July 21, 2017

MATTEO CORREGGIA Roero Arneis 2016

(Roero, Piedmont, Italy) $19

Arneis (are-NACE) is a dry crisp Italian white that almost went extinct before it was “rescued” in the 1980s. Consider it wine’s answer to a gin and tonic.

All Oregon Pinot Noirs must be 90 percent that variety.

Answer: True.

Labeling a wine based on the variety of grape used to make that wine has been commonplace in most of the New World since the late 1960s. In the United States, the first varietally labeled wines were required by federal law to be composed of 51 percent of the variety named. In 1983, the minimum was raised to the current level of 75 percent. States and specific appellations can choose to exceed (but not go below) the federal regulations. For example, in Oregon, all Pinot Noirs so-labeled must be at least 90 percent Pinot Noir. The same is true for Oregon Chardonnay, but not Oregon Cabernet Sauvignon. Oregon makes an exception from the “90% rule” for Cabernet and other grapes that benefit from blending and have a long history of being used for blending in their respective European regions.

The Critter That Started it All

January—time for austere budgets. Have you ever noticed how many inexpensive and moderately priced wines have animals on the label? Wine’s “critter era” is thought to have been born in 2001 when an Australian brand… Continue reading

MATTEO CORREGGIA Roero Arneis 2016

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