Richard Serra’s ‘Wake’ is an immersive experience- thoughtful and elegant- emerging from it, you spy Roy McMakin’s piece, ‘Love and Loss’- a piece of  lightweight pop-art with all the visual appeal of the golden arches on a stretch of interstate. Moving along, one bumps into Claes Oldenburg’s ‘Typewriter Eraser Scale X’ completely abstract to anyone under 30.

I was afraid that the juxtaposition of so many wildly divergent styles left me with more questions then answers-any one of these experienced on its own could in some way be definitive, together its a hot mess of conceptual misfires, the great diluted with the good and brought low by the very questionable. Moreover, its hard to figure out what, if any context the sculptures were made in, or to discern the artists intent.
This brings us to the grapes of Washington;
Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Gris, Rousanne, Muller Thurgau, Viognier, Muscat Ottonel, Orange Muscat, Aligote, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet franc, Merlot, Syrah, Petit Sirah, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Sangiovese, Touriga, Tempranillo, Pinot Noir, Grenache, Lemberger (Blue Franc), Barbera, Nebbiolo, Mouvedre, Zinfandel…….

In 1970, Washington State had only two wineries, both based on single, small vineyards producing white wines. Since then, Washington has become the second biggest wine producer in the states.

Driving from Seattle to Eastern Washington on 90, you go through the hi-tech hi-wealth belt created by Microsoft and the tech boom, into the Cascades. Its a journey that takes you into the hinterland quickly. Driving through the mountains, maybe you’ll stop in Roslyn for breakfast- its where Northern Exposure was filmed, and feels properly desolate. East of the mountains, you arrive at a landscape uninviting and bleak- the topography the only features; no trees or landmarks- featureless but for the scrub-covered rolling hills and moraine. As you go on, the feeling of desolation grows stronger, jarring coming from the Puget Sound to this in a mornings drive.

More eerie then beautiful- Eastern Washington looks like the moon.

This feeling of separation from civilization is compounded at many of the wineries- in tasting room after tasting room, there is a detachment from the greater wine world, and it shows.

On a recent visit to Rattlesnake Hills, an AVA just southeast of Yakima, The UnCorker visited vineyards and tasting rooms on a stretch of Highway 82 between Yakima and Prosser, where   there are dozens of wineries-

In the scheme of things, wine in Washington State is as new as the internet, and like it, unpredictable. At times this is frustrating and disappointing. Like a sculpture garden, context was lacking- That goes a long way to explaining the surfeit of grapes; there are no natives, so what will work is a matter of trial and error. This experimentation hasn’t made Washington’s wines easy to understand-

Winemakers in Washington wonder why their wineries are unheard of outside of Washington while displaying their dozens of labels. They all make several cuvees, low end to high, often with no varietals listed, but often with names from the prosaic, i.e. “Bistro Red”, to the confusing, “Purple Haze” to the just plain out of touch bizarre “Bung Dog Red”. Bonnair, the producer of Bung Dog blends malbec, pinot noir, cabernet franc and petit verdot in this bottling- its light and appetizing, spicy and soft, and if you drive to the winery, it will set you back about 8 bucks a bottle-
Bonnair also grows Touriga, and Tinta Çao and Tinta Madera, to make a port. At Portteus, another Rattlesnake Hills winery, the tasting room guy was trying to play himself a solo game of ping pong when we arrived, the only visitors of the day.
A look at the vineyards showed blocks of malbec next to pinot noir next to sangiovese next to zinfandel. Portteus makes some solid wines- a beautiful cabernet sauvignon, more Bordelaise then Napa, as well as a seemingly endless offering of varietal bottlings and blends- an overblown, soggy chardonnay, a cloying orange muscat-within one winery and to the next, grapes and styles vary crazily. We wondered, is this a region in creative ferment? Are they blindly groping forward? Is it too soon to tell?

