Winemaker Notes
The Ribolla gialla tastes like hazelnuts, baking spices, Meyer lemon curd, Bartlett pear, but most of all it has a stony minerality that is incredibly distinctive. There is supple tannic structure and fresh balanced acidity, with great weight and length given the low alcohol.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Steve Matthiasson was one of the early ribolla acolytes in Napa Valley, having been introduced to the variety by George Vare, who had brought some cuttings from Friuli. Matthiasson was managing Vare’s vineyard at the time, and later took cuttings to graft over the merlot in his home vineyard in Oak Knoll in 2006. He fermented this ribolla as whole clusters in an open-top tank and then, after pressing, moved it into neutral oak barrels to rest undisturbed for 18 months. It’s only 12 percent alcohol, its orange hue a bow to the wines of Josko Gravner, who originally supplied the cuttings to Vare. Nacho Monclús, of Brooklyn’s Camperdown Elm, enjoyed its gingery kick—“a great introduction to orange wine; this isn’t super extreme.” In fact, there’s clarity to the fruit, in notes of pear that linger with the tannic spice. Lovely.
The exact origins of Ribolla Gialla remain unclear, though it most likely came to Friuli before the 1200s by way of Slovenia, where it goes by the moniker, Rebula. Blanketing vineyard hillsides along the Italian-Slovenian border, unconcerned about which side it is on, this pink-skinned variety creates a range of styles from the crisp, dry, still or sparkling whites to the charmingly ephemeral, skin-contact orange wines. Somm Secret—If you’re into orange wines, go visit Collio’s Oslavia and Slovenia’s Goriska Brda regions. They are so close you’ll hardly know you’ve gone from one to the other.
As one of Napa’s coolest sub-appellations, the area begs for diversity among its vineyards. Merlot and Chardonnay firmly compete with Cabernet Sauvignon for a place here. Some of Napa’s best Zinfandels also come from the Oak Knoll District.
Situated far in Napa’s southern end, Oak Knoll receives a strong cooling influence from both the San Pablo Bay and the Pacific Coast’s evening fog and breezes. Summer days are warm but on average ten degrees cooler than in St. Helena farther north up the valley; summer nights are chilly. A long growing season promotes for leisurely ripening of grape berries, resulting in an impressive balance of sugars, phenols and acidity.
Notable producers include Trefethen, one of the appellation’s oldest wineries, Robert Biale, legendary Zinfandel producer and Lewis Cellars, a family-run, hands-on establishment.