2022 Massican "Annia", Napa Valley, California, USA

ABOUT THIS WINE

Petroski's flagship white wine blend sourced from small vineyards around the Napa Valley. The three grape varietals, Tocai Friulano, Ribolla Gialla and Chardonnay, are harvested separately and fermented independently in French Oak and stainless steel tanks until blending six weeks before bottling. The Tocai and Ribolla build the aroma and flavor profile of the wine, while the Chardonnay adds to the wine’s structure. The wine is fresh and subtle and fulfills the promise set forth years ago to bottle memorable white wines, unique amongst the whites of California.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Massican is the passion project of multitalented vintner Dan Petroski, who also oversees the cellars of Calistoga’s historic Larkmead Vineyards. The entire lineup is comprised of fresh, pure, mineral-laden whites loosely based on the coastal wines of Friuli, and they read like cool watercolor seascapes to Larkmead’s warmer-toned renderings. It may seem unusual that the poster child for “new California” and its counterculture spirit be simultaneously responsible for classically sculpted Napa Cabernet, but Petroski toggles between the two modalities like a perfect bilingual—a skill that earned him the title Winemaker of the Year 2017 in The San Francisco Chronicle.

Petroski launched the label in 2009 as a means of connecting to California’s immigrant viticultural heritage and to his own family’s Italian roots. Inspired by his favorite blends from the likes of Borgo del Tiglio, Kante and Ronco del Gnemiz, he vinifies Ribolla Gialla, Friulano, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc as well as the southern Italian variety, Greco di Tufo. After ten years working with these varieties, he has developed a strong relationship with the vineyards where they grow and now relies more on “feel” than on any analytics such as pH, TA or brix. He ferments and ages the wines separately before making his final blends—in a combination of stainless steel and oak, depending on the grapes.