DINE+WINE - wine time
A Bottleful of Mischief Sharing a meal with a rascal at Mooresville’s Joe Fish by Trevor Burton | photography by Trevor Burton
Arneis is a white wine grape variety most associated with the Piemonte region in northwest Italy. The name “Arneis” translates to “little rascal” in the local dialect. The grape gets its rascally reputation from its pernickety performance in vineyards. The grape is highly susceptible to disease, is very low-yielding and can struggle to retain acidity. It also tends to become overly ripe if it is harvested late. Yes, very rascally. Some context. Arneis was historically blended with the more famous Nebbiolo grape in Italy’s Barolo region. It had a softening effect on the famously tannic and austere Nebbiolo. Then came the sacrifice, to the benefit of its red counterpart. Some winegrowers planted Arneis alongside Nebbiolo in the vineyard as a means of protection. The aromatics of Arneis attracted the attention of birds and bees away from the more prestigious, and expensive, Nebbiolo. Fast forward to today. Arneis has made itself known. Wines from this grape are extremely popular, although you don’t see them too often around the lake. That’s why it was a pleasant surprise to run in to one at Joe Fish.
A crab cake sandwich with a dry white wine.
Barbaresco, from the Nebbiolo grape. And white wines jumped on their coat-tails. The Arneis grape originated in the Roero region. Thanks to those coattails, the region has had a meteoric rise to fame. Jumping up the Italian quality scale, Roero became a Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) region in 1985 and was promoted to Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) in 2005. The best wines are labelled as Roero Arneis. And that’s what jumped off the wine list at Joe Fish. On to food. Back in the day I spent a good amount of time in Boston and fell in love with the city’s seafood. That’s what has drawn me, over the years, to enjoy our little New England oasis in Mooresville. After browsing through the wine list, my wife, Mary Ellen, and I decided that it would be fun and tasty to invite a little rascal to join us for lunch. As for food, at Joe Fish I tend to, in a good way, get a little crabby. So, I often order a crab cake sandwich.
Italy’s Piemonte, in the foothills of the Alps, has to be a perfect region to produce unique wines. It has fog drenched mornings and cool days. The region’s grapes evolved over the years as they adapted to their environment. This was great but no one outside the region cared all that much. The world was a much larger place, then. For most of its history the Piemonte was completely isolated. People were born and died in the towns in the region without ever leaving.
The rascal was quite at home. Arneis wines are quite complex and so can hold their own with my crabby dish. To get the best out of an Arneis you really should swill a sip around your mouth to get to experience all its attributes. One thing sticks out to me. Sometimes, with Arneis, you get a little smokey flavor. I find that intriguing. Smokiness is the hallmark of the Piemonte’s famous red wine, Barolo. Arneis’ is not as deep as Barolo’s but it is definitely there. There must be something in that region that produces it in both red and white wines. I have no idea what that something might be, but I find the result very enjoyable.
Things changed. Winemakers figured out how to make more money and quality took over from quantity. Using modern methods, wine producers broke with tradition. They started making more drinkable, commercially appealing red wines, Barolo and
There’s a delicious serving of symmetry here. Sitting in the Piedmont of North Carolina sipping on wine from the Piemonte of Italy. An interesting wine and a pair of foothills. All there is to say is, “Arneis—aah nice.” Enjoy.
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LAKE NORMAN CURRENTS | SEPTEMBER 2021
