Can She Be A Gallo Gal?

It’s easy to take a cheap shot at a Goliath like Gallo. But that giant’s local representative took exception to my knocking one of its biggest sellers - Turning Leaf - when I wrote about the wine list at Fugazzi. He wanted to sit down and show me how far Gallo had come from the days of twist-top burgundy.

In the past decade, the California winery has indeed changed directions, aiming to get some respect in an ego-driven industry. Judging by the scores in wine magazines, it’s been a success.

Much of the credit goes to the grandchildren of Ernest and Julio, who are now in charge. They’ve made Sonoma their base and part of the winery’s new identity.

It’s one piece of an enormous portfolio which starts with the Copperidge label and moves up - in price and quality - through Burlwood Cellars, Gossamer Bay, Turning Leaf, Ecco Domani, Anapamu, Zabaco, Indigo Hills, Gallo-Sonoma, Turning Leaf Sonoma-Reserve, Gallo-Sonoma Single Vineyard and Gallo Estate.

The high-profile Gallo-Sonoma (as opposed to the bulk operation still going strong in Modesto) has moved in modern directions by building an elaborate underground barrel room, developing the best vineyard sites in that area and buying the latest equipment. For the first time, the winery will soon allow tours and open a tasting room. And Gallo’s new Web site will be up and running next month.

It would be hard not to be impressed. But I’m not.

I’m not saying that Gallo doesn’t make good, and even some great, wines. At a recent blind tasting (bottles tucked into bags), I enjoyed Gallo’s ‘96 chardonnay from the Stefani vineyard in Dry Creek Valley. It had a tart citrus aroma and sipped like a refreshing summer morning, all clean and bright.

A ‘95 chardonnay from Gallo’s Laguna Ranch was everything you expect from a good chardonnay: a nice balance of vanilla, lemon and toast.

The ‘94 estate chardonnay (which sells for $35) had an amazing harmony - layers of flavors melding into a sophisticated sipper. These Gallo chardonnays were in good company, matched up against a ‘95 Ferrari-Carrano and a French white burgundy from Corton-Charlemagne.

But the real show-stopper was a recently bottled ‘94 cabernet from Gallo’s Frei Ranch, a wine that won’t be on the shelf until spring. It had power and strength, but wasn’t a brute. There were intense berry and black cherry flavors backed up with that tannic edge that will surely mellow with time.

Yes, I liked these wines. And I admire what the winery is trying to do. So, what’s my problem? Why can’t I just open my heart and my wallet and let a little of this high-end Gallo into my life?

Part of the problem is that the most impressive wines of the lot are tough to find around here. You might see them on some restaurant wine lists, but the allocation is tight.

Plus, they’re expensive. The vineyard-designated wines are in the $20 range and the estate wines sell for more than $30.

I would rather spend my money on wines made by smaller producers. That’s right, I’m a sucker for David (over Goliath). And a shameless homer, too.

If I’m going to part with $20-25, I would rather drink some of the top-notch stuff out of Washington from L’Ecole, Woodward Canyon, Andrew Will, Portteus and Chinook.

I guess I’ll never be a Gallo gal, but with support from powerful taste-makers like The Wine Spectator, they hardly need me.

What’s up at the winery?

This time of the year might seem like a sleepy portion of the wine-producing calendar, sandwiched between harvest and all the wine competitions and new releases of spring and summer.

But it can get pretty busy in the winery.

“It’s not the glamourous busy, like at harvest,” said Caterina vintner Mike Scott.

At Caterina, they’ve recently moved the ‘97 chardonnay out of oak barrels and back into tanks before blending and finally bottling it.

After the winemaker decides on his recipe, mixing chardonnay from different vineyards together, the wine undergoes a fining and filtering process. A clay-like compound called bentonite is added to clean up protein molecules that can cause something known as tartrates. These little crystals are harmless, but turn a lot of people off. So, many wineries go through the fining process to prevent their formation.

“We use as little bentonite as we can get away with because there is a degree of pulling the good out with the bad,” Scott said.

In a couple of weeks, the wine will be bottled and in three months or so, it will show up in stores. Shortly after it’s released, the whole process will begin again.

Latah Creek’s newsletter previews the upcoming releases of ‘97 wines including its riesling, muscat canelli and Maywine. They’re coming out early because last year’s wine supply is already gone. Look for them soon.

Indulging in Italians

I’ve been savoring “Under the Tuscan Sun,” a mouthwatering book by Frances Mayes that details her efforts transforming a villa near the tiny village of south of Florence into her summer home. (Yeah, tough life.)

Along with the back-breaking renovations, plenty of wine flows and delicious descriptions of dishes make you put the text down and dash for the kitchen. (Darn, I’m fresh out of ribollita.)

Naturally, I was drawn to the Italian section of the wine department. There, I made some delicious new discoveries.

Pinot grigio seems to be the darling among white-wine lovers, but a friend suggested trying a frascati. It comes from a region just south of Rome and is made with trebbiano and malvasia grapes. At its best, it’s light and crisp, making it a great food wine. It also sells for under $10.

Spend a bit more for a unusual red wine, a valpolicella “ripasso.” This technique calls for young valpolicella (made with grapes called corvina veronese and rondinella) to be put in tanks or barrels containing lees (sediment that accumulates during fermentation) from powerful amarone grapes. That starts a secondary fermentation, making for a rich, velvety wine with an almost port-like quality and a touch of spice.

Look for the valpolicella ripasso from Zenato, a family-owned vineyard and winery in the Lugana district in Northern Italy. It sells for around $17.

Then cook up your favorite Italian recipe and pop the cork on one (or both) of these.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Leslie Kelly The Spokesman-Review