This got us thinking of all of the world’s emerging wine regions; if not tied to a tradition, indigenous cuisine or part of a diverse body of crops, what do these regions and their wines have to offer? The UnCorker doesn’t advocate for a narrow Old-World only approach to drinking, quite the contrary, but  the wine world is abuzz with natural, bio-dynamic, small-producer, slow food, organic, locavorism. Do these words have meaning for most wine drinkers? Are they significant as more then just advertising and marketing? Are they simply more walls put up between producer and consumer? Hip geeksterisms? Is wine an object invested with meaning and tradition, i.e. context, or something to be manipulated?  Would the French blend pinot noir with malbec? Quel Horror, no- would the Italians? Well, maybe- one of the oldest wine producing lands in the world is always mixing the old and new, experimenting and playing, breaking rules and bringing inspired new things into the world. Of course for the Italians its all tempered with the knowledge and experience of thousands of years. Forty years ago there were predictions of the death of Italian wine, based simply on the introduction of the barrique by Gaja-more or less universally accepted today. Now the Italians are growing tannat in Trentino and muller thurgau in Basilicata, and no one freaks out.

Eastern Washington is and always has been a land of mono-cropping; apples, pears, and hops- the lion’s share of the worlds hops are produced here- these are commodity crops into which grapes fit neatly. The winery most associated with Washington State is Columbia Crest, with a production of 1.7 million cases of wine a year, it could hardly be otherwise- yet this huge industrial producer also took Wine Spectators Wine of the Year Award with their 2005 Columbia Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. This is good and bad news for a wine region still trying to find itself. Will wineries try to emulate the success by making critic-pleasing muscular wines in an international style, or try to be different.

There seems to be a divide in wines and styles in Washington State, between those in Western Washington that buy their fruit from eastern growers and make their wine around Seattle and the town of Woodinville- many of these are the more well known wineries; Chaleur Estates, Owen Sullivan, and Andrew Will to name a few. These wines tend to be more in touch with the industry, making a handful of wines, mostly from Bordeaux grapes, and mostly red, these are big polished wines that get press and critical acclaim. The other side of this coin is wineries you’ve probably never heard of, scraping for the market and attention, but often seeming unawares of the greater wine world. Is that unawareness a bad thing though? Bonnair makes a lovely cabernet franc that is a dead-ringer for a perfect, modest Bourgeil or Chinon, all tomato leaf and tobacco, for 3 times the price, Owen Sullivan makes a Champoux Vineyard Cabernet Franc that is rich, muscular, and almost completely devoid of character, and is a lousy dinner companion besides.

Will they be defined by cabernet sauvignon, as the wine press seems to want them to be, or will it be a combination of things? Merlot and syrah are exceptional, semillion as well- So how to understand Washington State? Other regions are easy because we identify them with what they mostly do; when you think Argentina, malbec comes to mind, Oregon, easy,  pinots noir and gris, New Zealand is sauvignon blanc and pinot noir, Chile is the land of cheap cabernet sauvignon.

Washington State will, for sure, be a powerhouse in the wine world in the coming decades, what they produce, and how we think of them are yet to be determined.

Our real question is – where is the commemorative label version of this wine? It somehow made it’s way into Snooth.com – where it sits unadorned with tasting notes or availability information and unrated. And we know Snooth wouldn’t clutter up the Internet with less-than-useful wine ratings, so we’re intrigued. Is Snooth posting phantom wines, or is this some inside California cognescenti thing that only a few Hollywood A-listers know about? And is it really a two-headed monster like the photo implies – sort of like a Diamond Collection version of conjoined twins? We love Coppola – and we especially love it when the guy commemorates. So if anyone knows where we can find this wine – please let us know. Of course, maybe it’s still in oak barrels somewhere, ahead of it’s release, and the publicists are just getting a jump on things. Either way, we wait with baited breath.

Uruguayans are a relaxed, gentle people.  And if you can picture young Pablo (he’s in his mid-thirties), walking the vineyards in flip-flops, baggy shorts, and ponytail – you will see that he personifies the national character.   It’s a country of understatement, where nobody is in a hurry.   When we last saw Pablo, in late February, he was debating whether to harvest the last block of Tannat on the vines or head down to Punta Del Este to catch the big swell that was forecast in the surf report.  Contrast this to the image of the scientific winemaker with his refractometer, carefully measuring the brix levels and obsessively tasting grapes to decide the exact moment to call in the pickers – and there you have what’s special about this place.  Pablo is no slacker mind you – he’s a serious winemaker who was one of the first in the region to modernize.  His combination of intuition and experience creates some of the best valued, most interesting wines you will find from any region.

