by Hoke » Thu Dec 20, 2012 1:56 pm
Ryan: No, it's not unusual for good Gavi.
All: One of the great things about wine is, oddly enough, Sturgeon's Law in full force.
With the great triumvirate of wine---the three aspects that to me make the difference between indiscriminate plonk and damned good wine (the vast majority of Pinot Grigio in the world, take Dr. Lipton's cue, and the sterling examples of same from Northern Italy, Alsace and other hopeful emerging places like, say, New Zealand as example): variety, place, person---we enjoy the diverse bounty of that top percent, the cream of the crop, the tete.
Take just about any grape, bring in the other two elements, with a strong, strong focus on the human element, including passion, persistence, time, determination, and all those things, and you can turn that plain old sow's ear into a lovely and attractive purse.
Pinot Grigio? Check, from abominations (take your pick) to market-driven monsters (Santa Margherita, anyone) to those Northern Italian and Alsatian delights.
Grenache? Check, from patently ridiculous to gorgeously sublime.
Ugni Blanc/Trebbiano: Check. Makes a goodly portion of some of the world's most insipid wine, sure. But it is capable of making decent wine and amazing brandy too.
And the beauty is, the rule expands or contracts to fit anything, from a single variety, to an AOC-delimited space to a many-faceted blend. What can easily be industrial wine of the most banal type can just as easily (well, not easily, but you get my drift) be some of the finest nectar that ever shall pass between our lips.
And that is way cool!