Dunne on Wine: Unheralded vermentino ideal for spring meals

Ready for a taste of spring? Consider vermentino, a citrusy and tart white wine most at home with a plate of seafood at a sidewalk cafe along the Italian Riviera.

Not surprisingly, much of the vermentino hereabouts is from Italy, principally the northern regions of Liguria and Tuscany and the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Corsica. Sun, surf, seafood ... that's vermentino's calling.

Small, scattered vineyards of vermentino are starting to be seen in California, however, with young plots emerging in the Lodi area and in Calaveras, Tuolumne and San Luis Obispo counties.

"Alternative whites are the hot niche in the market right now," says veteran Napa Valley winemaker Jim Moore, whose L'Uvaggio di Giacomo 2006 Lodi Vermentino almost single-handedly is raising the varietal's profile.

Corti Brothers began to champion it early on, the Nugget and Whole Foods chains of markets are looking at it, and local restaurants are adding it to their wine-by-the-glass programs.

"It's well made, fresh and clean, and it's got that," says Sacramento grocer Darrell Corti, picking up a bottle and pointing to the $9.99 sticker on the shoulder.

At Biba, the wine was poured during warmer months and was well received for its clean fruit, crisp acidity and "simple, straightforward drinking profile," says Scott Smith, the restaurant's manager, who will consider returning it to the wine selection as the weather warms.

Susan Pey, wine buyer for the Il Fornaio chain of Italian restaurants, has put the Uvaggio vermentino in all its outlets.

"It has lovely aromatics, it's easy drinking, and it's a great food wine," she says. "It's very close to what Italian vermentino is like, with a lot of fresh floral aromatics."

Jim Moore has been investing his soul in California wines with Italian heritage since 1993, when he oversaw the launch of the La Famiglia di Robert Mondavi line of Cal-Ital wines.

His confidence was so buoyed in the category at the outset that he soon launched his own Cal-Ital brand, L'Uvaggio di Giacomo.

But at La Famiglia, Uvaggio and elsewhere, California wines based on Italian grape varieties never caught the imagination of a broad section of American wine consumers, despite a few isolated success stories.

"I thought people were ready for alternative and interesting things, but boy, was I wrong. My timing was off by a long shot," Moore says.

California's first foray into Cal-Ital wines coincided with a spike in the quality and import of Italian wines, and a hesitancy among Italian restaurateurs to stock releases not from Italy. What's more, the state's vintners made a series of planting, winemaking and marketing blunders, including overpricing.

Exports of Italian wines to the United States still are robust, but California vintners smitten with Italian grape varieties and wine styles are developing them in more favorable settings; they've refined their winemaking and marketing strategies; and prices, as shown by the Uvaggio vermentino, are putting the wines into the hands of a broader clientele.

Moore also senses that wine enthusiasts are more eager than they were a decade ago to explore unfamiliar white wines, perhaps as a backlash against chardonnay and sauvignon blanc, perhaps in recognition of the varied charms of vermentino, albarino, viognier, roussanne and riesling, among other lesser-known alternatives.

Sales of Cal-Ital pinot grigio are soaring, notes Moore, and this opens the door for consumers to try another Italian-rooted white he's convinced offers more complexity, resilience and versatility. That, of course, would be vermentino.

"Pinot grigio is our closest competition, but it's kind of bland. Our vermentino has freshness and vitality," Moore says.

Indeed, his 2006 vermentino, fermented entirely in stainless steel, with no barrel aging and no malolactic fermentation, is pure zesty fruit, with a palate-cleansing jolt of citrus, and the crisp snap of green apple in the finish.

In the Sardinian fashion, he also gave the wine a gentle kick of carbon-dioxide for a touch more vibrancy without turning it into a sparkling wine.

About the writer:

• Call Bee wine columnist Mike Dunne, (916) 321-1143. Read his blog at www.sacbee.com/ appetizers. Back columns: www.sacbee.com/dunne.