2022 Matthiasson Ribolla Gialla Matthiasson Vineyard Napa Valley

Ribolla gialla originates in the Friuli region of Italy and across the border in Slovenia. Its earliest known mention was in the Pope’s paperwork managing a dispute  between the Bishop of Trieste and a monastery in Venezia in 1296. Ribolla gialla makes an unparalleled food wine, filling the gap in food pairing between white wines and red wines—it can be amazing with pork, fatty raw seafood, and intense cheeses. We chose to ferment this wine on its skins and stems in the ancient manner.
The wine is 100 percent Ribolla gialla from our home vineyard.

The Ribolla gialla represents seven rows in our home (“Matthiasson”) vineyard in the Western Oak Knoll area of Napa Valley. It was grafted onto 15 year old Merlot vines. George Vare was given a few sticks of the budwood from Josko Gravner in 2001 and grafted it into his own vineyard, which Steve was managing. Steve (and then Jill) fell in love with the variety in the process, and immediately grafted the variety into their own vineyard when they purchased it in 2006. Farmed using only organic methods, with fruit trees at the ends of the rows, the vines are serenaded throughout the season by kids, coyotes, owls, bees, and the occasional roar of one of our old tractors.