Tired of the same old, same-old? These winemakers can fix that.
What comes to mind when you think “oddball,” “esoteric,” “out of vogue,” “underdog” and “not-so-mainstream”? What about “obscure,” “lesser-known,” “heritage,” “legacy,” “unusual” and “offbeat”? When asked to describe the wines they produce—wacky varietals, by Napa and Sonoma standards—five winemakers (who have, in some way, jumped the mainstream ship in favor of the obscure) repeated these words. The varietals themselves aren’t wacky at all; some have been around for decades, others nearly a century. What follows isn’t all-inclusive, just a snapshot of what’s out there. We suspect there’s much more.
The risk taker: Vince Tofanelli
Vince Tofanelli has been in the wine business his entire life, in Calistoga, helping his grandparents tend the family’s vineyards. “I’m farming what they established,” says Tofanelli, whose dance into obscurity began with Mondeuse back in the early 1990s (“You couldn’t give those grapes away,” he laughs). Due to economics, the family pulled out many of the old blending varietals including most of the Mondeuse, but Tofanelli opted to hang on to a couple rows. When asked why, he answers, “To keep those two rows was like keeping an archive. It’s rewarding to be able to keep those varietals alive and turn a whole new generation on to them.”
Mondeuse Noir, primarily grown in the Savoy region of France, is often viewed as a close relative to Syrah. “The wines are very aromatic, with pretty floral notes and fairly high tannin and acidity levels. It serves nicely as a blending component for our Grenache. I’ll be experimenting this year, making a tiny amount of Mondeuse Rosé.” Tofanelli also recently released a Rosé of Carignan that can be found at his tasting room in downtown Calistoga.
Tofanelli’s familial roots factored into his decision to go “out of vogue,” as he calls it. “The heritage I was raised to believe in didn’t go to Cabernet Sauvignon.” His personal journey into the unknown began with Charbono. “I wanted a niche grape, something very few were doing. I was able to get advice from André Tchelistcheff, who was winemaker for Beaulieu Vineyard (BV) and Inglenook. He visited our open land and recommended of planting Cabernet Franc or Charbono. It was a long shot, but I knew Charbono grew well in Calistoga.”
With that inspiration and a commitment from Inglenook to buy the fruit, Tofanelli planted the varietal in 1987. What he didn’t bank on was Inglenook being purchased before he had a chance to deliver the fruit. “Putting money in an unproven varietal was scary,” he says. Tofanelli eventually sold the fruit to BV right about the time he began to make his own wine. On a lark, he offered some of his homemade wine to Ehren Jordon at Turley Wine Cellars, who was so taken with it, he went on to produce a Tofanelli Charbono in 1997. Inspired by that success, Tofanelli released his own vintage in 2000.
More than a decade later, Charbono remains a tent pole of his business, which also includes Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. When asked why he stands by these varietals, Tofanelli says, “A little bit of my personality would rather not be mainstream. I get satisfaction from taking a varietal that’s unknown and doing the very best I can to impress people and convert them.” Much of Tofanelli’s success comes from hand selling. “Our [Charbono] isn’t as heavy and jammy or as sweet as others, so I have people give it a try, and then I explain it. When I do, I can’t recall anyone saying they don’t care for the wine.”
When at all possible, he bottles 100 percent Charbono, though that’s not always easy. “It’s a hard wine to make full-balanced. It’s tempting to bring in other varietals, but you can lose the nuance by blending in other grapes.” One taste reveals a super balanced wine, with blueberry notes and light acidity on the finish. “I try to emulate European winemaking—French over Italian—with finesse and nuance as opposed to hitting you over the head.” Tofanelli produces 1,000 cases total, 300 are Charbono.
He shares one last bit, “Charbono can be a really stubborn wine. It takes a long time for it to express itself. It was scary at first. The fruit on the vine was wonderful, then I’d put it in the barrel and think, ‘Where did it go?’ In the end, the wine always comes through. It’s taught me patience: As long as good things go in, it will express itself when it wants to.”
The traditionalist: “Buck” Bartolucci
The Bartolucci lineage in Napa Valley traces back to Prohibition times, circa 1922. What started in Oakville with 20 acres grew to more than 160 in Carneros, and became Madonna Estate in 1977. For Andrea “Buck” Bartolucci, the toe-dip into obscurity is more about staying true to the roots of the vineyard by planting what’s best suited for the region. The winery, initially known for producing Pinot Noir, continued to expand to include Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Muscat Canelli and Dolcetto. “Having different varietals seemed logical. Not everybody likes Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay,” says Bartolucci, the self-proclaimed winemaker, vineyard manager, president “and the janitor…when I need to be.”
