Three Great Grapes

That often get overlooked...

Whether it be Cabernet, Pinot Noir or Chardonnay, most wine drinkers stick to grape varieties and wine makers that they know. Not that this is a bad practice since your expectations are often met, but it does leave a large segment of great wines that you may never discover.

In this article, we’re going to point out 3 of our favorite “off-beat” grape varietals that we believe produce some of the best wines in the world for the money. Chances are, you’ve seen the labels, but never moved forward with a purchase due to the fear of the unknown. Hopefully, by the end of this page, you’ll be eager uncover all that these unique wines have to offer and head to the wine store to scoop up some great examples of these phenomenal wines.

One of our favorite and lesser know wines is made from the Aglianico Grape. You probably don’t know it, but along with Sangiovese and Nebbiolo, Aglianico is considered one of Italy’s three noble grape varietals. Aglianico was originally transplanted from Greece to southern Italy in the 7th century B.C. The early Greeks recognized that the volcanic soils and climatic conditions of the region were ideally suited to viticulture. Despite the early plantings of Aglianico in Campania and further south in Basilicata, until very recently, Aglianica has been overlooked by the international wine buying public. However, a renewed interest and investment in south Italian wines has brought a new level of recognition to Aglianico. The best expressions of the grape come from Campania’s Taurasi DOCG and Basilicata’s Aglianico del Vulture DOC. The former are often referred to as the “Barolo of the South”.

Aglianico wines themselves are extremely high in both tannins and acidity. Often closed in youth, but with time, Aglianico develops rich game, earth and dark fruit qualities. In Taurasi, the wines must be aged for a minimum of three years before release and are allowed up to 15 percent of other grapes, such as Piedierosso and increasingly Merlot, in order to soften the wine’s rougher edges. Today, there is a limited acreage devoted to the Aglianico grape in California which is centered around Paso Robles and Amador County. However, given the renewed interest in Aglianico based wines in Italy, it should only be a matter of time before Cal-Ital producers begin to plant more significant acreage of this grape in the U.S.

Another favorite wine of ours is made from the Barbera grape. Primarily grown to its highest quality in Italy, Barbera is a red wine grape that has some of the flavor characteristics you would find in a Cabernet Sauvignon but with higher acid levels. The higher acid levels make it an especially good match for full flavored foods with tomato sauces involved. Other characteristics of wines from this variety include light tannin levels, deep garnet colors and medium to full body. In Italy, it makes Barbera d'Asti, Barbera di Alba and Barbera di Monferato, among others. In warmer growing areas it develops high sugar levels and because of this, the alcohol levels in the wine can be too high. When this happens, Barbera will often be blended to bring increased acidity to the final wine.

Since we covered two of our favorite red wine grapes, it’s only fair that we mention what we feel to be the most overlooked white wine grape, the Muscat. The Muscat family includes many varieties of grapes that produce big crops and make wines that are generally sweet and very floral. It is known as Moscato in Italy and Moscatel in Spain. It is the grape used to produce Asti Spumante, the sweet sparkling wine from Italy which is always one of our favorite summer wines. In the Fall and Holidays, we often times serve Moscato D’Asti (the slightly sparkling answer to Italian Champagne) for our parties and celebratory events. Not only is it far less expensive than most quality champagnes, but its sweeter taste and lower carbonation always make it a hit for the average wine drinker.