The pandemic changed the way we consume food. Households, restaurants and even luxury hotel chains gave up on exotic ingredients and looked into their backyards to use local food to survive successive lockdowns.

The support for the local was not just limited to food; the Indian fruit wine industry, which for years had been struggling to find shelf space between Shiraz and Chardonnay, realised that its time to shine had come.

“Being at home has made people more experimental with their food and drinks. Earlier, everyone preferred to go out for dinners and parties, where they chose from a curated drinks menu that usually overlooked Indian fruit wines. But with the restaurants closed due to the pandemic and supply chains unable to import international brands, they were back in the limelight,” says Akalpit Prabhune, director and chief winemaker of Rhythm Winery.

When Akalpit started the Khadakwasla-based winery in 2010, his motto was to showcase fruits grown in various belts of Maharashtra. Stepping out of the grape palate, he started making wine from other fruits that Indians have known for generations.

“We started with a strawberry wine made from fruit procured from Mahabaleshwar. Eventually we added plum, peach, kiwi and alphonso. All fruits are sourced from Maharashtra, except kiwis which are brought in from Arunachal Pradesh. ” he says.

In 2019, the company launched two premium wines — Mulberry and Raspberry — which are priced slightly higher compared to the other wines. Available in Maharashtra, Goa and parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Rhythm wines are also exported to the United Kingdom and Singapore. “We started exporting to the UK in 2018. Our Alphonso wine has been well-received by prime Indian restaurants in London like Ooty, Sindhu and Brigadiers,” he says. In India, the product is found in holiday destinations like Mahabaleshwar and Lonavala.

Social media helped the brand penetrate Pune and Mumbai. “People were online a lot. I used the opportunity to make them familiar with our brand name by frequently posting about our winery on Instagram and interacting with our followers by hosting quiz sessions. This worked: we saw more sales from retail stores in the latter part of 2020,” adds Vidita.

While social media strategies helped Rhythm Wines grow, it was the emphasis on local produce that worked for Arunachal Pradesh-based Naara Aaba. “The series of lockdowns had affected the distribution of goods, and made many ingredients scarce. This was when the demand for Indian fruit wine increased; we had good response for our kiwi wine,” says Tage Rita, founder of Naara Aaba, one of India’s foremost organic kiwi wines.

In the initial days of lockdown, when the work in her winery stopped, Rita turned her attention to other fruits.

In October 2020, her company Lambu-Subu Food and Beverages launched Narra Aaba pear and plum wines. Like kiwi, the plum and pear are sourced directly from farmers in Ziro valley, who grow large amounts of the fruit, which go waste due to lack of a proper market. “Our company supports over 300 farmers, out of which 150 come under organised cooperative societies,” she adds.

During lockdown, sourcing fruits and getting them crushed in time became a hurdle for wineries. So at Bordi-based Hill Zill Winery, a company that makes sparkling alcoholic beverages from local fruits, the founders — Priyanka Save and Nagesh Pai — took special permissions to run their trucks to fetch harvested fruits.

Success for everyone

“We support over 150 farmers and cooperatives through our winery. If we had not picked up these fruits in time, the farmers would have suffered huge losses. So we had to reach out to the authorities to allow our trucks to run to Mahalabeshwar and Ratnagiri during lockdown. We had to be mindful about sanitisation and social distancing regulations,” says Priyanka. The efforts paid off, as despite a pandemic, the company surpassed its yearly sales target in October 2020.

Hill Zill supplies its drinks under the brand name Fruzzante, made from pineapple, mango, strawberry, chikoo and orange that have 6% alcohol. It has a strong distribution network in Maharashtra. The company is now stepping up to launch in Goa, Puducherry, Punjab, Telangana and Karnataka. Adds Priyanka, “This is a great time for people and companies to experiment with local products as the focus is on indigenous produce now more than ever.”

At 100 years old, Seattle’s Eleanor Owen lives on her own in her big, old house. She drives, she’s not on a single medication, and she’s sharp, with an enviable memory. Her 100th birthday was in January and because of the quarantine, like so many others, so had to have her party over Zoom.

“I have 300 birthday cards, if not more, that I haven’t opened yet! They sent me 100 roses from which my son and I are now making wine. My son and my husband had done it when he was a kid. If you were here, you would find an aroma in the house of something fermenting.”

The wine will ferment all year, and she hopes to have a lot of guests over to drink it when she turns 101.

“I suffer from an addiction called TSA: Thrift Store Addiction! I have 312 wine glasses. Nice people would say that I collect,” she laughed.

Owen has one of the most varied and fascinating careers of anyone I’ve ever encountered, with a Wikipedia page to prove it.

