MASO CANALI 2004 PINOT GRIGIO DOC

Introduction

How did I pick this wine? No particular connection with this one. The bottle was attractive with a classy-looking label, and since I am partial to red wine, I had to pick some whites. The DOC designation may have swayed me as well. Canale means channel (or canal) in Italian. I am not sure if canali is the plural of that or not. I could not find a definition for maso except as part of “masochismo” and it is definitely not masochistic to drink this wine!

The timing was inspired by someone I work with who suggested that I write about a pinot grigio noting that she does not like chardonnay. So, here it is!

Wine Impressions

I think I paid $9.99 for this bottle which is fairly close to the top of my usual range (there are exceptions) for a 750 milliliter bottle. However, as I said the bottle was attractive and the label looked classy so I guess I am susceptible for looks over substance (not to take anything away from this wine). I am easily distracted by shiny objects too!

Speaking of shiny, I had described the Concannon Chardonnay color as “shiny.” This pinot grigio was light, clear and bright – just shy of “shiny.” It had a clean, crisp taste that lingers a bit on the palate. The aroma was light and fruity – very pleasant.

The bottle came with a natural cork. I am not sure of the grade, but it was not “agglomerated.” I saw no evidence of cork taint.

The Company: Maso Canali and Vilallta

The bottle says that this wine is actually imported by Maso Canali of Hayward, CA. It says it was “vinted and bottled by Villalta, Trento, Italy.” However, my web search found little information about Villalta wines, but the Maso Canali web site had much information about its Italian vineyards and winemaking techniques. If anyone has more information about this situation, please let us know.

Maso Canali appears to specialize in Pinot Grigio wines. The Maso Canali Estate is 500 years old and is located near the Dolomite Mountains and Lake Garda. Grapes have been grown on the estate since the middle ages and the Pinot Grigio grape has been cultivated since 1893.

The web site explains that the Pinot Grigio grape is an offshoot of the Pinot Noir grape that was grown in the Burgundy region about 700 years ago. It began to be grown in the Trentino region in the 1800’s, which had the perfect climate for it.

Maso Canali picks the grapes by hand. The grapes range in color from bluish gray (from which it gets its name since “grigio” means “gray” in Italian) to raspberry pink. The juice is drawn off so that the wine does not acquire the red tint of the grape skins.

The company uses the Passito process in making the wine. Apparently, this means that some late harvest grapes are dried on a rack and vinified separately. This wine is then blended with the rest of the wine to produce the rich flavor that results. This process is common for the Amarone wines of northeast Italy except that all the grapes are dried for the Amarone.

The Region: Trentino

Trentino is a very interesting region. Also known as Trentino Alto Adige, it is called by the In Italy Online web site the least Italian of the regions. It borders Austria, and was conquered by Napoleon who put it under the Austrian Hapsburgs. It was returned to Italy after World War I, but remained deeply divided. In 1939, Mussolini gave the citizens a choice: to accept Italian citizenship or accept German citizenship and move north. Many opted to leave leaving the area underpopulated.

The impacts of this divided culture can be seen in that many of the cities have two names (Bolzano/Bozen, Merano/Meran, etc.) The land is breathtaking, with mountainous ridges, alpine meadows and many waterfalls. The skiing is unparalleled. There are about 80,000 residents who speak Ladin, a combination of Latin and Celtic dialects that began in the first century CE.

Trento, where Villalta is located) is the most Italian of the cities in the region. Merano is one of the prettiest and more interesting cities. The Alto Adige province is more German.