With an annual case production of 10,000 to 12,000, the majority of the 130 planted acres goes to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with only 25 to lesser-known varietals. These “anomalies,” as Bartolucci calls them, are integral to the tasting room experience. “We get a lot of direct sales through the winery, and guests like to try other varietals. We’ve built a wine club of about 5,000 members. These varieties help fill those needs.”
Bartolucci enjoys the diversity of Dolcetto, an Italian varietal typically seen in the Piedmont area of Northern Italy. “It’s a medium-bodied red wine, in that there’s a degree of tannins that are heavier than Pinot Noir but not as heavy as Cabernet Sauvignon. The peppery and spicy characteristics are similar to Petite Sirah but not as big and heavy.” He adds, “One of our most popular wines is Muscat Canelli. It’s a slightly sweeter wine, more stone fruits along the lines of apricots and peaches. Since it’s so sweet, people really like it.”
This is a monumental year for the Bartolucci family, “The vineyard has been organically certified since 1991, and this year marks the 90th anniversary of our family’s involvement in Napa Valley grape growing.”
The Romantic: Fabiano Ramaci
For winemaker-chef Fabiano Ramaci, the dive into obscurity comes down to a love that surfaced at age 12, when he trailed his father around La Traviata, the family’s San Francisco restaurant. As he got older, he fell in love with the Italian wines being served, especially, he remembers, “Barberas and Barbarescos from the Piedmont region and Amarones from the Veneto region,” he says. After more than two decades in the hospitality business, passion drove him out of the city and to Sonoma Wine Country.
Ramaci spent years educating himself on his most favored varietals, including time in Italy with famed winemaker Guiseppe Quintarelli as his mentor. Ramaci began the pursuit of creating an old world, Amarone-style wine (a dry red Italian wine, typically made from the partially dried grapes of the Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara varieties). “I make wines of a similar style [to Quintarelli] that are approachable when young but also have longevity, especially when compared to the new world Amarones that can be overly extracted and macerated,” says Ramaci. “He showed me there’s a finesse and sexiness that can be created in wine. Each world has something to add. I lean more toward old-world style in preserving and integrating the varietal.”
Ramaci’s quest began when he sought and obtained rare cuttings from Italy and planted them in his backyard (as they grew, he brought cuttings to his Sonoma County vineyards). “I took my single-car garage and transformed it into my cantina, where I honed the formula and was able to experiment with aging in barrel. I’m always intrigued by combining the evolution of food with the alchemy of winemaking,” he says. In the old-world tradition, he converted his kitchen into an atrium to allow optimal ventilation for drying grapes, a cornerstone of the Amarone style.
The venture started out small, with one acre that yielded his first vintage of 100 cases in 2009. Three years later, he makes just under 500 cases from three different vineyards located in Alexander Valley, Dry Creek and on Star Road near Windsor. In addition to Ramaci’s Amarone-style that he named Valpo (a Valpocelli-style blend that includes Corvina, Veronese, Rondinella, Molinara and Negrara grapes that are dried for 90 days before fermentation), he produces a Barbera and Rosato of Corvina. When he’s not tending his grapes, he can be found stirring up his classic paella at the Windsor Farmers Market and all over Wine Country for public and private events.
Ramaci describes his style, “My palate is very European. I like dry wines with no residual sugar or high alcohol. I have a very labor-intensive process.” His love of the vines shines through as he describes the Valpo: “It’s elegant and seductive. You have layers of richly concentrated aromas, first dried cherry and dark plum, then a floral note of wild violets and, finally, cranberry and toasty oak complete the layering effect.”
Ramaci works together with his wife to create bottles that are artistic on the inside and out. “My wife, Alena, touches each and every bottle with her own hand paintings. This isn’t only about my vision. It’s a collaboration of friends and family coming together to make this dream come true.
“I liken this style of winemaking to having children. As parents, we guide them, but they have to be able to be themselves. Winemaking is very similar. You could try to turn the wines into something else or let them do their own thing.
“For me, making these wines isn’t trendy or a gimmick,” he continues. “This is my romance with the wine—it’s a love story—and I want to share it with everyone.”
The adventurer: Randle Johnson
The Hess Collection’s Artezin label started as a play on words (first “artisan,” then “the art of Zinfandel”) but became, for winemaker Randle Johnson, a moniker for his “heirloom” varietals. The production began with Zinfandel and Petite Sirah and soon morphed into more obscure varietals like Charbono, Verdelho, Mourvèdre and Carignan. “We got out in the market and found that young consumers—the GenXers, GenYs and millennials—were very interested in these off-beat oddballs, so we expanded. The first was Carignan [originally from southern France].”
