Wine Picks, March 2011

Quacquarini
Vernaccia di Serrapetrona
Corti Brothers $23.99

This is a rarity — red, sparkling, dry wine from the obscure Vernaccia Nera grape grown in the Marches region of Italy. Marches is in Central Italy on the Adriatic Side, and the small village of Serrapetrona is up in the foothills of the Apennine Mountains. Similar wines can be found in the North, like Lambrusco from Emilia-Romagna or dry Brachetto from Piedmont, but the production of Vernaccia di Serrapetrona is unique. Half of the grapes are harvested and set aside to dry in the sun. The other half are vinified straight off of the vine. The raisined grapes, with concentrated sugars, are fermented and blended in with the rest. This process adds complexity to both the aroma and the taste, but it originated as a way to boost the alcohol level of the wine. Vernaccia Nera has difficulty ripening fully, which makes it a good candidate for sparkling wine. Both a sweet and a dry version are made; this is the dry version, although I wouldn’t describe it as bone dry. It smells of red fruits, leather and black pepper; it’s fairly full bodied but has a lot of acid and tannin to lift it up. This wine would be an excellent match with cold cuts, hard cheeses, fried chicken, and really any number of foods because sparkling wines are so flexible on the dinner table. The persistent bubbles and inherent acidity refresh ones mouth after every bite.

Field Recordings “Jurassic Park Vineyard”
Santa Ynez Valley Chenin Blanc 2008
Sacramento Food Co-op $14.99

The front and back labels are chock full of technical information, a sure sign that Field Recordings is a sincere small production New World winery. Europeans don’t usually get hung up on that sort of thing, and industrial wineries don’t actually want you to know how they make their wine. Field Recordings is the wine-making project of a young man who primarily works for a vine nursery planting new vineyards for wineries in California’s Santa Ynez Valley. As a result of his relationships and experience with those vineyards, he began selecting the best fruit from the most interesting sites and making small batches of wine. These Chenin Blanc grapes come from Jurassic Park Vineyard, and it is definitely the most interesting California Chenin Blanc I’ve had. Unfiltered, it pours almost like a cloudy cider in the glass. It is lush and brash, but with decent acidity. Unfortunately, there’s too much alcohol, a problem with most California wines. Still, there’s something interesting here: unfiltered whites have a richness and complexity that is enjoyable with early spring produce like celery root and mushrooms. This wine smells of hay, pears, and apples, with a hint of yeasty funkiness. It succeeds at being interesting and sincere, but its cumbersome alcohol level prevents it from being elegant or transcendent like Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley. But if you like the creamy and fulsome California style, the Field Recordings is a good alternative to most.