OTHER WHITE WINES OF AMERICA From roussanne to albariño, American winemakers are doing delicious things with less well-known grapes. By Scott Mowbray
◗ BLAIR FOX CELLARS 2012 PARADISE ROAD VINEYARD VIOGNIER, $29. The Santa Barbara area is one of the strongholds of this tricky, trendy and delicious varietal, which ranks with gewürztraminer as a full-bodied, big-flavored, fragrant white wine. This particular wine, oak-aged on its yeasty sediment for deeper flavor, has the body of a big chard but a wonderful character of its own. (Only 85 cases of the 2012 were produced!)
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n a visit to New Zealand last Christmas—it was summer down there, a magical place for cold wine on a hot deck—I encountered more than one local who firmly steered me away from sauvignon blanc. This surprised me. Sav, as some New Zealanders call it, vaulted the Kiwis from bit players to the major wine leagues. In fact, you can trace that success to one particular wine: Cloudy Bay, still a paragon. Chalk it up to a maturing market. People eventually weary of the grape that brought them to the dance. Winemakers, chasing a boom, speed that process by producing cookie-cutter imitations. At some point the winemakers, too, grow bored and try something new. In the U.S., chardonnay was the gateway grape for a lot of wine drinkers, in the oaky-buttery-tropical-bombshell style. Like the loudest person at the dinner party, that style overstayed its welcome, although chard is still the biggest white wine category. (Chard is a versatile wine—a lean, tart, citrus-y Chablis, aged in stainless steel, with a profile more Kate Moss than Kate Upton.) Today, a lot of the most interesting U.S. white wine activity involves other grapes: pinot gris, viognier, chenin blanc, gewürztraminer. I didn’t mention sauvignon blanc, by the way, because I haven’t had a lot from the U.S. that I thought could remotely equal great-value examples from New Zealand and South Africa. The list of white grapes intriguing American winemakers is very long, including lesser-known varieties like roussanne and positively quirky examples like picpoul blanc. In their homeland, some of these grapes are used mostly for blending. They lend a special fragrance or acidity to a blend but may not, on their own, stand up. The treasured traits can be tricky, fragile, elusive—a challenge to a winemaker and therefore a risk to a wine buyer. You may get a dud or a pale imitation of the European version. It takes a while for winemakers and grape growers to discover the “true” expression of a grape on American soil, as they did in Oregon, for example, with pinot gris, which now produces superb examples. But there’s always risk when you wander off the main highways in the world of wine. The reward is something interesting, even thrilling. Suddenly, at the dinner party, in place of Old Familiar, you discover a new voice—quirky, usually interesting, sometimes brilliant. Some of the wines here come from tiny producers. You may not be able to find the exact bottles. Small producers will ship directly, though, and many states now allow that. Otherwise, go to your best local wine store and make it known that you’re interested in something new in the white line. Most stores have someone on staff who specializes in this stuff. I focused on U.S. producers here, but it can be fascinating to compare local versions with those from their country of origin.
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IN PLAY, SPRING 2014
◗ TABLAS CREEK VINEYARD 2012 PICPOUL BLANC, $27. Tablas Creek makes an amazing range of wines, including the ultra-obscure picpoul blanc. In France, picpoul blanc is said to be stingingly tart. In this part of California, it apparently relaxes, becomes more rounded and fruity, even possesses a slightly honeyed quality—though it’s very dry in the Tablas Creek expression.
◗ BROOKS AMYCAS 2010 WILLAMETTE VALLEY, $15. The 2010 Amycas blend was 30% pinot gris, 26% pinot blanc, 18% riesling, 16% muscat and 10% gewürztraminer. People who love the acidic, fruity whites of Alsace will love this. It bursts with lychee aromas and has a lovely, almost lemony flavor, but it’s balanced enough to drink on its own as a summer treat.
