One of the nice things about living and working in the Napa and Sonoma wine country is the number of opportunities we have to taste different kinds of wines and socialize with other people in the industry. The other evening we tasted our way around the Oxbow market at an event sponsored by Mahoney, Waterstone, Gustavo Thrace, Tool Box and Uncorked (Carduccci and Ahnfelt).
There were numerous great wines in that collection, but the one that impressed me the most was one of the least expensive, the Vermentino from Mahoney Vineyards in Los Carneros. This is a beautiful expression of this Italian grape which is grown in various places in Italy, most notably Sardinia. I’ve tasted numerous Italian Vermentino wines and this not only stands up to them nicely, but it has a brightness and clarity that is remarkable. Wonderfully balanced acid, full luminous body, that still pleases with a savory after taste.
Even though it is grown extensively in Sardinia, that rocky island off the coast of Italy, the place where some of the most important DOC wines come from are the Ligurian coast. This is the southern Italian Riviera, from La Spezia (known to tourists as being on the way to the Cinque Terra region), Massa Carrara (famous for its marble), and Livorno, a very popular seaside resort.
When I tasted the wine the other night something resonated for me, and it was only later that I realized that I recognized the grape, from my time in that region during my career as a sculptor. That area is the site of some wonderful marble quarries and Pietrasanta, a little town south of Carrara, is a major center and gathering spot for stone and bronze sculptors from throughout the world. That is one of the few places, other than the wine tour business, where I get to use my various languages one after the other consistently.
So, how much of my admiration for the Mahoney Veremtino is its obvious quality, and how much of it is my body remembering a beloved place? Since everyone else I talked with was equally impressed, I’m hoping that the Los Carneros growers plant lots more. For years the wine writers talked about Los Carneros being the Burgundy of America, to only see that title more honestly go to Coastal Sonoma. Could it be that Los Carneros is more truly the Italian Riviera of America? Time will tell!
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