The first thing to think about when trying to understand a Uruguayan bodega is to determine which immigrant tradition the owners hail from.  Uruguay (like it’s neighbor to the south, Argentina) is a country made up largely of Italian and Spanish immigrants and their descendants.  The Tannat grape is king here, and virtually everyone grows it.  Viñedo De Los Vientos has a couple of great traditional style Tannat wines, and we’re personally partial to the more aged offering, the Eolo – potent and wild smelling, this is serious, cellar-worthy wine that retails in the US for a mere $22.    But modern producers like Pablo are looking to internationalize their offerings and stretch the definition of what Uruguayan wine means.  Those winemaking families on the Italian side (Vinedos De Los Vientos, De Lucca, and Bernardi) are prone to experimentation with Italian varietals and styles.  Those on the Spanish side (such as Juanico and Bodega Bouza)  innovate in the Spanish direction.  Thus, one winery is invariably planting Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, and Arneis while another is planting Tempranillo and Albarinho.  Add to this the typical experimentation with classic French varietals of any up and coming wine region and you have a complex, evolving picture.

Pablo learned viticulture the way a lot of Uruguayan winemakers have – by growing up steeped in it.  After immigrating from Italy, Pablo’s grandfather was the first to plant on the site where Vinedos De Los Vientos vineyards and winery now stand.  While one of the first things Pablo did upon taking over the winery was to replant much of the 37 acre site with better, lower yielding varieties – he still has some of the original Moscato D’ Bianchi vines on the land.  In fact, these grapes go into his flagship white, the “Estival,” along with Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer (10%/30%/60% respectively).   He’s also re-introducing Nebbiolo to the site – with several acres of new vines that will be producing mature fruit within a few years.

Young Nebbiolo vines - in 3 years, they will produce mature fruit.

Pablo’s most interesting homages to Italian winemaking however, are his Angels’ Cuvee Ripasso de Tannat (reviewed here as an UnCorker Wierd Wine of the Week) and his Alcyone Reserve Tannat Passito.   The ripasso is Pablo’s most serious wine – getting only the best clusters of Tannat grapes, some of which have been raisinated directly on the vine in the Sforzato di Valtellina style.  The Alcyone Reserve is much harder to find in North America than the regular Alcyone (somewhat widely available)- but it has a significant difference in that it has been fortified with grappa (versus brandy in the regular Alcyone.)  The result is one of our favorite red dessert wines ever – a wonderful flowery grappa nose followed by a deep, concentrated version of everything that’s great about Tannat – a wild, briary fruit quality,vanilla, toasty spice notes, tar, tobacco, earthy loam, and a vintage-port-like depth. Only a loco Uruguayan-Italian surfing winemaker could have concocted something like this – and the world is a better place for it.

The Viñedos De Los Vientos winery. Atlantida, Uruguay

This country has long vinified wines for it’s own consumption.  But exporting wines is a fairly new concept.  And few have done it as aggressively or skillfully as Pablo.   It is virtually impossible to find a bottle from Viñedos De Los Vientos in Uruguay itself, so committed is this winery to developing a market overseas.  Pablo frequently travels abroad and schleps around with sales reps to pour and discuss his wines.  Other Uruguayan producers envy his success, but don’t always understand what’s involved.  “Some  just want to send off the wine and then sit around and wait for the check,” Pablo told us.  “It doesn’t work that way.” Uruguay is ideal fodder for capturing the imaginations of Americans – a land of immigrants, surfers, cowboys, and wine-lovers. We can’t wait for more of these wines to start turning up in our marketplace – and in the meantime, we’re enjoying being in on a well-kept secret.

What better way to learn about wine than with free media that’s accessible while you commute, workout, or jog. Or heck, listen along from your couch with a glass of vino in your hand… it’s all the same to us. iTunes has a plethora of wine related content at varying quality levels. The UnCorker sorts it out for you.

Wine Library TV (video podcast)

The fact that Gary Vaynerchuk recently signed a seven figure book deal that is not really about wine is revealing. WineLibraryTV is often more the story of Gary than the story behind the wines being discussed. Gary’s amazing nose and palatte. Gary’s ability to score a wine with tremendous precision on a 100 pt. scale after only seconds in his mouth. Gary’s apartment. Gary’s fridge. Gary’s soulmate. Gary’s love of olives. And least trivially, Gary’s advice for staying optimistic and self empowered through the down economy. Here’s an example from his twitter feed, which has a ginormous following(170,000 twitees at last count): why wont people realize that $ isn’t the game! The 10 happiest people I know make wayyyyyy less money then many people I know. A confessional tone with oodles of personal sharing has forged a following for a show that exists more or less around a single personality – equal part Tony Robbins & hyped-up Jersey version of Robert Parker.

