California with an Italian Accent 

I’ve recently returned from California wine country, ostensibly to research Bordeaux wine makers who have invested there. I came across a little known gem that of course, dear readers, I’m happy to share with you.

If you think of Napa, you probably think of Cabernet. Big bold Cabernets have put Napa on the map, 78% of Napa vineyards are planted with red varieties and of that, 51% is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Of course, there’s more to Napa than Cabernet, there’s over 30 different varieties in all. But Sangiovese? There’s very little, less than a half of 1% of the plantings. As Claire Tooley brilliantly outlined in her Decanter article last year, it’s a surprisingly low percentage given the role Italians played in the history of Californian wine.

Sangiovese is the ‘noble’, versatile grape of Chianti and Brunello, characterised by fresh acidity as well as the more powerful Brunello di Montalcino and as part of “Super Tuscan” blends. In Napa, its expression tends to be more powerful than in Chianti. Its fresh acidity and lower-alcohol levels could become more and more interesting with increasing temperatures. These lighter, brighter wines and chillable reds retain their acidity even in heat spikes.

Little Italy 

In the 1980s, Michaela Rodeno and her late husband, Gregory visited Italy to trace Greg’s Italian roots. Gregory was a lawyer and Michaela was already making waves in Napa as VP Marketing for Domaine Chandon. It was Greg’s Piemonte ancestry that inspired them to try and plant some Italian grape varieties back in Napa. 

Initially, they tried to find some Nebbiolo budwood but to no avail. Luckily they stumbled upon an excellent, if undocumented, Sangiovese clone in a post-Prohibition vineyard. It thrived and the Rodeno Vineyards became home to the first Sangiovese grapes in the Napa Valley.  

Wine sense

Michaela is one of my Napa Heroines. In 1990, with Julie Johnson, she created Women for Wine Sense (WWS) to counter the anti-alcohol lobby with the premise that through education, a better understanding of wine leads to more responsible consumption. WWS now has a network of 10 chapters through the US and their charitable arm sponsors wine education for women in the industry.

Michaela Greg arrived in Napa in the 70s, the early days of the Napa wine renaissance. Michaela knew little about wine except that she loved it, following her junior exchange year at Bordeaux University of all places. Her Masters in French literature allowed her to teach at Davis for a while and then Napa College. She had wine makers in her class and was a part time tour guide at Beaulieu so it was only a matter of time until she joined the wine world. 

When she read about a French company investing in Napa she thought she could be useful – she was. She became the second full time employee of Domaine Chandon. The rest is Napa history, as her ‘accidental career’ in wine lead her from Domaine Chandon to CEO of St. Supéry – both major players in Napa.

Villa Ragazzi was named after their children, who still lend a hand. Their first vintage was produced on a rocky hillside, from scrawny-looking but healthy vines. The wine was made in the family barn, with the help of friends and with a borrowed portable stemmer-crusher. It remained unfiltered as they couldn’t find a filter to borrow. It was aged in used French oak barrels and, eventually hand bottled and labelled with Charles Thomas as Villa Ragazzi’s original (volunteer) winemaker. Familiar Napa names such as Celia Welch, Nate Weis, Melissa Apter all lent a hand as, back then, unskilled main d’oeuvre. Today Bob Pepi continues to vinify. 

After the 1998 vintage, the vines were hit by phylloxera, but all was not lost. They rescued cuttings and created their Rodeno clone, all the Villa Ragazzi Sangiovese wines have since been made from that same clone.

Ten years after replanting in Oakville, they had enough grapes to start making wine again. The clone is important, but so is microclimate and viticulture. The Ragazzi yields are low, the vines mature slowly on the well-drained soils and the small berries maintain the signature fresh acidity of Sangiovese. 

Villa Ragazzi is focused on protecting the fragile Napa environment. Although they don’t advertise any green credentials on their labels, they are certified Fish Friendly Farming. They use compost, cover crops and low to no till farming to improve soils and lightweight, and whenever possible, recycled bottles and natural corks all helping reduce their carbon footprint  

Range 

As well as their full bodied, 100% Napa Sangiovese, the freshness of the variety lends itself to rosé. Their Rosato di Sangiovese has the classic crisp acidity of the  variety. The grapes are picked early to produce a pale dry rosé wine with just 11.4% alcohol. 

Their top wine Faraona is their take on a super Tuscan. It’s a Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon blend thatchanges every year depending on how the wines marry. Cabernet has been as high as 25% without overwhelming the Sangiovese, and as low as 8% (2018).

They produce around 40 cases a year of this wine, aged for French oak for 15 months, has more weight and a darker colour but is still dominated by the Sangiovese character.  

Rating   

I’m not the only who rates their wine, as early as 1993, Piero Antinori himself described their Sangiovese to be one of the very best expressions of the grape from around the world at the time. The Villa Ragazzi 2012 Sangiovese was served at the Obama family’s final White House state dinner for guests of honour Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi and his wife. 

Californian, but with an Italian accent.

 

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