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3 4 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | M a y - J u n e 2 014 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m ies grown in Napa, stating that "the soils and particularities of the climate are very dif- ferent from Friuli. What will the expression of the varieties be here in Cali- fornia? They create a new wine, never before expe- rienced. If the grapes are well-grown and the wine well-made, the outcome will be good, but the indi- vidual character will be unique. It's exciting." AFFECTION FOR ALBARINO It was a similar spir- i t a n d e n t h u s i a s m f o r an international variety and region that inspired Michael Havens to begin p r o d u c i n g a l b a r i ñ o a t Havens Wine Cellars. In 1996, he and his wife, Kath- ryn, visited northern Spain, where he said they "'encountered the charming, elegant wines being made solely from albariño. This piercing freshness and minerality hooked us immediately." Havens introduction of Italian varieties to Napa Valley. After the visits he made to the Collio region of Friuli, Italy, and Slovenia, Vare became interested in the ancient Friulian grape ribolla gialla, an extremely old variety cultivated there since medi- eval times. He planted it in his vineyard in Napa, and Matthiasson was enlisted to assist with the viticul- ture. Vare and Schoener began making wine from ribolla gialla in 2004, inspiring the three to trav- el to Friuli in 2005 to visit producers. T h e b l e n d e d w h i t e wines from Friuli inspired Matthiasson to make his own blended white wine in Napa Valley. The Mat- thiasson white wine is a delicious, lively blend of sauvignon blanc, ribolla gialla, semillon and tocai friulano. For the 2011 vintage, all four varieties were co-fermented in bar- rel after gentle pressing, and malolactic fermentation was pre- vented. The ribolla gialla and tocai friulano hail from the Vare Vineyard. Although the Matthiasson blend is not Friulian in nature, he appreci- ates the expression of these variet- imported budwood, originally taken from the Morgadio vineyard in the Condado do Tea subregion of Rias Baixas, and it was planted by Doug Hill of Oak Knoll Farming and Hill Wine Cellars, in extreme southeast- ern Napa Carneros. With no one else producing a l b a r i ñ o d o m e s t i c a l l y, H a v e n s learned by doing, producing the first U.S. albariño in 1999. The vigor at the Carneros site was much lower than he had seen in Spain and in Santa Barbara County, where the only reference points were a tiny experimental block planted by Brian Babcock in Lom- poc, and a few rows planted in Santa Ynez Valley by Bob and Loui- sa Lindquist of Qupé. The Carneros clusters and ber- ries were unusually small, with nearly black seeds at 20 °Brix. "In pursuit of a wine more vibrant and fine than what is typical of Califor- nia whites, I decided to harvest at a lower potential alcohol and pre- serve as much primary fruit as pos- sible," Havens said. "Amazingly, the fruit is really mature at about 21-21.5 °Brix. So that's the way I have continued." Matthiasson has also planted refosco and schioppettino at his personal vineyard in Napa. The budwood was sourced from Santa Rosa's Novavine, which has an Mathiasson's Napa Valley white blend is made from sauvignon blanc, ribolla gialla, semillon and tocai friulano. Custom Winemaking Services In the business for over 30 years! • All inclusive services from crushing to bottling • Specializing in small lots, as little as one barrel. Can scale upwards • Grape sourcing available • State of the art winery conveniently located on the Silverado Trail, Napa Valley • Small lot custom blending options available "THE place for custom crush winemaking in Napa Valley" - Food and Wine Magazine 2332 Silverado Trail Napa, CA 94558 · 707-255-2332 · www.napamicrocrush.com SOIL & CELLAR REMI COHEN