By Virginie Boone

Orsi Family Vineyards hosted the first Festa Italia di Healdsburg last month, celebrating the variety of Italian grapes grown in California, including here in Sonoma County.

Participating local wineries included Colagrassi Wines, Daniel, DaVero Farms & Winery, Emmitt-Scorsone, Idlewild, Imagery Estate, Jupiter Wine Company, Kokomo Winery, Marine Layer, Mora Estate, Muscardini, Orsi, Pedroncelli, Portalupi, Preston Farm & Winery, Reeve Wines, Ruth Lewandowski, Ryme Cellars, Saini Vineyards, Sassoferrato, Seghesio Family Vineyards, Tansy Wines, Trentadue, Unti Vineyards and the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley, where many of the more than 150 winegrowers and 70 wineries grow and make Italian-inspired wines – both Quivira and Mounts Family of Dry Creek poured at the event.

Proceeds of Orsi’s Festa went to support the efforts of a philanthropic entity called Risorgimento, set up in 2019 to help champion California’s Italian varietal wines, serving 960 wineries that produce 72 distinct Italian varieties. Risorgimento means “Rising Again,” a social and political movement for Italian unification that resulted in the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

As we know, there’s no shortage of families that first came to Sonoma County from Italy to seek their fortune. Many of them turned to growing wine grapes, among other crops, to make a living and satisfy their own needs for wine. Dozens remain in business, still family-run, having survived from generation to generation, continuing a link to many of these heritage varieties.

Among some of the longest-standing wine families with Italian roots are Foppiano, Martinelli, Orsi, Pagani, Pedroncelli, Puccioni, Saini, Sanchietti, Seghesio, Serres and Sangiacomo, many of which have been around close to or even just over 100 years.

Some grow Italian grape varieties, some don’t. And while Italian grapes don’t make up the majority of what’s grown here, these are some of the Italian grapes that do.

Italian Grape Varieties in Sonoma County (2023 Grape Acreage Report)

White:
Catarrato – 6 acres
Malvasia Bianca – 7 acres
Moscato Giallo – 1 acre
Palomino – 4 acres
Tocai Friulano – 2 acres
Vermentino – 11 acres

Red:
Aglianico – 9 acres
Barbera – 47 acres
Dolcetto – 8 acres
Graciano – 4 acres
Montepulciano – 1 acre
Nebbiolo – 8 acres
Nero D’Avola – 2 acres
Primitivo – 59 acres
Sangiovese – 276 acres
Teroldego – 11 acres

Let’s just say that at 31 acres total of white Italian-heritage varieties and 366 acres of red varieties (the large bulk of that Sangiovese), these grapes are not going to overtake Chardonnay (15,484 acres), Cabernet Sauvignon (12,720) or Pinot Noir (13,026) here any time soon.

That doesn’t lessen their importance. These grapes not only do well in Sonoma County’s diverse microclimates, they tell a story about the people who ventured from so far away to make a life in this region, finding a way to sustain themselves through generations of ups and downs, from Prohibition to phylloxera, and the rise of other kinds of grapes.

But about some of these Italian varieties:

Sangiovese is the most planted grape in Italy, making up about 10% of total acreage, particularly in Tuscany, where it is thought to have originated in the 16th century. It also grows in varying degrees in Mendoza, Argentina and in Australia. Plantings in California go back to 1880.

In Italy, Barbera is also sometimes called d’Asti and del Monferrato. It is the second-most planted in terms of acreage, thought to have originated and still going strong in Piedmont. Argentina is another place where it remains important. It was imported into California by John Doyle, who made the first Barbera in the state in 1884 from vines planted in Cupertino. The Italian Swiss Colony made a lot of table wine from Barbera in the 1890s. The variety fell into decline after Prohibition, but regained some life in the 1970s and 1980s, especially in the Central Valley, where it often is sold to go into larger blends.

Nebbiolo is significant in northwestern Italy, with origins that date back to before the 14th century in the Langhe district. It is late-ripening and named for the “nebbia,” or fog, that lingers in the foothills of its region during harvest, which typically takes place in late October. Piedmont is another important home, while Nebbiolo can also be found in Australia, North and South America, including in California’s Sierra Foothills and North Coast.

The white grape Malvasia Bianca also grows in France, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Germany and goes by many names in its native Italy, from Malvasia bianca del Chianti to Uva Greca. Its origins are not well understood, but it is thought to come from the northwest coast of Italy. It makes a good still and sparkling wine.

Primitivo is the most complicated of stories, a variety from southern Italy that shares the same DNA as Zinfandel. DNA analysis eventually showed that Zinfandel was identical to an obscure variety native to Croatia called Crljenak Kasteljanski, or “red grape of Kastela.” It is thought that the grape originated on the Dalmatian coast of the Balkans. Another relative is Plavac Mali, a cross between Zinfandel and another Croatian variety, Dobricic, according to the book, “Wine Grape Varieties in California,” published by the University of California in 2003.

Meanwhile, the popular Vermentino is planted most widely in Sardinia, Liguria and Tuscany as well as in Piedmont, where it is called Favorita. In France it is called Rolle. Light and minerally, it is a lovely white and relatively easy to grow, resistant to drought and vigorous in the field.

Now’s a good time to enjoy any one of Sonoma County’s wines made from these varieties, from a Tansy 2023 Las Brisas Vineyard Carneros Vermentino to a Daniel 2022 Santo Giordano Vineyard Los Carneros Vernaccia, an even rarer white variety with ties to Tuscany. Saluti!