Groppello Gentile

            A fairly obscure northern Italian variety. Its name, like that of many Italian grapes, seems to be derived from the shape of the tight cluster, which is thought to resemble a “groppo,” a lump or tangle. There appear to be only a few hundred acres grown, mostly in the Brescia region of Lombardy near the western shore of Lake Garda.

This bottle is produced by Cantine Turina in Garda and imported by Turina Italian Wines, run by a Maine chemical importer who branched into wine when he discovered the products made by his distant relatives. You can read a lot more about Paul Turina and his business on Fringe Wine. 

This is another of northern Italy’s seemingly inexhaustible supply of delightful unknown grapes. It has been made into just the kind of wine I enjoy most, with a full and interestingly complex cherry-raspberry flavor that is concentrated in a light body and supported with bracing acidity.

Producers tend to recommend it with cheese and meat dishes, but I’d say Fringe Wine’s Rob Tebeau has it pegged with his call to match this wine with tomato sauce. The flavor profile and acidity are just right for what can be a difficult pairing. I also have a bottle of Turina’s reserve Groppello, and maybe I’ll go a little heavier with that one, like meat with tomato sauce.

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.

Blanc du Bois

            After my unflattering description of Haak Vineyard’s Jacquez port in the previous post, I feel compelled to follow up immediately with another Haak product that I found surprisingly enjoyable.

            I hadn’t found much to like in Southern hybrid grapes, but this one is a happy accident. According to Wine Compass Blog, it resulted from a program by the University of Florida’s Leesburg Research Station to create a grape resistant to Pierce's disease, a bacterial infection of vines. The result in 1968 was Blanc du Bois, which has one muscadine parent and one that’s a vinifera hybrid. It is disease-resistant, but the bonus is that it makes delightful wine.

            With its citrusy flavors and good balance, it could easily pass as a European cousin of Sauvignon Blanc. It should definitely improve the appreciation for American hybrids in general and Texas-grown hybrids in particular. Haak buys the grapes for this bottling, but also sells a higher-end version from older vines on its own property that has won numerous medals and is a wine I’m looking forward to trying.

            Food pairing: I’ll second Haak’s recommendation of poultry and creamy pasta dishes.

Duras

            Duras is strongly associated with France’s Tarn department, which claims a wine-making history of several millennia. Despite its longevity, this black grape hasn’t earned much renown, but in my opinion it deserves more appreciation.

            An excellent ambassador for the variety is this offering from Domaine Plageoles, known for its promotion of Gaillac wines and dedication to natural wine-making. There’s a nice profile of the Plageoles family on The Vine Route blog. Their range of wines from traditional Gaillac varieties would make the winery a rewarding destination for the varietal hunter. My bottle was from Astor Wines in New York. Not cheap at $24, but very interesting to experience.

            What’s particularly noticeable about this hearty red is the purity and clarity of its fruit, due in large part to its vinification and elevage in cement vats. It has a very pleasant and distinct blackberry flavor that sets it apart from the crowd. The only grape I could really say it resembles is Sagrantino.

            Food pairing: We had it with a roast leg of lamb, and it was a worthy companion. Any flavorful meaty dish, possibly one that’s slightly rustic, would be a good excuse to open a bottle.

Mantonico di Bianco

            A big-shouldered white grape of Calabria, believed to have originated in Greece or Turkey. Sometimes spelled Montonico.

            This bottle is from Librandi, a champion of regional varietals, and they certainly take this one seriously. The grapes are fermented first in stainless steel and then in small oak barrels, then spend another eight months in small barrels of French Allier oak. This produces a wine with good aging potential for a white – Librandi suggests a window of three to five years after the vintage, and the bottle that the Potenza wine shop in D.C. ordered for me was discounted by the importer because it was even older than that. Normally it runs about $20.

            But it was in fine shape, and you can see why it inspires extravagant descriptions from the maker and from blogs like Jakob’s Bowl. I’ll just say that the yellow-fruit and citrus flavors were intense and complemented by the oak, and that the wine is worth saving for a special dinner.

            Librandi says that “it excels with sea bass, swordfish and dentex, even with the most complicated preparations.” Our Safeway being fresh out of dentex, we drank it with grilled salmon in an herbed cream sauce.

Vuillermin

   This is a full-flavored, somewhat tannic red from the Valle d’Aosta. Fairly light-bodied, but rich and aromatic.

   Vuillermin is an ancient indigenous variety that has been revived by the Institut Agricole Régional in Aosta and certain growers in the valley, including Feudo San Maurizio, which produced this bottle. 

   According to the VinoRadio Blog, the owner of Enoteca Vino Nostro in San Francisco says that Vuillermin “is so rare that there is no vineyard of it. As the story goes, the grapes used to make this wine were collected by the producer from small plantings around the region.”

   My bottle also came from Enoteca Vino Nostro. A splurge at $51.

   Food pairing: We had this bottle with a pork tenderloin roasted with garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, with a few bacon strips on top to moisten it. A good match, but this wine might go even better with another of my wife’s recipes: beef slow-cooked with onions, a little bacon, red wine, and orange peel, and served over rice.