The host is entertaining enough and we don’t have a problem with his over caffeinated dialogue and manic pace. He posts nearly daily with a wide variety of topics, locations, and guests. He knows wine, that’s beyond dispute. It should also not count against him that he is exploiting a perfectly acceptable part of the vernacular of his video-blogging medium – informal personal style and loosely – bordering on “un” – organized content. Watching people taste wine is boring – and Gary knows this, trying every crazy analogy he can come up with to keep things moving. Gary’s tasting notes are creative, funny and atypical – racquetball, fabreze, cocoa puffs, jolly rancher, starburst not to mention the combos – black currents in a cedar box. Like Car Talk, this is the show that aspires to entertain an audience far beyond it’s specific milieu. But ultimately the show is a difficult format in which to learn about wine. When Gary tastes a 2004 Latour Martillac Bordeaux (in his apartment kitchen) and is ‘bullish’ on the experience – we’ve forgotten the wine completely within minutes after viewing. Instructional designers talk about retention and transfer as two types of learning outcomes. Here we take away only the memory that Gary’s fridge seemed awfully empty. Gee, we think, this guy must really travel a lot.

3 Wine Guys (audio podcast)

Here we have a trio of real Chicago guys: prone to swagger-y, masculine banter and inside jokes – the sort of talk that happens between old college buddies over a boring televised hockey game (is there another type?) You know, Ditka guys. But these guys are obsessed with wine and it shows. The testosterone contrasts nicely with the crunchy NoCal vibe of so many other wine related podcasts (Jersey wunderkind Gary Veynerchuk excluded, of course). The guys alternate their podcast format each week between a loosely formatted rant called “What are we drinking?”, mysteriously entitled ‘blogcasts’, and their official (and far more interesting) themed podcasts that focus on a specific aspect within the wine world: a varietal, a producer, a region. If iTunes had an option that let one subscribe only to alternating weeks, thereby skipping the “blogcasts”, this would rank higher in our book – as the information is quite deep, well-structured and useful. You get the impression these guys would be having this exact conversation over the same bottles of wine with or without a microphone around – and that’s what’s great about the show. We like it when these guys aren’t trying to pull every last tasting note out of the air and are communicating the context behind the wine to us. Their comfort zone is shooting the shit – and the show suffers in terms of pacing as a result. But it’s generally interesting and worth spending an hour (or so) of commuting time on.

Crushnet TV (video podcast)

One day the make-your-own-wine-2.0 craze will come to end. Folks will quit logging on to stylish websites to check the brix level of their fermenting lots of cabernet and they’ll be content to leave that stuff to professional winemakers. UC Davis viticulture grads will have to face the hard reality that theirs is an agricultural profession and their job opportunities in trendy urban-industrial nabe’s like SoMa or TriBeCa are limited. But until that day comes, there is Crushnet – the amazingly informative video podcast by San Francisco DIY winemaking coop Crushpad. The podcast is part marketing effort and part dialogue and tutorial between the professional winemakers who work at Crushpad and their clients – the “barrel team” armchair winemakers who follow along from home (and occasionally drop by the winery or the vineyard to help.) In general, it’s great to listen to a winemaker while they taste and talk about wine – unlike a critic- as they tend to sum things up with great economy and without much fuss. That’s the tone here – and the short video clips combine to form a cohesive and insightful look into the winemaking process – even if you never intend to use Crushpad’s services. The seven minute segment on oak barrels is probably the most interesting wine-related item on iTunes. Period. In a lot of ways, this is better than a visit to the winery itself – as you get the benefits of watching things unfold over time – from harvest, to crush, to fermentation decisions, to barreling and racking, and bottling. And their willingness to show all the ‘behind the scenes’ technical equipment and lab processes goes beyond what most in-person winery tour insurance policies must allow. This is great wine education – so definitely check it out now in case their Silicon Valley business model flames out before you get a chance to.

