(Always did love that Genius + Love = Yo La Tengo compilation.)
There’s a growing number of California winemakers working at the margins of the current industry to produce truly distinctive wines, and some of these fine folks have chosen to work with ribolla gialla, a variety that hails from the northeastern corner of Italy. In fact, it became legal in United States only this year to label varietal wines as ribolla gialla.Exciting!
One recent and (to me) quite successful example is the Arnot-Roberts 2009 Vare Vineyard Napa Valley Ribolla Gialla. Sourced from a tiny nook of a vineyard that industry veteran George Vare planted in the foothills of the Myacamas Mountains on the eastern side of the Napa Valley, it’s both generous in texture and energetic in expression, with a hint of almond and a fruit character that falls somewhere between a Meyer lemon and a tangerine.
Though this really has nothing to do with the Arnot-Roberts Ribolla Gialla — other than I think the band would really dig — in honor of the first day of Hanukkah, here’s a recording of Yo La Tengo performing “Cherry Chapstick” during their annual Hanukkah stand at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, New Jersey.
spume 
The Spume froths again! Long live Yo La Tengo! And I still haven’t tried the Vare Ribolla, much less the Arnot Roberts version. Time to remedy the situation.
Thanks for checking in David!
The Vare can be tough to track down but totally worth trying (I had a skin-fermented version a couple years back, good stuff). And the Arnot Roberts is lovely.
Hi…
Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts are joint owners of this California project, which focuses on Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and a little Chardonnay made from grapes from a few meticulous northern California growers.
Nathan doubles as a master cooper, and the use of his handcrafted bottles in the cellar sets Arnot-Roberts apart from many other small California producers. These are often tiny micro-cuvees, also distinguished by the careful marriage of concentrated fruit and beautifully integrated tannins.
Thanks..