She grew up the daughter of Italian immigrants in New York’s Hudson Valley. She was extremely bright and graduated two years early.

“My first paying job was as a cub reporter on the Newburgh Daily News for $17 a week. I saved every penny and went to New York City and enrolled at The Traphagen School of Design. I actually was fairly successful as a designer and costumer for modern dancers, primarily Merce Cunningham, I did all of his shows.”

Owen also acted and was cast in two Broadway productions and a few off-Broadway shows, and she directed children’s theater in New York until her husband got a job that moved them to rural Washington state, and then to Seattle, where she continued to teach drama. They had two children, and when he was a teenager, their son, Jody, started showing severe symptoms of schizophrenia. After Owen found a noose he had hung in the basement, she tried desperately to get him help, but he wouldn’t take medication and she could not get him hospitalized.

“A terrible tragedy took place. He took one of my husband’s guns, went to a tavern, shot up in the ceiling of the tavern, men jumped on him and the gun went off and killed somebody. A tragedy that can’t be undone. My son was declared innocent by reason of insanity. My first visit to Western State Hospital, he just wasn’t there. He could not return to reality.”

Her son remained in the psychiatric hospital for many years and, unable to focus on anything else, Owen quit her job as a professor at the University of Washington and connected with other parents who were unable to help their mentally disabled children. She started traveling to Olympia and meeting with legislators.

“My definition of ‘grave disability’ was turned into law. Now, I did not know at the time, that this was a difficult thing to introduce, get passed in both houses and signed by the governor, all in one year.”

The same year, 1979, Owen and those parents formed the Washington Advocates of the Mentally Ill which soon became NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, which is still the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization providing support, education, and advocacy in 1,200 US locations

Owen went from newspaper reporter to costume designer to Broadway performer to the creator of one of the most significant mental health advocacy groups in the nation. Over the years, she has continued to fight in Olympia, where she became known as the Barracuda.

Her son, Jody, is now in his early 60s and doing well; he lives on his own, he works, and his medication is under control. He’s thriving thanks to Eleanor’s dedication.

We’ll leave you with Owen’s tip on how to age gracefully and healthfully:

“You have to keep your teeth! If you don’t have good teeth you’re not going to be able to stay well.”

Learn more about Eleanor’s life and last meal by listening to the 100th episode of my podcast, Your Last Meal. I interviewed three, Seattle area 100-year-old women about life, food and last meals.

Plus, I talk to IKEA about how the furniture store became synonymous with Swedish meatballs. And if you’re single, living alone and loathe eating solo during the pandemic, the host of the podcast Dinner For One shares the story of how learning to cook for herself, post-divorce, made her feel whole again.

Text 100 to 98973 and we’ll text you the episode, click here to listen or listen where ever you get podcasts.

25th February, 2021
by
Phoebe French

Ahead of this year’s André Simon Food and Drink Book Awards, db is running extracts of all of the shortlisted drinks titles. First up is The Wines of Georgia by Lisa Granik MW.

Georgia is a country of extremes. Mountain gorges and cliffs abut broad river plains. Swift rivers slice beneath serene alpine pastures. Fierce loyalties, attachments, jealousies and suspicions abound. Professional archaeologists and amateur winemakers all dig in their different ways to uncover lost traditions, lost vines, lost civilizations. Some slavishly follow ancient practices they don’t fully understand, while others quietly and thoughtfully experiment.

Georgians have a tremendous sense of pride, not least in their wines and wine culture. They believe strongly that their land was the birthplace of wine and see wine as a metaphor for their own blood. References and allusions to wine abound in Georgian culture, song, legends, literature, religion and art. Georgians are renowned for their joi de vivre – accompanied and enriched by their association with wine.

Georgia, known to its inhabitants as Sakartvelo, the land of the Kartvelians, has seven different climate zones, forty-nine different soil types and hundreds of grape varieties, all within a country of fewer than 70,000 square kilometres (26,900 square miles), just smaller than the Republic of Ireland and a little larger than the state of West Virginia. It has 8,000 years of wine culture and winemaking history, but, at the same time, its current wine industry is remarkably young – and in a hurry.

Situated at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, with fertile lands and dramatic vistas, over the centuries Georgia has been repeatedly ravaged by invaders from every direction. But the Georgians have resisted and persisted, retaining their native languages, culture, religion and identity. Invaders left their mark, but the Georgians stayed put and rebuilt.

Today, out of the wreckage of hulking Soviet ‘wine factories’, a sophisticated variety of modern wineries has emerged, as well as many more small-scale family winemaking enterprises. A handful in 1997 grew to 400 by 2016, and then exploded to over 1,300 by 2019. Of these, 300 export their wines, with more hoping to jump on this bandwagon. Georgia now produces an array of wines for different consumer tastes.

