Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
and remain true to their aroma and fl avor
profi le.
Arneis can be one of Italy's most delicious
white wines, exhibiting a thrilling range of aro-
mas and fl avors of surprising if subtle com-
plexity. The wines are delicately straw-green,
with aromas of white fl owers, chamomile,
white peach, and apricot and fl avors of citrus,
ripe pear, apricot, and sweet almond. Softly
scented and surprisingly creamy on the palate,
a good arneis can be utterly irresistible; ver-
sions that lack this creaminess and are more
herbal are not as thrilling. Usually produced in
a fresh, crisp style, some estates produce gently
oaked versions, though oak can be overpower-
ing for the delicate aromas and fl avors of arneis.
Though rare, there are also sparkling and sweet
arneis. These two wine styles are risky with
Arneis, a cultivar notoriously low in acid.
In Italy, Arneis is used to make one DOCG
wine (Roero Arneis), two DOC wines (Langhe
and Terre d'Alfi eri), and fi fteen different IGT
wines (all in Sardinia, such as Isola dei Nur-
aghi, Planargia, and Valle del Tirso).
Beyond Italy's borders, Arneis is enjoying a
wave of popularity. In the United States, good
wines are being made by Cougar Vineyards in
Temecula, and Ponzi in Oregon has champi-
oned the variety for decades; there have been
countless very good Arneis wines from this
esteemed Oregon producer over the years. In
Australia, almost fi fty different estates work
with Arneis: for example, Amadio, Box Stal-
lion, Catherine Vale Vineyard, Chrismont (in
their La Zona lineup), Gary Crittenden (Pinoc-
chio Arneis), Dromana Estate, Mac Forbes,
Parish Hill, Patritti, Pizzini, Rutherglen, and
Thick as Thieves (The Aloof Alpaca, a very
good wine). I have liked the version by Mac
Forbes, which I recently tried in a London res-
taurant: at only 12.5 percent alcohol and delicate
white fl ower aromas and fl avors, it reminded
me of an arneis from Piedmont. Dromana
Estate makes both dry and late-harvest Arneis
in their “i” line of wines made from Italian
grapes. In fact, Arneis has become popular
enough in Australia that it has been planted
even in less-than-likely places such as the hot
Riverina district, where the wines have lowish
acidity and may require acid correction. By con-
trast, the cool Mornington peninsula (blessed
with the maritime infl uences of Port Philip Bay
to the north and west and Bass Strait to the
south) seems like a suitable habitat for this vari-
ety. Port Philip Estate's Quartier Arneis bot-
tling is a case in point. In New Zealand, Coop-
ers Creek makes a very good arneis, but the one
I tried most recently (the 2008 vintage) was
surprisingly full bodied, alcoholic (14.5 per-
cent), and generally much richer than the Ital-
ian versions.
wines to try:
Giovanni Almondo*** (Bricco
delle Ciliegie, one of Italy's fi fteen or twenty
best white wines), Malvirà*** (Trinità, one of
the few oaked arneis worth trying; also Rene-
sio, which is unoaked), Negro*** (Perdaudin,
perhaps the most typical arneis of all; and the
Sparkling Extra Brut, refermented in the bottle
in the manner of Champagne), Matteo Correg-
gia***, Bruno Giacosa***, La Granera**, Mar-
saglia** (Serramiana), Lorenzo Negro**,
Pace**, Fratelli Rabini**, Paola Sordo**,
Vietti**, Baracco de Baracho*, Ca' du Russ*
(Costa delle Rose), and Deltetto*. Cornarea* is
worth hunting out for a unique, very interest-
ing sweet version (Tarasco), but I am less
thrilled by their dry versions. Another good
sweet version is by Cascina Chicco** (Arcass
Vendemmia Tardiva).
Asprinio Bianco
where it's found:
Campania, Puglia, Basili-
cata.
national registry code number:
16.
color:
white.
Is asprinio the best wine in the world to
drink with pizza? Yes, according to Luigi Vero-
nelli, to whom I owe all my initial, salad-days
Italian wine knowledge, but only provided it's
the simplest pizza of all: tomato, garlic, and
oregano. The name (offi cially Asprinio Bianco,
but everyone just calls the variety Asprinio)
might suggest otherwise, as
asprinio
derives
