Cal-Ital, Part Due
Posted on January 27th, 2009 – 3:07 PMBy Bill Ward
“I haven’t heard that expression in a while.” That’s a prevalent reaction of late when I ask wine-industry folks about the juice formerly known as Cal-Ital. The Golden State renditions of Italian varietals gained momentum in the 1990s but then just seemed to go “arrivederci.” Maybe it was the rather silly nickname.
I’m sensing a mini-resurgence, with interesting wines popping up from throughout the state. Last night, my wife and I quite enjoyed a Pinot Grigio from Cycles Gladiator, one of my very favorite moderately priced brands. This wine retails for $10.99, often can be found for less and provides a dandy little citrus-laced-with-pear kick and superb fruit-acid balance. A much better value than certain hugely popular imports.
Over the past few months, I’ve also really liked pinot grigio/gris from Guenoc, Clos du Bois, Alma Rosa and MacMurray Ranch, sourced from all over the state.
One of the reason Cal-Ital reds floundered, I think, is that sangiovese was a prime focus, and the results with this fickle grape were decidedly mixed. The red grapes behind the better recent California exemplars emanate, like Pinot Grigio, from further north in that boot-shaped nation.
Sonoma-based Minnesota native Andy Cutter makes a splendid Dolcetto under his Duxoup label (and a swell Sangiovese called Gennaio). I also am quite fond of the Pietra Santa Dolcetto and Tamas’ Livermore Valley Barbera.
And I’m quite excited about an experiment that gifted Siduri/Novy winemaker Adam Lee is conducting: nebbiolo from the cooler climes down on California’s Central Coast. A few years ago, Oregon winemaker Mark Vlossek told me he thought this noble Piedmontese grape might work in the parts of New Zealand where pinot noir was thriving, so what Lee is doing makes some sense.
Now if we can just come up with a better moniker for these wines …
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