The Wine Spectator (video podcast)

Ok. This seems to be the scoop on the venerable rag, The Wine Spectator, among wine geeks. Nobody loves it. Everybody reads it. There is something a bit tight about the Spectator, and it’s not just their need to taxonomize and score the wines. There is an editorial focus on discriminating, refined consumption at work – a need to create sponsor-friendly weather in it’s ecosystem. As a lifestyle mag it lacks nuance and reinforces the feeling that global wine culture has a certain universal look and feel – a town and country faux rustic-ness, a polished Reidel sheen, a quality of bland professionalism to it. Let’s face it – a lot of times reading the Spectator is about as fun as reading one of those thick, glossy local destinations guides that comes with your hotel room. And it’s not cheap enough that you don’t care. But being the status quo – these guys know everybody and are the epicenter of the wine world in so many ways they just can’ t be ignored. In this – the free podcast version of the magazine – they cover major events, talk through their featured articles, top wines of the year, interview famous chefs and winemakers, and (particularly enjoyable) give behind the scenes clips… sort of like a “making of” of the magazine. We don’t always buy the mag, but we wouldn’t miss the podcast… a convenient substitute that does the trick and is even worth putting up with the occasionally blatant product placement disguised as editorial content. It’s well-produced, frequently updated, short clips that keep you in WS’s world with minimal bother, fuss, and price. How can we complain?

Grape Radio (audio and video podcast)

While this outfit is based in viticulturally challenged Orange County, California – you would never know it from this podcast. Grape Radio is plugged in, not only to the massive amounts of wine activity in the central and northern parts of their own state, but world-wide. These guys (and gals) consistently line up excellent interviews with major wine world personalities, cover interesting events, and visit vineyards and wineries. Here’s a crew that knows how to put a show together – something rare in the podcast world (not counting those programs which are produced originally for terrestrial radio.) It is one of the more professional “radio-like” podcasts in terms of structure – and the video segments are well done and consistently educational. Clearly these are not just a couple of guys in the basement farting around on their MacBook, and their website reinforces this claim with many awards and recognition within the pocasting world (not to mention a vast panel of contributors). While we like the folksy amatuerism of less slick podcasters, we do appreciate a good interview. Here they let their subjects talk and express their full story, ask insightful questions, and are not afraid to run long segments. They manage to keep things contextualized at the high level, while not being afraid to dive into the details as well.

Honorable Mentions:

We love listening to the The Oz Show out of Australia for it’s different perspective, and the guys are pleasant to listen to and know their stuff – but unfortunately this one succumbed to podfade and is not updating anymore. Worth checking out the back catalog which is still available on iTunes.

We also listen to Tim Elliott’s WineCast – but ommitted it here because of it’s industry focus. If you’re interested in becoming a wine blogger, then you might like this one.

Every year, the Chateau owners of Bordeaux travel the United States, touring five or six major cities for the Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux, giving a preview of the new vintage to be released. For those in the trade, this is a big event- in New York, it takes place in the Waldorf-Astoria’s Ballroom, a grand room, which gives one the decided sense of being absolutely nowhere and anywhere. The 2005 event was mad, the wine magic; who’d be crazy enough to spit that 2005 Chateau….whichever, the wines were extraordinary- 2006 brought us all back down to earth, the wines from this vintage, being described as “classic” by the Bordelaise. Your UnCorker correspondant was cynical about the description, though reflecting on it now, it seems to be the case. Unlike last years celebration of the 2005 vintage, where the wines were drinking fabulously already, the 2006’s were tannic and closed, barely giving a whisper of what their future holds(with the exception of some of the St. Emilion’s, notably the Chateau Angelus, and some beautiful Blancs from Graves and Pessac-Leognan.

The First Growths; Lafite, Latour, Margaux, Mouton, and Haut-Brion, as well as Yquem and Petrus tend to not go tour as their production is snapped as futures no matter what the vintage is like, nor how astronomical their prices. Lots of other classified Chateau show up, despite their predictable high volume sales, whether they show up or not, certainly Angelus, Canon, the Barton’s , and Pavie could skip the whole dog and pony show and still sell every drop. Bordeaux however, is so much more then a wine region, a wine, or a simple identity- Bordeaux is a marketing behemouth, and a wine region in trouble.

