tasting collection, I have replaced a lower-shelf California product with one from an area that does get some respect: Pomerol. The uncontested best wine of the appellation, Chateau Petrus, usually contains 5 percent Cabernet Franc but is occasionally made with 100 percent Merlot Noir. One instance is the 2010 vintage, which is currently available en primeur for as little as $2,499 a bottle.

            Someday I may get a taste of that, but until then I’ll settle for my bottle of Fleur de Gay, the luxury cuvee of Petrus neighbor Chateau La Croix de Gay, at a mere 3 percent of the price. Although more than a decade old, the wine was remarkably fresh and charming. The flavors were intense without being jammy or overpowering, and the family resemblance to Cabernet Sauvignon was apparent, as were the differences. The tannins of this oak-raised wine played only a modest supporting role to the mouth-filling fruit.

            Food pairing: We followed Hugh Johnson’s recommendation in his 2012 Pocket Wine Book and prepared an unctuous oxtail stew.