While the Artezin brand has become known for “the oddballs,” as Johnson playfully enjoys calling them, the varietals account for only 10 percent of total production. Johnson credits the success of these unique, “heirloom” (his other favorite term) varietals to tastings. “When you can hand sell them, they do quite well. We pour and sell them in the tasting room, and they’ve been wonderful for the wine club,” says Johnson. “They’re moderately priced. People try them, read about them and love them.”
Johnson is particularly fond of Charbono. “It reminds people of Petite Sirah but not quite as big with its black, brooding fruit. If you can get it right, it has a nice, smooth, round tannin and finish.” He also comments on the inherent challenge that comes with the territory, “Virus. These vineyards are very old. When you have virus, you don’t get full maturity. So the thing I look for is how much virus is there. In Heitz Vineyard Calistoga, where the Charbono comes from, we have very little virus.”
Site considerations also play a significant role when it comes to planting and tending these special lots, he says. “As heirloom winemakers, we’re very cognizant of site. When you try to bottle these as individual varietals, you have to hunt and peck and try many source sites—and some may not work,” says Johnson. “It’s about being highly selective and surgical to make these high-quality wines. I can’t just say I’m going to make Carignan because I like it. You have to look at site history, vineyard characteristics and the genetics of the vines.”
Johnson speaks to other influencers: “Carignan can yield very high quality wine if its vigor and production are limited, either by soil depth or climate or both. The limiting site wines can be complex and nuanced with black pepper, spice and various black fruits such as blackberry and cassis.”
When pressed to pick a favorite of his oddball bunch, Johnson shares, “Verdelho. It’s fresh, fruity, with semi-high acid. It’s always crisp and spicy with high viscosity and nice weight on the palate. And the berry and cluster shapes are very unique.”
The rebel: Joe Benziger
Joe Benziger’s jaunt into the lesser-known zone was born in 1984, when he and artist Bob Nugent helped break up a fight at a polo match. Post brawl, Nugent volunteered to design labels for what became Benziger’s Imagery Winery. But let’s back up.
While working with his family to make large production wines for its Glen Ellen brand, Benziger noticed a trend. “We had access to some very special lots of wine that were getting swallowed up in the bigger blends. I wanted an opportunity to showcase them and eventually went out and looked for not only great vineyard sites, but varietals that other people weren’t paying attention to,” he remembers. Benziger began making small lots of these lesser-known wines, which ultimately led to the creation of a new brand, Imagery. That’s where Nugent stepped in to design the artistic labels the winery is now known for. “It’s one of the largest collections of wine label art in the world,” Benziger says. “These wines became a big part of the tasting room experience, especially when we sold Glen Ellen in 1993. People wanted to try new things.
“In 2000, Imagery moved from the Benziger site to its own location on Sonoma Highway. Here, we’re able to properly display the original works of art done for past labels and really develop Imagery’s identity distinct from Benziger.”
Today, Imagery produces more than 14,500 cases of what Benziger dubs “unusual” wines. The list is too long to detail in full, but includes Barbera, Tempranillo, Mourvèdre and Lagrein, along with a White Burgundy (Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Menuier), a wine club favorite. “I love making these types of wines. We have a lot of young people come into Imagery. They’re not holding on to any wine traditions; they’re just discovering wine and want something that tastes good. They have no preconceived notions of what wine is.”
As others have noted, the importance of site is key to success in growing these lesser-known wines. “It’s all about finding varietals that you can grow on a site and grow well.”
With a nickname like “Joey Barbera,” I’m eager to learn about Benziger’s winemaking style. “It’s about getting the varietal flavors correct,” he says. “Barbera is about black cherry, nice acid and being good with food. For Tempranillo, it’s a mocha-chocolate-leathery component—a little earthy and fruit forward.”
While Benziger enjoys working with unique varietals, he agrees that it’s not without challenges. “You have to have faith. You think a variety can do well in a spot when you plant it, and if it doesn’t you’re stuck—more so than if you were making a blended wine,” says Benziger. “But if it’s good, you have something that’s special and unique, and people will come back. That’s one of the strengths of our portfolio: We have this exciting, even esoteric, collection of wines that you’re just not going to find anywhere else.”
Despite the challenges, “Mr. Barbera” has never looked back, “It’s about preserving the characteristics of these grapes so I can show people what each varietal is all about.”
The other side
For each of the wines uncorked during this romp into obscurity, “unique” seems to sum things up most simply. But these wines are anything but simple. Whether it’s Dolcetto from Carneros, Charbono from Calistoga or Amarones, Barberas and Carignans, these aren’t your ordinary varietals. While these wacky wines may be short on recognition (for now) they’re long on taste. So next time you roll into a tasting room and someone offers you a variety you’ve never heard of, why not break on through to the other side? You’ll be glad you did.
