The Friuli Wines of American

I wrote a small item for Tasting Table last week about a tight group of American winemakers with whom I share a passion for the white wines of Friuli. There are only four that I know of in the U.S.—Abe Schoener, George Vare, Christopher Tracy and Steve Matthiasson—so it wasn't difficult to become acquainted with them and their wines. These wines are not for the novice drinker. They challenge you and make you think more than relax. What else can you expect from a white wine that looks orange and tastes like a red?

As Matthiasson pointed out (and I was not able to fit into a 200-word article), there are differing schools of thought among Friuli winemaker. The whites that spend a lot of time on the lees, or get buried in the ground in amphoras—think the wines of Gravner and Radikon—get the most attention. How could they not? They're bruisers, yeasty and tannic and provocative. But there's another, subtler school of white, strongly mineral but crisp and refreshing, that are best represented there by Schiopetto and Villa Russiz, and over here by Matthiasson Napa Valley White.

Of the wines I list below I most strongly recommend the Channing Daughters Rosato. Unfortunately, it seems to already be sold out.

Tough Love

A small-but-fierce group of winemakers embraces northern Italy

It's easy to embrace the popular kids.

In the wine world, they're well-known regions like Bordeaux and Burgundy, which have plenty of American winemakers crafting bottles in their likeness.

But for the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in northeast Italy--known for its idiosyncratic, niche pours--acolytes are harder to come by.

Among its small-but-vociferous ranks are California vintners George Vare, Abe Schoener and Steve Matthiasson, who discovered Friuli's white wines on a trip together in 2005. Since then, the trio has experimented with native Friulian varietals and unorthodox aging methods, which have yielded robust, yeasty white wines. They are exceptional in their eccentricities.

Christopher Tracy, winemaker for Bridgehampton's Channing Daughters, is another Friuli fanatic. He's fingered Long Island's climate and soil as ideal for the production of Vino da Meditazione, a thickish, cerebral wine that has been called the best white offering in America.

Sometimes the difficult ones come out the best. Here are three bottles that make for a good introduction to Friuli, American-style:

2009 Channing Daughters Rosato di Refosco ($19) A rare and delicious rosé, this bottle is light and creamy with hints of almonds and strawberries (click to buy online).

2008 Matthiasson Napa Valley White ($32) Dominated by Sauvignon Blanc and Ribolla Gialla, this flinty, crisp wine smacks of lemon, pear and light stone fruits (click to buy online).

2008 Scholium Project The Prince in His Cave ($43) Abe Schoener's flagship bottle is a crash course in on-the-lees orange wine: tangy, spicy, yeasty and a feast for those with an adventurous palate (click to buy online).

A Good Wine for Halloween

I spotted a little bottle of wine called "Envelope" in Smith & Vine, the Brooklyn wine store. It was 70% Chardonnay. Yawn. But 30% Gewurztraminer! Hmm. It was the work of Channing Daughters, the dependable Long Island stars. Hey. The back text said they were inspired by the winemakers of Friuli, Italy. Whoa!

Channing Daughters? Friuli? Weird grape combo? It was pushing all my buttons. Price? $42! Yikes! For a Long Island Chard? Better check this out with the staff.

"Is this worth $42?" I asked. The staff kind of swooned. "That is the best U.S. wine in the store in my opinion," said one. Then the owner, Patrick, came in. "I think that is the first truly great wine to come out of Long Island," he declaimed. OK, OK. I bought it.

So, what is this weird little wine? Well, like the label says, it's a Long Island Friuli wine. The Channing Daughters took their hard-harvested Chard and Gewurz and fremented them on their skins in an open top fermenter. It was then aged in seven French and Slovenian oak barrels for 13 months. They made only 158 cases.

One of the things I love about skin-fermented white wines is the color. These wines can achieve absolutely beautiful, and sometimes deeply strange, colors. Envelope (hate that name, by the way; "pushing the envelope" is such a tired expression) is a rich apricot color. Almost pumpkin really, if I must invoke J. Crew-like color designations.

The pumpkin doesn't stop there, though. I am not messing with you: there is pumpkin on the nose, and there is pumpkin on the palette. I'm not trying to turn you off. It's there and it's cool. There is also squash, spice and stewed apricots on the nose. Basically a wonderful autumn scent. The smell of retired fields.

The mouth-feel is medium-full, viscous, with light tannins. There is apricot again, pumpkin as I said, meaty nut flavors, celery, scallion, and—believe it or not—roasted pumpkin seeds.

Which all leads me to say that this is the perfect wine, and color and taste, for Halloween. It really is.

Is it the best wine Long Island has produced? No, I don't think do. I've had less showy wines from Shinn and Lieb that were better overall. But it's audacious. It shows great talent. And it might age fantastically.

At $42, will I buy another bottle. Yes. One. For a Halloween party I'm invited to.