A resurgence in Georgian traditional winemaking in the past two decades has converged with a renewed interest in things ‘artisanal’, and ‘natural’ products. This has captured the attention of many a wine lover within and outside Georgia and has contributed to the explosion in the number of people deciding to make wine ‘as our ancestors did’.

This presents a great challenge. There is the notion among many that making wine is simple: just pick the grapes, crush them, put them in the qvevri (the clay vessel in which wine is fermented), punch the grapes down a bit, close it for a few months – and abracadabra! Great traditional wine. In fact, however, it is hard. It is not just that winemaking, especially Georgian traditional winemaking, involves hard physical labour. It is hard because it is complicated, involving both science and craft. Many Georgians attempting to make wine in the simplest way have no foundation in wine science. They thus have set themselves up to make wine in the most difficult of circumstances, as often they are not in a position to recognize or understand when something is awry until it is too late. Their final product may be wine, but it is home-made wine, a style of wine that was never intended to be marketed, to withstand the variable conditions of shipping, of competing in an international marketplace.

I have enjoyed many of these home-made wines. Some of them may be natural wines, others not. They may be a bit wild, and are perhaps not the most finessed; they may not be perfectly clear, but can be a tasty, pleasurable drink. Being home-made, however, does not excuse flawed wines, especially when those flaws obscure the expression of variety and terroir. The problem is not traditional wines per se. It is inexperienced or hobby winemaking posing as professional. Ideology is not a proxy for quality.

In many ways, then, these home-made wines cannot be compared to wines made by professional winemakers. Many are unstable and unlikely to look or taste the same after being subjected to temperature changes and sub-optimal transit and storage conditions once the wine producer has seen them off. I would wish, for the reputation of Georgia’s promising winemaking industry, that the producers respect their vineyards and their wines enough to ensure that the wines they sell are the finest they can produce and that they reach the consumer in top condition. Then the consumer can replicate the delicious Georgian experience at home.

I firmly believe that the Georgian wine story deserves to be told. It is not enough (though perhaps it could be) that Georgia is the first documented place for wine production. Nor is it enough that they have hundreds of indigenous grape varieties: if these varieties didn’t make distinctive, delicious wines of place, they wouldn’t matter. But these claims, of which Georgians are deservedly proud, are secondary to their distinctive winemaking culture and traditions that produce wines of a thoroughly different and unique category. These wines deserve to be tasted, understood and enjoyed. They need to be considered on their own terms but held to similar quality standards as other fine wines of the world.

Political changes in the past thirty years and a revolution in communications have brought Georgia out of relative isolation. Georgians have always interacted with foreigners and been influenced by them but, in the end, they have pursued their unique path. This is how they have survived for millennia. And so it will be with their wines in the future. The best of Georgian wine is yet to come. I trust that, over time, with more experience and a deeper understanding of all that makes these wines unique, we will be blessed with an even greater array of fine wines that express the heart, soul and vibrant personality of this very special country.

Valpolicella & Soave: The Times, They Are A Changin’ 

BY ERIC GUIDO | FEBRUARY 25, 2021

It’s amazing to consider how much the world has changed in such a short period of time. Suddenly we are all focused on the importance of other people and our relationships with them. Instead of firing off a text or email, we now pick up the phone to hear a human voice on the other side; and with each conversation, we all speak enthusiastically about the days we had face-to-face meetings, tastings, dinners or just a friendly conversation. This train of thought was emphasized during my recent tastings, as numerous wineries sent in samples and offered to taste together over Zoom. I truly believe it is one of many signs, once we can regain some sense of normalcy, that the world has changed for the better in some ways.

My foray into the Veneto or, more specifically, Valpolicella (including the Ripasso, Amarone and Recioto categories) and Soave was filled with many experiences such like this. From the largest estate to the smallest azienda agricola, producers were eager to talk and taste face-to-face. The message that rang loud and clear from the majority of them was that the region has opened its mind to change. Some of that change is welcome, such as the enormous number of producers who no longer wish to rely on residual sugars and the overuse of oak to pump up their Amarone. Also welcome is the focus, in both regions, on creating new cru bottles to showcase special mesoclimates, unique soils or older vines within the great growing area. However, other changes, like the massive wave of producers that are jumping onto the IGT bandwagon to avoid the blending and aging regulations within Valpolicella, seem a bit misguided – but I will address that later. 