2006 was a good vintage for Bordeaux, but not a great vintage- what does that mean? Chateau that did everything right in the cellar and in the vineyard made very good wine, those blessed with the best sights, the oldest vines, the deepest pockets(yep, those big household name chateaus) make excellent wines- And following some superlative vintages where the prices shot up to unprecedented heights, those chateau have no incentive to reign in those prices, even though 2006 can’t compare to 2005. What this means for the little guy, the cru bourgois, the houses in Moulis, the Entre duex Mer, the Cotes de Bourg and Blaye is that the entire region is viewed as a place of luxury wines; not for everyday drinking, but for collecting, laying down, or for shunning in favor of New World wines, perceived as less snobbish and more fun. The vast preponderance of Bordeaux is simple, quaffable wine. With 700 million bottles, produced by 10,000 estates, Bordeaux is in the midst of an identity crisis; speaking with one vintner, there was a refusal to recognize that their wines were often bought as investments- commodities that change hands perhaps dozens of times before ultimately being drunk in China, the U.S. or wherever. The producer is totally remote from their ultimate consumers- thats the problem for the vast production of Bordeaux; if Bordeaux’s identity is as a luxury product, essentially about labels rather then enjoyment or good living, in essence what oenophiles are really all about, where does that consign affordable Bordeaux, by definition an inferior product. And the more the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux presents their wine as the ultimate luxury good, with prices to match, the more they leave everyone else behind.

As the wine drinking public gets younger, less stuck on tradition and more willing to seek out wines from upcoming or previously obscure regions, the image of the grand Chateau holds less appeal- most young wine drinkers have never had the opportunity or money to taste a mature cru classe Bordeaux, it is simply not in their lexicon- for the vintners of Bordeaux, this is going to present a larger challenge every year- even the french can now go to the Carrefour and buy a Chilean Cabernet(without fear of stigma even).

The 2006 vintage produced some fines wines- though most were marked by an abundance of oak, there was plenty of concentration and though undrinkable now, plenty of promise. The Barsac and Sauternes are always this correspondants favorite part of this event, and though these wines lacked the towering acidity and depth of fruit of the 2005’s, there was no lack of pleasure to be had from these approachable sweet wines, Chateaus Doisy Daene, Doisy-Vedrines, and Guiraud shone like beacons, rushing me through the reds to drink these beauties-

When the Northern Italians were producing oxidized whites that could only be characterized as drinkable at best, Campanians were making bright, focused white wines of real character. While Campania saw a decrease in quality and consumption in their whites for a time, the 1980’s saw investment in the cellar, and a lot of hard work in the vineyards; together, these factors have brought recognition and a big market for these remarkable, well-priced wines.

2007 Fiano Di Avellino Colli Di Lapio Clelia

Pale yellow. Intense nose opens slowly to offer  aromas of green apple, minerals, thyme and a bit of minty herbacousness. Green pear and stone fruit, menthol and a bit of brinyness typical of these southern whites  emerge on the palate, with strong, bright acids giving them focus. Finishes very long and clean, with lingering flavors of lemon, pine needles and powdered stone.

The Romans knew Fiano Di Avellino as Vitis Apiana, meaning the bees were all over it, prized for its almond hazelnut nuttiness and its fresh green pears, there are plenty of producers to be on the watch for; Ocone, Matroberadino, Terredora to name a few.

Falanghina is another ancient grape, the name deriving from the phalanges the Greeks would use to train the vine. Falanghina is bright and juicy like Fiano, with fewer savory aspects, but often with more bright tropical, zesty fruit.

2007 Falanghina Cantina del Taburno

Bright yellow with green tints, zesty lemon and stone fruits- beautifully fresh and appealing, with hints of almonds and white flowers. Acid and crisp minerality balance the fruit perfectly- a wine for sipping with shellfish, or a light meal, or sitting out in the sun on a warm afternoon.

Other good producers are abundent, just remember that these are wines to be enjoyed young-  We at The UnCorker even found a Puglian Falanghina (a real oddity) that knocked our socks off; from Alberto Longo, worth seeking out.

Greco di Tufo is believed to be the ancestor of Siciliy’s Grecanico, and Umbria’s Grecchetto- grapes that don’t really resemble Greco all that much, but show how long its been around, and how over time, vitis viniferia can mutate and change. Greco di Tufos have that typical Campanian brightjuicyacidity, on a slightly leaner frame then Falanghina or Fiano; they can be racy with a mineral delicacy that is quite refreshing.

2007 Greco di Tufo ‘Loggia della Serra’ Terredora Dipaoalo

A single vineyard Greco di Tufo from one of Campania’s premier producers, this is a powerful Greco di Tufo with aromas of white peach, green fruit and an herbal almost minty quality. Very precise delineation on the palate, with a great deal of focus, and the typical juicy acidity and pronounced minerality one expects from Campania.

