Easy Come, Easy Go: "Lost" Varietals Make a Comeback in Two New Books - Plus Advice on Wines to Pair with These Books

Looking for books to take along on your vacation? Or to enjoy while lounging at home?

This summer's crop of nonfiction wine books includes noteworthy titles on those "weird grapes" you may never have tried - until now. Check out Tasting the Past, by Kevin Begos and Godforsaken Grapes by Jason Wilson to learn more about the world's most unsung grape varietals and how they're making a comeback.

Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding and Jose Vouillamoz 

Just like books that focus on lost heritage roses or the hundreds of vegetables and fruits we no longer enjoy the taste of, these two authors have scoured Europe in the company of experts like José Vouillamoz, a Swiss grape geneticist and one of the three authors of the epic tome Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including their Origins and Flavours co-written with Jancis Robinson and Julia Harding, to find grapes of yesteryear.

That very big book, published in 2002, represented the fruit of the latest genetic work being done on sex among the vines, tracing the wine family tree back as far as can be known. (Which, apparently, isn't far enough, according to Vouillamoz, quoted in Begos' book).

Wine Grapes has 1,279 pages and weighs nearly 7 pounds; a Kindle
version is also available

With more than 1,368 varieties listed, Begos and Wilson have plenty of grape trails to trace.

Each writer meets Vouillamoz and tastes wines from rarely planted varietals with him. Each focuses on travels in search of other precious, historic gems. And each reflects different eras of wine, before globalization and the so-called "noble grapes" we know (Cabernet, Chardonnay and the like) began to kill off vinuous variety. Though neither is specifically a wine expert at the outset, each becomes more knowledgeable from their travels about these specific wines than the hippest somms their books may be read by.

Begos is interested in origins, and that dictates trips to Georgia, Israel, Cyprus, Sicily and more of the ancient grape hunting grounds. Wilson mostly winds his way through Europe on a series of adventures in the high Alpine regions and elsewhere. And what do they find? Enological rarities, genetic treasures and more.

Paul Begos at Kermit Lynch wine shop in Berkeley, where I had a
chance to chat with him about Tasting the Past

Begos' focus begins with a quest for a wine from Jerusalem that he tasted in Jordan - Cremisan. A science writer by trade, his journey explores more of the genetic arc of wine yet also touches on the science of taste and many other off the beaten track (but compelling) topics. His book is interspersed with quotes from unusual sources that I found illuminating. Here's one from the physicist Richard Feynman:

"And there in wine is found the great generalization: all life is fermentation.

If our small minds...divide this glass of wine, this universe, into parts - the physics, biology, geology, astronomy, psychology and all - remember that nature doesn't know it. So we should put it all back together, and not forget at last what it's for..."

While Patrick McGovern's book 2007 book Ancient Wine was the groundbreaking account that put ancient wine on the map, Begos' is a lovely complement to it.

Begos also goes into details about the role women played in ancient winemaking, from being some of the earliest celebrity winemakers in Egypt to the goddesses essential to wine cultures.

He also looks up a vineyard Italians say belonged to Leonardo da Vinci.

An ad for Bordeaux Vineam

In Bordeaux, he mentions this billboard, which warmed my heart (although I should add that very few wineries in Bordeaux are farmed organically.)

When I met him at Kermit Lynch's wine shop in Berkeley, where there was a small wine tasting to celebrate the book's release, he talked about his concerns about pesticides in vineyards.  In his last chapter, entitled The Dark Side of Wine, he quotes from historian Steven Shapin's find from a 1771 book, lamenting on the state of wine:

"What passes for wine among us is not the juice of the grape. It is an adulterous mixture, brewed up of nauseous ingredients, by dunces, who are burglars in the art of poison-making."

Wilson, who wrote mostly about alcoholic beverages before embarking on his enological adventures, focuses more on his individual forays to visit various people and producers. He has an engaging style and it's a bit of good fortune that we have not one but two books to read on these fascinating forays into the past - forays that could also represent more of a presence in wine's future. 

RAISE A GLASS TO THE REVIVERS

As you read these books, you may find yourself becoming tired of reading adjectives about flavors and wanting some actual wine in your glass. Here are some bottles worth seeking out (from organic or Biodynamic vines).

Blaufrankisch - Johan Vineyards, Willamette Valley, Oregon

While it's mostly grown in Austria (and some in Germany), Blaufrankisch is typically a bit spicy, but still on the light side of red. In an atypical move, Oregon's Johan Vineyards grafted over some of its vines to make estate grown Blaufrankisch ($28). Raspberry and blackberry on the nose with black cherry and raspberry fruit on the palate.

Durif - aka Petite Sirah - Powicana Farm, Mendocino



Petite Sirah, or Durif, is not really that obscure in California where 10,000 acres are planted, but the next largest planting in the world is Australia, with 1,000 acres. Once a staple in Napa, before Cabernet took over, it was a steady producer but used primarily as a blending grape. It has a reputation for being Big and Tannic, but that's not what the Powicana 2015 Petite Sirah ($32) is. The Redwood Valley producer's 2015 vintage swept the Mendocino Wine Competition last year winning Best in Show. For a reason.

Grignolino - Heitz Cellars, Napa, California

A light red wine from a vineyard first planted to this grape in Napa by the Brendel family on an 8 acre vineyard that the Heitz family purchased in 1961 and which they have continued to preserve as an homage to Napa's past. Heitz makes both a Grignolino ($22.50) and a rosé of Grignolino ($25).

Mencia - Analemma, Columbia Gorge, Oregon

A wine primarily grown in Spain, this mid-weight red originally hails from Galicia. It's rarely grown elsewhere. Oregon producer Analemma make it ($42) as well as Godello and Trousseau, if you want to explore further.

Tannat - Tablas Creek Vineyards



Tannat comes from Madiran in southwest France, not the Rhone region, but when the nurseryman at the Perrin family's Chateauneuf du Pape estate shipped over Rhone cuttings to this Paso winery, he also put in some Tannat in the shipment, thinking it would grow well in Paso Robles.

Originally planted with the thought it being a blending grape, after several years Tablas Creek decided instead to bottle it separately. In fact, Tablas Creek's initial one acre plot, planted in 1996, yielded wine that was the first (in 2002) to be labeled Tannat in the U.S. Since that time, plantings have grown to 579 acres today, mostly planted in the last five years, according to the winery.

One reason for its growth may be recent health research that suggests that Tannat contains compounds that lead to long life. One study found that the percentage of men in their 90s in Madiran (where Tannat is commonly consumed) is double the average in France. The Tablas Creek Tannat (700 cases made) sells to the winery's wine club members for $45.