2017 Massican Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay

Massican is one of Napa Valley’s makers of “new white wines.” Along with some other younger, independent- minded winemakers, Massican’s founder Dan Petroski champions old world grapes ignored by new world producers. Massican is known for white wines inspired by the whites of Friuli in northeastern Italy, and Petroski uses Ribolla Gialla and Tocai Friulano, among other old world varietals. A native of Brooklyn, Petroski went to business school and worked in magazine publishing before consummating his love affair with Italian wines by traveling through Italy and working a grape harvest in Sicily. Back in the U.S. he moved to California and took jobs as a cellar rat and intern before rising to winemaker at Larkmead, where he remains part of the winemaking team and makes mostly red wines. In 2009 he was offered a rare harvest of California Ribolla Gialla, which became the basis of his debut release blend. The name Massican is a tribute to the Monte Massico mountain range in southern Italy, where his great grandfather grew up. Massican also makes widely admired Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, often in blends with the Italian varietals.

Napa Valley AVA is the most famous winemaking region in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. With nearly 43,000 acres of vineyards and more than 300 wineries, it is the heart of fine wine production in the United States. Winemaking started in Napa in 1838 when George C. Yount planted grapes and began producing wine commercially. Other winemaking pioneers followed in the late 19th century, including the founders of Charles Krug, Schramsberg, Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyards. An infestation of phylloxera, an insect that attacks vine roots, and the onset of Prohibition nearly wiped out the nascent Napa wine industry in the early 20th century. But by the late 1950s and early 1960s Robert Mondavi and other visionaries were producing quality wines easily distinguishable from the mass-produced jug wines made in California’s Central Valley. Napa Valley’s AVA was established in 1983, and today there are 16 sub-appellations within the Napa Valley AVA. Many grapes grow well in Napa’s Mediterranean climate, but the region is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay is also very successfully cultivated, and about 30% of the AVA’s acreage is planted to white grapes, with the majority of those grapes being Chardonnay,

This white variety originated in Burgundy, but is now grown around the world. Its flexibility to thrive in many regions translates to wide flavor profile in the market. Chardonnay is commonly used in making Champagne and sparkling wines.