Part One in a Series
The California wine industry probably owes more to the influence of Italian immigrants than to any other ethnic group. Sebastiani, Mondavi, Martini, Gallo, Cribari, Parducci, Martinelli, Nichelini, Pedroncelli, Rafanelli, Rochioli - the list is long and pervasive. So why is it that Italian styled wines have been so slow to develop here? This will be the focus of this series of articles.A LITTLE HISTORY
California winemakers spent most of the past century playing catch-up with the French. They focussed on French varietals and pretty much convinced the American consumer - if not the entire New World - that the most pleasurable wines are based on French varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay. Even Zinfandel had difficulty establishing itself as a mainstream player until the late 1980s.
Why California's Italian winemakers didn't attempt early on to produce analogs of Barolo, Barbaresco, Chianti and Venetian ripassi remains a mystery. Even today, less than 1% of California vineyards are planted to Italian varietals. But things are changing fast!
EARLY DIFFICULTIES
In defense of Cal-Italian winemakers, we will concede that Italian red varietals have not done particularly well in California, despite the indefatigable efforts of a few small wineries who chose to specialize in them: Mosby and Il Podere 'dell Olivos in Santa Barbara County, the Martin Brothers (now Martin Weyrich) and Fratelli Perata in Paso Robles. Since the 1960s, Sebastiani and Louis M. Martini have offered a Barbera, but were hesitant to focus on the more noble Italian reds, Nebbiolo and Sangiovese.
BARBERA: OUR FIRST SUCCESS
Barbera was the first breakthrough in Italian styled wines in California. While the Sebastiani and Martini bottlings were always nice enough for their day, long-lived and attractively priced, the first really excellent examples of California Barbera came in the 1990s from wineries that had not previously been associated with Italian styled wines, such as Renwood in Amador County, Boeger in El Dorado County and Eberle in Paso Robles. These were wines made clearly in the California style - thick, fruity, and with alcohol levels approaching 15%. They were more expensive than many of their Italian counterparts and many Californians preferred them. In fact, we began to read articles written by Italian wine writers opining the sad fact that the best vineyard locations in the Piedmont were all designated for Barolo and Barbaresco (Nebbiolo), forcing Barbera growers to settle for lesser sites.
BARBERA FINDS ITS OPTIMAL GROWING REGIONS
Go To Page: 1 2
