Matthiasson "Ribolla Gialla" Napa Valley, CA 2017

FROM MATTHIASSON:

THE WINE: Ribolla gialla originates in the Friuli region of Italy and across the border in Slovenia. Its earliest known mention was in the Pope’s paperwork managing a dispute between the Bishop of Trieste and a monastery in Venezia in 1296. Ribolla gialla makes an unparalleled food wine, filling the gap in food pairing between white wines and red wines—it can be amazing with pork, fatty raw seafood, and intense cheeses. We chose to ferment this wine on its skins and stems in the ancient manner.

The wine is 100 percent Ribolla gialla from our home vineyard. The wine was fermented whole cluster in an open-top tank using punchdowns. After two weeks the must was pressed, and the wine was aged for 18 months in neutral barrels. The wine aged sur lees and it was never racked. No SO2 was used until bottling. The Ribolla gialla tastes like hazelnuts, baking spices, meyer lemon curd, Bartlett pear, but most of all it has a stony minerality that is incredibly distinctive. There is supple tannic structure and fresh balanced acidity, with great weight and length given the low alcohol.

THE PRODUCER: Winemaking, for us, is a natural extension of farming. We have both worked for many years in the sustainable agriculture and local food movement, and in 2003 we started Matthiasson Wines based on those values — purity, sense of place, respect, responsibility, deliciousness. Our wines are classical expressions of different grape varieties, some well-known like Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, and some rare like Ribolla Gialla and Refosco. The deeply flavorful wines are refreshing, complement food, and are moderate in alcohol. Our small family winery is fiercely independent, no partners or investors, just the vision of Jill and Steve and a hard-working and passionate team. Our independence allows us to farm organically, with no compromises in the vineyard or the winery, creating the beautiful wines for which we are known.