Unfortunately, what has not changed is the large amount of bulk wine that is produced in this region, Soave being one of the biggest examples. The same can be said of entry-level Valpolicella, with many wines that are intended to be drunk thoughtlessly while enjoying a local trattoria’s panini special. It’s a shame, really, because while we can organize a report and tastings around producers we know and trust, in reality our coverage here is just a tiny snapshot from within a colossal category. Which brings up one of the most important points that I can possibly make: the Veneto is really about producers first, and terroir second. Granted, you can say this about many wine-producing regions. Just look at Burgundy’s Grand Cru, Clos de Vougeot in the Côte de Nuits, with its 49 hectares and the myriad of producers who make wines from within its walls. Some are revelatory, and others are flat-out forgettable. However, in most regions, this is the exception, not the rule. In Valpolicella and Soave, you have amazing producers and growers within the Classico regions, but many more that are not worth your time, and who rely on winemaking wizardry to dress up inferior fruit or supplying cooperatives without any incentive to produce quality over quantity. On the flip side, when we look to the expanded Valpolicella growing area, even as far east as the borders of Soave itself, we find producers such as Dal Forno, Roccolo Grassi and Pra’ making some of the top wines in the region. This is simply reality; and so here, it pays to follow specific producers. 

Inama’s Foscarino cru in Soave Classico.

Just Skimming the Surface 

How does one sum up Valpolicella and the multifaceted wines that this region produces? For one thing, it’s safe to say that a wine lover could find every desirable experience possible here, from easy-drinking Valpolicellas, to the richer and more structured Superiores, to the darker and more bitter Ripassos, then the more opulent, sometimes sweet, sometimes savory Amarones, and of course, the decadent Reciotos. Add in the myriad of IGTs, some of which are world-class with their depth, concentration and balance, and you have a little of something for everyone. 

The Dizzying Array of Valpolicella 

It all starts with the basic Valpolicella (translated to “valley of many cellars”) and Valpolicella Superiore, which on their own cover many possible styles. The reason for this is that producers have the option to use freshly harvested grapes to make an entry-level wine, late-harvested grapes to add ripeness and richness, partially dried grapes to kick things up another notch, or a cru expression that showcases an individual terroir. Maturation in a winemaker’s cellar is also incredibly open-ended, delivering stainless steel or concrete-fermented and minimally aged wines, as well as those matured in wood. The Superiore DOCG dictates at least a year of refinement in the winery prior to release, but the fruit can come from any of the region’s unique subzones from west to east of the Classica area, bordered by the Adige River to the west, Valpantena (“valley of the gods”) in the middle of the region and directly north of Verona, and Orientale, which borders Soave to the east. So you can see why randomly buying a bottle of Valpolicella is a bit of a crapshoot. What does remain the same throughout all of the variations is the primary grape (from 45% to 95% of the blend), Corvina, and the larger-berried Corvinone, both of which form the backbone and add the notions of cherry that we love in these wines. Next in the recipe is Rondinella (5% to 30% of the blend), which adds the deeper colors and aromatics. To a lesser extent, and not necessary, is up to 10% Molinara (adding a nice acid twist), Croatina, Negrara or Dindarella.

However, it’s within these rules of blending that many producers feel the most stifled and are swaying toward the IGT designation, the most glaring example being Corvina and Corvinone, which are both widely believed to be a big part of the future for Valpolicella as a region. There was a time when it was the family of Cabernets and Merlot that would be the most talked-about among IGTs, but today it’s the ability to create single-varietal Corvina and Corvinone wines. I can tell you from my own experience that the potential for these wines is very high. They possess all of the raw ingredients, depth, intensity and structure to evolve slowly into something glorious. The challenge is in finding the right mix of terroir and élevage in the cellar. My only worry is, what happens when the best Corvina and Corvinone, which make up the backbone of Valpolicella, Amarone and Recioto, are removed from those blends to make varietal wine? Also, the chances of an IGT going ignored on a retail shelf, versus a branded wine like Amarone, are very high.

This brings us to the next three categories, the big wines of Valpolicella; Amarone, its mini-me Ripasso, and the one that’s thought to have started it all, the sweeter and richer Recioto. The reason I list these together is that they are linked by one very important element: Appassimento, the process of air-drying grapes with the objective of reducing their water content by 30–40%. This process was first created over 1,500 years ago as a way to make less-interesting grapes more palatable, but also to produce a sturdier wine that could stand the test of time and travel. It continues now as one of the most important ingredients in the complex recipe of Appassimento-styled wines. Making wine from dried grapes is both costly and not without its own challenges, such as mold. What’s more, the days of widespread thinking that Appassimento would gloss over the need to seek out better terroir and superior fruit is thankfully behind us. Today, quality-minded producers are looking to higher elevations, steeper hillsides, poorer soils and the blend of grapes they use. Add to this that those same producers are trying to reduce both sugar and alcohol levels in their wine, and what you have is something of a rebirth of the Amarone category. The question is, how long will it take for the world’s wine lovers to understand that they can now bring a bottle of the best producers’ Amarone to the dinner table, or that Ripasso (a Valpolicella which is then passed over the pulp of an Amarone crush and allowed to go through a secondary fermentation) can have the depth and structure of Amarone without the richness that makes some tasters stop after one glass? 

