Hello and welcome to this week’s dig through the pile of wine samples that show up asking to be tasted. I’m pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have crossed my doorstep recently.
This past week included an eclectic mix of wines from here, there and everywhere. Let’s get started with a handful of wines from Napa, LOLA Wines. Proprietors Seth Cripe and Rafaela Costa make a whole range of relatively traditional wines from their property in Calistoga and with purchased grapes. Then they have a bunch of wines that they dub their “Artisanal Series” which include the bright Malvasia Bianca and Dry Muscat that I tasted this week, as well as their more mysterious dark Charbono, and one of the more elegant Zinfandels I’ve had recently. All are made in small quantities and, despite being made from obscure varieties, all hail from Napa Valley.
I’ve long adored the distinctive wines of Jermann in Italy’s Friuli region, but I only get to taste them occasionally, often when tastings like the Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri event roll through town. Jermann’s wines have won countless Tre Bicchieri awards with good reason—they’re usually delicious. And that was certainly true for the Capo Martino blend I tasted this week, with its undisclosed blend of native Friulian grapes.
This week I also am very happy to recommend some wines from one of Napa’s most distinctive producers, Enfield Wine Co. A project run by John Lockwood and his partner Amy Seese, Enfield produces spine-tingling wines from various sites in Napa and beyond, generally aiming for a high-acid, bright profile and accompanying low alcohol, but without sacrificing flavor. That’s true of the Chardonnay, Grenache, and Tempranillo-based blends I’m recommending this week. The Grenache and the red blend in particular are fantastic.
Sticking in the lighter-bodied red category for a moment, I can also recommend the Etna Rosso from Tornatore they have named Pietrarizzo. Generally speaking, Etna Rosso is one of my favorite categories of wine in the world. I adore its bright acidity, pulverized stone texture, and berry, herb, and floral qualities, all of which this bottle delivers.
Josh Hammerling is much better known, and rightfully so, for his sparkling wines made in Berkeley’s urban wine district, but he also produces some still wines. He recently gave me a bottle of his Gamay Noir, named “Late Air” and I’m very glad he did, as it is bright and expressive, and wonderfully quaffable. It’s got that gorgeous blood orange quality that lovers of the grape have come to adore.
This week I also tasted a polished and dark Cabernet Sauvignon blend from Tuscan producer Brancaia, which has been making organically farmed modern and traditional interpretations of Tuscan wines since the estate was purchased in 1981 and refurbished by the Widmer family. The estate is now in the hands of the second generation of Widmers, and continues to make quality wines. This blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc is not what you would normally expect from Chianti, but it’s a well made wine for those interested in a Bordeaux-meets-Chianti experience.
Lastly, I’m always up for anything new and off the beaten path. When a Canadian sommelier friend pinged me on Facebook and asked if I wanted to taste some Romanian wine, I was quick to say yes. A few weeks later, a box showed up with this bottle from producer Crama Ferdi, in Vâlc?ne?ti, Romania. I don’t know a lot about this producer, other than its a father-and-son effort by Fernando and Paul Mih?ilescu, and they make a number of wines with various international varieties, including this limited edition Cabernet Sauvignon they call Red King. I’m not sure if its even available in the US, nor what it would cost if it was. But it’s always fun to taste wine from off the beaten path.
Tasting…
Source : https://www.vinography.com/2025/01/vinography-unboxed-week-of-1-19-25
