Throughout most of Europe, terroir still reigns. Winemakers in Alsace surely have some notions about the making of great Pinot Noir, but do they produce it? Well, perhaps about as often as the winemakers of Bordeaux. (Which means to say, no, they don't; even though they could.) In France, the law complicates such matters greatly. It's much more difficult to develop a production based on purchased grapes, but even that's beginning to change.
It's easier in Italy, as long as you avoid using the classic DOC appellation names. But winemakers in Chianti can still make terrific wines from non-indigenous grape varietals and market them under proprietary names. As a result, the classic French varietals have gained a strong foothold in Italy. Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon is widely grown throughout Northern Italy.
The charm of Italian wines, however, is not that Tuscan winemakers are making Cabernet Sauvignon blends to rival the best of Bordeaux (or California); but rather, the opposite. It is precisely this: Great Nebbiolos come from the Piedmont; sumptuous Amarones from the Veneto; elegant Chianti Classico from Tuscany; fabulous inexpensive red table wines from Puglia; definitive Tocai from Friuli. Every region of Italy has developed wines made from varietals especially suited to the local terroir.
Could great Nebbiolo come from some other region of Italy than the Piedmont? Possibly, but it doesn't. It does come from California. Might a great Chianti analog be produced in Friuli? in Campagnia? in Sicily? Well, perhaps; but it isn't. It is offered by wineries in California.
In some ways, perhaps the California wine industry is like the Japanese industrial revolution of post World War II. We study what worked in definitive locations and tried to equal it or even outpace it. This approach has been enormously successful; for the Japanese and for California. But as long as we grow all the same varietals everywhere they can grow in the State, the quality spectrum will have to be very broad.
Imagine a world in which each region of California was specifically associated with one or two varietals. We're actually moving in that direction. Napa Valley is the unparalleled leader in Cabernet Sauvignon; Russian River in Pinot Noir; Central Coast in Chardonnay; Sonoma County in Zinfandel. There are lots of exceptions, but we are clearly moving towards a sense of ideal terroir for each varietal.
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