Food - Drink
Why Italian Grapes May Be The Future For California Vineyards
By KALEA MARTIN
Grower and vineyard owner Kevin Harvey, shared with The New York Times the first time he tried Italian wine made with carricante grapes and said that it captivated him. Harvey wants wine drinkers in the U.S. to have the same experience, and growing the grapes stateside is how he's going about it.
It's not that California winemakers don't want to grow Italian grapes in their vineyards, but rather that they have a long history of doing so unsuccessfully. Wine Enthusiast Magazine explains that French grapes do better in our climate, which is why the U.S. produces far more French wines like Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.
California's coastal mountain ranges are the only exception because the high altitude and low diurnal shift are similar to the Mediterranean climate of Italy. But now that growers are becoming more familiar with the required growing conditions, Italian grape varieties are popping up in California vineyards more than ever before.