Almost Lost: The Grapes That Nearly Didn't Make It

Every wine region has a hierarchy, and most of them were settled a long time ago by people who were not thinking about flavor. In the Langhe, Nebbiolo won. In Bordeaux, Cabernet and Merlot won. When the global export market took shape in the twentieth century, a handful of French varieties became the international language of wine, and growers everywhere else were quietly told that what they had in the ground was worth less. Vineyards got pulled. Old plantings were replaced with whatever the market was paying for. A lot of grapes disappeared, and a lot more came close. This month's lineup is built from the ones that survived.

We're highlighting Tre Pile and Prandi Giovanni out of Piedmont, showcasing Arneis and Dolcetto, two varieties that spent a century in Nebbiolo's shadow. Five wines from Con-Greg Gregoriou at Delinquente in South Australia, showcasing Montepulciano, Negroamaro, Nero d'Avola, Fiano and the nearly forgotten Bianca d'Alessano. Andert's Weiss from Burgenland and Les Equilibristes' Borboyon Blanc from France. Arneis was nearly torn out of the Langhe entirely, because every row of it was a row not earning Barolo money. Negroamaro and Nero d'Avola were written off as peasant grapes and shipped north to bulk up wines from better addresses. None of them were bad. They were unprofitable, which is a completely different thing, and the difference nearly cost us all of them. Now that growing seasons are hotter and drier nearly everywhere, the varieties nobody wanted are the ones that can actually take it. They are still in the ground because a few growers refused to pull them, and they stay there because people like you decide to drink them.