For years, I’ve been tasting with producers from the Veneto and raising the question of why there hasn’t been some thought of better classifying the big, ripe and opulent style of Amarone from the intense, deep, savory – sometimes even bitter – and structured versions. In the end, in this region of so many classifications, I guess adding more would only complicate things further; but in my opinion, the success of their wines depends on improving consumer understanding of what they can expect when buying a bottle. This is, in fact, the biggest problem throughout all of these categories, and it’s yet another reason why I say that it is most important to look to the producer first. 

La Groletta vineyard in Valpolicella Classica.

A Minefield of Great Wine: Soave

When trying to generalize Soave, we really find ourselves in something of a conundrum. I’d love to say that this is one of the most overlooked categories in fine Italian wine that presents tremendous value, but I’d only be referring to the high-quality artisans, those who are creating some of the best whites in Italy, and not the bulk producers and cooperatives that muddy the waters. This fact makes traversing the selection of Soave very difficult. The good news is that, with a little guidance, readers can find some amazing values within the region.

Very much like Valpolicella, Soave has an “original” Classico zone with elevations ranging from 150 to 330 meters, unique for its steep hillside vineyards, which are planted in poor, well-draining volcanic terrain. These soils are very much the reason why the Soave zone has the potential to create world-class white wine. You have to travel to Central Italy, into Toscana, Lazio and Campania, before finding similar terrain. Then there is the much larger, extended region of Soave, to the south and west, which produces an ocean of wine from its more fertile soils. There are some parts of the larger Soave area that are worth paying attention to, such as the high elevations of Soave Colli Scaligeri. However, even in the Classico zone, and even if buying up to the more “elevated” Soave Superiore DOCG, which requires lower yields and fruit from hillside vineyards, you still find yourself sifting through a sea of mediocrity. Once again, look first to producers who operate under their own strict guidelines to make great wine; Inama, Gini, Anselmi, Pieropan, Pra’ and Suavia are just a few of the names that immediately come to mind. Granted, there are more worth seeking out, but not many. From these houses, you can almost always expect an honest representation of terroir and vintage, not to mention the most dependable “entry-level” wine that offers the most value. 

Speaking of terroir, one of the most positive developments in the region are the cru classifications that are now being honored, as of 2019, by the rules of both Soave Classico and Soave Superiore. While many of these 33 crus have adorned top bottlings of the most noted producers for many years, such as Froscà, Foscarino, Carbonare, Rugate, Monte Grande and Roncà Monte Calvarina, they are only now legally catalogued, which is a big step in the right direction. Another move that has improved the average quality across the board is the removal of the Trebbiano Toscano grape from the blending regulations. This now leaves as little as 70% Garganega (an aromatic variety that excels in these volcanic hillsides), up to 30% Trebbiano di Soave (think Verdicchio) and up to 5% Chardonnay or Pinot Bianco. In my view, it’s a combination of Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave that produces the most incredibly balanced and age-worthy expressions of Soave. However, there are also many varietal Garganega bottlings that provide a wonderful expression of terroir. Also worth mentioning is Recioto di Soave, a dessert wine produced using air-dried grapes, often late-harvested or affected by botrytis. The top producers are well worth seeking out. 

Looking down toward Campiano from the Gini Valpolicella Estate.

Lest We Forget

Last but not least, while Lugana is not a focus of this report, there were a number of producers whose wines arrived with the samples of Soave, Amarone and Valpolicella, and frankly, it would be a shame to not give this growing region a serious honorable mention. In fact, Lugana seems to be all the rage among Veneto producers these days, with many of them looking to get in on the action. This region, the majority of which is shared with Lombardy to the west, is highly influenced by its proximity to, and the moderating effects of, Lake Garda. What’s more, glacial deposits – a mix of clay, limestone and gravel – make up its soils. Here, the principal grape is the highly aromatic Trebbiano di Lugana, also known as Turbiana, a relative of Verdicchio (no wonder consumers find Italian wine confusing). With all of the excitement about the area, it shouldn’t surprise readers that it is already expanding outside of the original zone, which will undoubtedly affect quality. However, I have a feeling there will be a day when we will be focusing much more on the wines coming out of the denomination.  