Coda di Volpe is not a wine you’ll bump into many shops or restaurants, small production and small demand adds up to not much imported, and thats a shame, because Coda di Volpe is capable of producing memorable wines with real character. The name means foxtail, a reference to the shape of the elongated bunches on the vine, sometimes used in blends, Coda di Volpa can be a bit fuller and fleshier then Greco, Fiano, or Falanghina, but still has ample Campanian traits.

2007 Coda di Volpe ‘Bianco’ Perillo

Bright straw yellow with green tints, the Perillo Coda di Volpe has bright juicy green pear and an almost lifted nose with a hint of chamomille and white flowers and vanilla. With a layer of fat richness underneath all that fruit, its followed by a long liltingly acidic finish- a real beauty that makes us think about fat shrimp coming right off a grill.

With that in mind, its high time to take another look at American sparklers- and why not, its been a tough year for a lot of us, the times feel ugly, we have to work all the time, the rest of the world hates us, our currency is virtually worthless abroad- but we have something to be proud of- hope is in the air, and a burgeoning American wine industry is producing loads of quality sparkling wines at good prices. So this New Year’s Eve, remember- Buy American, Drink American!

Now, without ado, here’s some to consider.

Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs
This is a methode champenoise*,100% chardonnay grapes sourced from Napa, Sonoma, and the North Coast and man is it good stuff. Nice citrusy smell, grapefruit and key lime, crisp, mildly yeasty, clean-as-can be flavors, some green apple in the mix. This energetic sparkler hits all the right notes as Blanc de Blancs and has an added measure of complexity by way of its toasty, yeasty finish, with great lasting little bubbles. Schramsberg makes them all, Blanc de Noir, Rose, brut, Demi-Sec, all method champenoise, so keep an eye out.

Gruet Brut NV/ Gruet Rose NV
New Mexico! These friggin wines are from New Mexico! And they’re good- real good.
Both produced in the methode champenoise, Gruet makes the whole line, Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noir, Demi-Sec, Brut, Roses, just like Schramsberg, but keeps it on the real budget minded side.

The Brut NV has pleasant apple and citrus aromas with creamy flavors that end on a spicy note; This Brut offers a crisp, full-bodied sparkling wine. The Brut spent some time on its lees, giving it a nice doughy mouth feel. Brilliant with ultra fine bubbles.  The Rose NV has It has a lovely, bright floral bouquet with hints of strawberry, raspberry, and cherry. On the palate, it is rich and fruity in a dry, brut style. The flavor of berries continues on the palate, revealing more strawberry, raspberry, cherry. This sparkler is loads of fun and very festive.

Chateau Frank
New York’s Finger Lakes region has a rich viticultural history, and since 1962 Dr. Frank has been a big part of it. Taking advantage of a climate similar to Germany’s Pfalz and Mosel regions, Dr. Frank makes wines from cool climate grapes- Pinot Noir, Pinot Muenier, Chardonnay, and Riesling. Still wines are the bulk of production, but the sparklers take pride of place. A Cremant is made from Riesling, but it is the Blanc de Blancs, and the Blanc de Noirs that can be compared to fine Champagne; the Blanc de Blancs 2002 has complexity and delicate flavors, this wine exemplifies the traditional Blanc de Blancs style. A crisp acidity accompanied by complex aromas of yeast, citrus, lemon, ginger, floral and hazelnut makes this medium-bodied sparkler very pleasant. Extended lees aging gives it earthy and toasty notes with a tropical finish.

The Blanc de Noirs 2002 is a rich and complex sparkling wine with great structure and length. With aromas of pear, apple, peach, vanilla and hazelnut that combine with the toasty yeast character, persistent foam and tiny bubbles, this style creates a full-bodied sparkling wine which makes for a perfect accompaniment to a fine meal.

Argyle Blanc de Blancs
Argyle is at the fore of fine Burgundian varietals in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, so it makes sense that they would take that Pinot Noir, and that Chardonnay, and make fine sparklers in the traditional method- the 2000 Blanc de Blancs, a single vineyard cuvee, is elegant, creamy and refined, balancing delicate citrus and pear flavors against a judicious level of toasted brioche and a fleck of white pepper as the finish lingers gently.

* For this and other terms needing explanation, please, see the glossary.