Our Southern California Wine Review Council recently enjoyed wines made with Italian grapes from both Italy and New Mexico. Reviewers were assigned wines and then tasked with creating food pairings to share with the group (we often find food pairings selected for one wine are paired as well or better with another wine). As wine reviewers, we discuss and decide which wine garners our most appreciation, although I think we’d all agree the true enjoyment is found in the gastronomic journey and the gathering of friends. We tasted eight Italian varietal wines, and ended our tasting with a sparkling wine.
2018 Luna Rossa Pinot Grigio ($13)
In 2001 Paolo and Sylvia D’Andrea established their award winning winery Luna Rossa (Italian for “red moon”) in the Mimbres Valley, just outside the town of Deming, New Mexico. This medium-bodied wine with a delicate floral nose won the prestigious Double Gold Award at the 2019 San Francisco International Wine Competition. With flavors of apple and honey, the ceviche pairing enhanced the wine’s earthier notes.
Petrussa Friulano ($20)
Vigna Petrussa is located in Northeastern Italy near the Slovenian border. Meticulous vineyard management, indigenous grapes, and manual harvesting are the focus of winery owner Hilde Petrussa. Strict pruning contributes to a lower fruit yield, but it also produces an intensely flavorful wine. The Friulano varietal grape is native to the area, and not usually found outside Italy. This dry, tart wine has a golden hue color, much like Chardonnay. It has a delicate aroma of stone fruit and citrus, and flavors of honey and lemon. Although originally paired with a salmon and cream cheese canape, the consensus was the ceviche was a better choice as it didn’t overwhelm the wine’s medium body.
2018 Vigna Petrussa Ribolla Gialla ($26)
This dry wine, also from Vigna Petrussa Winery, is made from Ribolia Gialla grapes indigenous to northern Italy. The color is a bright yellow with hints of green. With flavors of tart citrus, predominately orange, this paired especially well with the ceviche and the salmon canapes.
La Fortezza Falanghina Beneventano IGT ($16)
La Fortezza Winery is located in Beneventano Campania, Italy. Founder Enzo Rillo credits his love and passion for producing great wine is the key to his success. The Falanghina grape, grown in southern Italy, is thought to go back to the times of ancient Greek and Roman antiquity. With forest/citrus on the nose, apple and pear on the palate, this wine has a round, full finish, and was a favorite with the council. It was a lovely pairing with the honey walnut baked brie and interestingly paired well with the jalapeño cornbread as the fruit and fullness of the wine complemented the spice from the pepper.
2017 Vivac Nebbiolo ($32)
Brothers Jesse and Chris Padberg and their wives founded Vivac Winery in 1998. Located near Dixon, New Mexico (between Santa Fe and Taos), with an altitude above 6,000 feet, Vivac in Spanish translates to “high-altitude refuge.” This Nebbiolo is on the lighter bodied side, similar to a Pinot Noir, but is not light on flavor. With berry and burnt sugar aromas, and berry and lemon flavors, the wine was a good complement to the turkey kabobs with tzatziki sauce pairing.
2015 Luna Rossa Nini ($23)
Our second wine from Luna Rossa, Nini is made from several Italian varietals: Dolcetto, Nebbiolo, Barbera, Sangiovese, Refosco and Montepulciano. The blend combines cherry and anise flavors with bright acidity and healthy tannins. This wine stood up to and saluted both the orzo with beef and mushrooms, and the barbecue ribs.
2017 Vivac Refosco ($24)
Refosco is another Italian autochthonous (native) grape variety that can be traced back to Roman antiquity. Its color is an intense ruby red with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg on the nose, and dark red berry and blueberry on the palate. Greek sliders and barbeque beef/bacon/boar balanced the fruit flavors and enhanced the bright acidity and lusty tannins.
2017 Noisy Water Montepulciano ($40)
Winemaker Jasper Riddle learned to appreciate wine in his youth from his sommelier father. After investing in Noisy Water Winery in 2010, he has led the winery to achieve much success, and it currently produces over 40 wines. Its Montepulciano Italian varietal is grown in New Mexico and this wine has a vivid aroma of ripe berries and cherries, earthy flavors of tobacco and cherries, and a smooth tannic finish. The barbeque ribs complemented the earthy flavors of the wine and the honey walnut brie – which paired well with all of the wines – enhanced the rich berry flavors.
Gruet Sparkling Pinot Meunier Brut ($42)
This lovey sparkling wine, celebrating the winery’s 30th anniversary, was the finale of our tasting. The Gruet family has been making Champagne in France since 1952, and in 1984 they established a winery in New Mexico, appreciating the high elevation that contributes to the intense differences of night and day temperatures, and the advantages of a dry, sandy soil. The Pinot Meunier varietal was planted in Tamaya Vineyard as a joint venture with the Pueblo of Santa Ana. Pinot Meunier is the lesser known of the three grapes traditionally used in sparkling wine (the other two being Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), but it is gaining recognition in its own right. Gruet uses the méthode Champenoise process (second fermentation in the bottle) to produce this sparkling wine which has a sweet floral bouquet, and flavors of raspberry, fig, and honey. The smooth toasted, silvery finish complemented the rich Alice Water’s Chez Panisse almond tart.
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