Looking out toward the Frosca and Salvarenza crus of Soave.

Recent Vintages

The first wines of 2019 made it into this report. It is a vintage that producers in both Soave and the hills of Valpolicella are excited about. In general, this was another warm and dry vintage, and the danger here can be found in the producers who were pushing ripeness levels. Late spring rains built up water supplies to offset the dry and hot summer months, and if anything, the saving grace was the milder daytime temperatures and cooler evenings at the end of the season, which helped restore freshness and allowed for an extended harvest. The whites I tasted were ripe in profile but balanced by vibrant acidity, making for some highly enjoyable “entry-level” Soave. I’m excited to see what top producers will bring to the table when their more important and cru-designated wines are released. As for the reds, the jury is still out.

I found a lot to like about the high-acid 2018 whites that I tasted for this report, more so than the more fruit-forward reds. The 2018 vintage was generous, with higher yields than both 2017 and 2016. This was the result of balanced temperatures throughout the spring and summer months. The region received more rain than average during the spring, which required Valpolicella producers to be very selective, while those on the hillsides of Soave Classico benefited from their well-draining soils. As mentioned above, 2018 was much more favorable to Soave Classico producers, with wines that will drink well relatively young but also excel through medium-term cellaring. As for Valpolicella and Amarone, look to producers in the higher elevations with hillside vineyards for the best examples.

While Soave was adversely affected by the extreme heat and dry conditions of 2017, resulting in ripe, supple and more immediately appealing wines, a number of producers throughout the Valpolicella Classica region will tell you that the vintage was much more forgiving for them. Many spoke specifically about even ripening and good concentration. I’ve personally found warm and dry years to produce more uniform results, especially for Amarone. Keep in mind that the Classica zone is in close proximity to the moderating effects of Lake Garda, as well as possessing soils that are much better at retaining water. It stands to reason that the wines have a fighting chance. That said, this can’t be applied to the entire Valpolicella zone, and from what I’ve tasted, there were only a handful of standouts from the 2017 vintage.

The majority of Amarone producers are just now releasing their 2016s into the market. This is a vintage that I find quite exciting, even though most of the winemakers I’ve spoken with tend to favor their more fruit-intense and concentrated 2015s. The reason the 2016s are so interesting to me is their combination of dark florals and fruit, mixed with fresh acidity and a more mineral style. While the 2015s are already showing brilliantly, the 2016s will require some time, and most display more savory characteristics than usually associated with these wines. The vintage was characterized by slightly higher-than-average precipitation and cool temperatures throughout. This resulted in lower yields, yet also an extended growing season that packed a lot of character into the later-ripening varieties. Balanced, elegant, fresh and with the structure for many years of cellaring; I think, with time, 2016 will be recognized as a modern-day classic. 

Tasting With An Open Mind

On a final note, the Veneto has its challenges. The overproduction and mass-marketing of Soave and Valpolicella have greatly hurt the world’s perception of these wines. As for Amarone, it’s fallen victim to the assumption that all of the wines are overpowering, too rich, too sweet, and best paired with a cheese plate. But, the fact is, as Bob Dylan sang, “The times, they are a-changin’”. It would be a huge mistake to not revisit the top producers in Veneto. The best Soaves are truly world-class, and there were many more moderate-alcohol, savory styles of Amarone tasted in this go-around than I can ever recall having sampled before.

All wines were tasted between December 2020 and January 2021 in New York City. While there were a few producers who were not able to submit their wines in time for this article, we will update it with their entries as they arrive.

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The real wine world, by contrast, hasn’t been so much fun lately. Winemakers whose sales are down—their tasting rooms closed, in many cases, by government order—tend to be more earnest than amusing. Retailers, meanwhile, are more likely to sell wines with the aid of point scores than mouse cartoons. But because I believe that even the most serious oenophile appreciates, and perhaps needs, a laugh or two, I went looking for present-day wine fun. Happily, I found some good stuff.

“No one calls me unless they want to talk about something funny on our wine label,” said John Williams, founder of Frog’s Leap Winery in Napa Valley, when I called him the other week. I told him this was one of those calls. I’d bought a bottle of his wine recently and found a note on the back label instructing the buyer: “Open At Other End.”

Frog’s Leap has been funny for decades, ever since its first wine, a Sauvignon Blanc, debuted in 1981. The winery’s motto, “Time’s fun when you’re having flies,” made it clear that no one at Frog’s Leap, least of all Mr. Williams, takes him- or herself too seriously. For example, a timeline entry on the winery’s website notes, “John befriends Jonah Beer, Director of Sales at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars while on the road and teaches him how to cheat on his expense account.” (The bit about the expense account is crossed out.)

Mr. Williams did note that humor can have its drawbacks. “When you inject any kind of playfulness into your messaging, to some people that might suggest that your wine isn’t good,” he said. I assured him I take him seriously, and the savory 2019 Frog’s Leap Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($19) I bought was quite good.

For the most part, Mr. Williams has found that being funny can be good for business. “We get cards and letters and phone calls from customers every day saying thank you for making wine accessible and fun,” he said. And the wines themselves leave little doubt that Mr. Williams has spent his nearly 50 years in the wine business, farming 200 acres of Napa grapes, pursuing serious stuff.

Chester Osborn, the longtime winemaker at d’Arenberg winery in McLaren Vale, Australia, has an equally whimsical streak and a slew of unorthodox wine names. The funny names have never been a problem, according to Mr. Osborn—indeed, quite the opposite. He recalled that his Shiraz blend, labeled the Old Bloke & the Three Young Blondes, earned him “a million dollars in free publicity” after a journalist in Australia declared it sexist.

The name refers to Mr. Osborn and his three (blonde) daughters. While Mr. Osborn clearly has a mischievous side, his approach to good winemaking is “deadly serious,” he said. His many awards and his family’s hundred-plus years of winemaking back that up.

I couldn’t find Old Bloke in my local wine shop, but I did turn up the deliciously rich, slightly tropical 2018 d’Arenberg the Hermit Crab ($14), a white Rhône-style blend including Marsanne, the white grape of Hermitage, France. “Hermitage means ‘house of the hermit,’ and a hermit crab carries his house on his back,” Mr. Osborn explained. There are also fossilized hermit crabs in the vineyard soil. “It’s hermit crab that you’re drinking, I tell everyone,” he said.

Closer to home, I’ve long been a fan of the Brooklyn-based team of hip-hop artist Sadat X and producer Will Tell, and their irreverent, occasionally profane YouTube show “True Wine Connoisseurs.” It debuted in 2010 as a bit of a lark, filmed in Mr. Tell’s basement. The duo tasted (actually drank) wines straight from the bottle and rated them by the so-called F—ed Up Factor (FUF). By the time they filmed their last episode in 2017, they’d become sought-after tasters; wineries sent them samples in hopes of having their wines on the show.

When I heard that the team had launched a line of wines and were preparing to air a pilot for a new show, I called Mr. Tell. He said he was still in Brooklyn, but Sadat X had moved to North Carolina, where he’d become a father and released a new album with the artist Agallah. Mr. Tell is now in the wine business full time, representing the True Wine Connoisseurs line of three wines, all from Italy, ranging from $15 to $18 a bottle.

I bought all three from a Brooklyn store named, appropriately enough, the Happy Cork. I was especially impressed by the dry and lively True Wine Connoisseurs Prosecco ($18), whose label features a cartoon of Sadat X and Mr. Tell in black tie and top hats. They refer to the wine as “Spread Love” Prosecco. “We wanted to bring a lighter side to the wine world,” said Mr. Tell.

Gerald Weisl of Weimax Wines & Spirits in Burlingame, Calif., brings a wonderfully sharp sense of the ridiculous to the wine world and indulges in some fun tasting notes. In the listing for a Bordeaux, the 2016 Haut-Bana, Mr. Weisl writes: “Our late colleague Bob was surprised to learn President Obama had invested in a winery in Bordeaux. But he [had] forgotten to put new batteries in his hearing aids. It’s ‘Haut Bana, not Obama, Bob.’ ” Lately, however, he’s been playing his notes a bit more straight. “People are more easily offended by attempts at humor these days,” Mr. Weisl said.

Happily, the people at Oddbins still seem to be having plenty of fun. Mr. Steadman might not be providing illustrations for the store these days, but his spirit carries on. Take this listing for the 2018 Trevisana Extra Dry Prosecco on the Oddbins website: “How can something be ‘Extra Dry?’ we hear you ask. After all, you don’t jump out of the shower and towel yourself down past the point of dryness, as wisps of smoke begin to rise from your hair and comment ‘today, I’m Extra Dry.’ ” And this one, for a magnum of 2017 the Brand Malbec: “Many wine drinkers go a long way to express their devotion to Malbec. We heard of one chap in Verona who would call passionate verse up to Malbec’s balcony. ‘Anon, good nurse, me and this Chilean red are rather busy.’ We heard of another fellow who saved his bottle of Malbec after a shipwreck, while he perished…Despite the fact we all know there was room for both of them on that door.”

I have no idea how either one of these wines actually taste, and I don’t particularly care, because reading the tasting notes themselves is so much fun.

OENOFILE / WINES WITH A SENSE OF HUMOR

2019 Frog’s Leap Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, $19

The first wine from Frog’s Leap was a Sauvignon Blanc—a fittingly untraditional decision for an untraditional Napa Valley winery. The style is bright and lively, more lush than zippy, marked by notes of citrus and herb.

True Wine Connoisseurs Prosecco Treviso Brut, $18

Made from grapes grown on a family-owned estate in the Veneto region of Italy, the TWC Prosecco is a very crisp, very dry sparkler—a perfect wine for a socially distanced party, as delicious as the label is fun.

2018 d’Arenberg the Hermit Crab McLaren Vale, $14

The name of this juicy blend of two Rhône white grapes, Viognier and Marsanne, nods to a famous wine of the region, Hermitage, as well as the hermit crabs in the vineyard soil, according to winemaker Chester Osborn.

Write to Lettie at wine@wsj.com

The Wall Street Journal is not compensated by retailers listed in its articles as outlets for products. Listed retailers frequently are not the sole retail outlets.

Napa Valley’s Duckhorn plans debut on New York Stock Exchange

The Duckhorn Portfolio intends to make its stock market debut in coming months, the St. Helena-based wine producer confirmed via press release yesterday.

The company has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to the press release – a key step toward making an initial public offering (IPO) of its stock on the New York Stock Exchange. News of the company’s intent to do so was first reported by Bloomberg in early February.

The filing does not immediately make Duckhorn Portfolio a public company, but it on that path, Vice President of Consumer Marketing Belinda Weber confirmed in an email.

“We are excited about this milestone for our company,” Weber said, adding the company was unable to comment on details in lieu of SEC regulations that embargo public discussion of the stock ahead of its IPO.

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The move positions Duckhorn, whose labels include Paraduxx, Kosta Brown, Canvasback and Migration, to join a small group of Napa Valley producers (or their parent companies) that have become publicly traded companies in the past – including the industry giant Constellation Brands, which owns several Napa Valley properties including Robert Mondavi Winery, and Treasury Wine Estates, whose portfolio includes Stags’ Leap and Beringer Vineyards.

While going public has traditionally been something of a risky endeavor for even large, stable wine producers – take Sonoma’s Ravenswood Winery, which IPO’d in the late 1990s for $11 million but has since been “all but abandoned” by now-owner E. & J. Gallo, the San Francisco Chronicle noted  – Duckhorn’s size and profitability could potentially uniquely position it to succeed. The company produces 1.1 million cases annually, according to Wine Business, and owns ten different labels, according to its website.

Sonoma County’s Vintage Wine Estates – another large North Bay producer – also plans to go public this spring, the Chronicle reported, though in order to do so it is merging with an already-public special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC). (SPACs are typically created with the explicit intention of purchasing smaller, private company to take public.)

Duckhorn filed with the SEC for an IPO worth up to $100 million, according to the investment research and management firm Renaissance Capital. That initial estimate of worth may be a placeholder, the firm wrote in an article on nasdaq.com, for a deal that could raise as much as $300 million.

“The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined,” Duckhorn wrote in its press release. “Duckhorn intends to apply to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ‘NAPA.’”

Watch now: Preliminary grape crush report reveals Napa Valley production down almost 40%

Photos: Napa Valley grape harvest 2019

Napa Valley grape harvest 2019

Napa Valley grape harvest 2019

Napa Valley grape harvest 2019

Napa Valley grape harvest 2019

Napa Valley grape harvest 2019

Napa Valley grape harvest 2019

Napa Valley grape harvest 2019

Napa Valley grape harvest 2019

Napa Valley grape harvest 2019

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July 23, 2019: Wine retailer Gary Fisch signed a lease Monday to open Gary’s Wine & Marketplace at the former Dean & DeLuca space in s…

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May 31, 2019: Several thousand people attended the Barrel Auction as part of Auction Napa Valley at St. Helena’s restored historic Louis M. Ma…

Oct. 9, 2019: First an earthquake, then devastating wildfires – and now extended power shutoffs. Napa’s wine industry has averted disaster bef…

June 13, 2019: The Calistoga Planning Commission took up the debate of what does or does not constitute an “event” at a winery.

Jan. 24, 2019: The reasons for purchasing a Napa Valley vineyard and making wine abound, and every owner has a different story. For Kisha and …

May 30, 2019: When Mike Hirby first moved to the Napa Valley, he didn’t have a job and was living in a tent. The year was 2000, and although h…

Nov. 5, 2019: Napa’s history as winemaking region dates to the mid-19th century. There were hundreds of operational wineries in the area, thou…

You can reach Sarah Klearman at (707) 256-2213 or sklearman@napanews.com.