7 Issues You Must Know About Massican, Napa’s Solely White Wine-Centered Producer

In a sea of Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley’s Massican stands out with its Mediterranean-inspired white wines. When Dan Petroski — VinePair’s 2024 Subsequent Wave Winemaker of the 12 months — based the model in 2009, he recognized a transparent hole in Napa’s marketplace for zippy, refreshing whites designed to be drunk younger. It stays the area’s solely vineyard singularly centered on producing white wine.

Beloved by sommeliers and informal drinkers alike, the model rapidly discovered success with its vary of wines, from the expressive, tropical Sauvignon Blanc to the textured and wealthy Annia mix. After years of regular development, Massican was acquired by E. & J. Gallo in 2023, furthering its enlargement — most lately with the addition of its first classic of Pinot Grigio.

With its iconic blue label, and full embrace of the Mediterranean life-style, the model is a logo of white wine’s development and potential stateside. Whether or not you’re a longtime fan of the wines, or fascinated about embracing its coastal Italian vibes, listed below are seven issues you must find out about Massican.

1. Massican’s founder didn’t begin out as a winemaker.

   Earlier than breaking into the wine trade, Petroski had a decade-long profession in media and publishing, working for magazines like Sports activities Illustrated and Time. However whereas working in New York Metropolis, Petroski was additionally drawn to its vibrant eating scene and began exploring wine. When confronted with a significant profession choice, he determined to ditch his company job and transfer to Sicily to pursue winemaking. When Petroski returned to the U.S., he settled in California, working a number of vineyard jobs earlier than beginning his personal model.

2. Massican began as Petroski’s aspect hustle.

   Petroski first began Massican whereas working because the winemaker at Napa Valley’s legendary Larkmead Vineyards — identified for its daring, highly effective Cabernet Sauvignons. In a significant deviation from this fashion, Petroski began the white-wine-focused Massican in 2009. This remained his aspect hustle for 12 years, steadily rising the undertaking from 400 to 2,000 circumstances. In 2021, he took on Massican full-time, increasing to 10,000 circumstances.

3. Massican first made a splash on the French Laundry.

   Massican’s crisp and complicated white wines have been an prompt hit, however there have been some necessary components that drove its success. Within the model’s early days, Petroski would pour the wines for his trade pals, and so they rapidly caught the eye of the beverage director at Napa’s famed advantageous eating restaurant the French Laundry. He supplied to purchase all 50 circumstances of Sauvignon Blanc that Petroski had produced that 12 months, and the wine held a spot on the restaurant’s by-the-glass listing for 10 years. Petroski nonetheless credit this placement as a key second within the model’s evolution.

4. One in every of Massican’s wines is known as for Petroski’s mom.

   Along with Massican’s lineup of single varietal wines like Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Grigio, the vineyard additionally presents a sequence of blends. The model’s flagship wine, Annia, is made with a mix of Ribolla Gialla, Tocai Friulano, Chardonnay, and Pinot Bianco. Impressed by the wines of Italy’s Friuli area, it’s vibrant and recent, but in addition textured and nuanced. The wine is known as after Petroski’s mom, Annia, whose grandparents grew up near Italy’s Massican hills (often called the Monte Massico).

5. Petroski hunted for the right label colour.

   Together with his background in media, Petroski knew early on that it was necessary to determine Massican’s visible id. Central to the model’s picture is its signature sky-blue and white colours. And although the bottle and labels have a easy design, Petroski put a unprecedented quantity of effort into discovering the right shade of blue for the label. His first step was paying a go to to the unique, appointment-only Forbes Pigment Assortment at Harvard College, which homes an archive of particular colour specimens from all over the world for reference and analysis. When Petroski shared the story of Massican and its Italian inspiration, the director of the pigment assortment recommended he look to the historic blues of Pompeii. Naturally, Petroski hopped on a aircraft to Italy to seek for a selected tone, ultimately discovering the inspiration for “Massican blue” in a 1,500-year-old fresco. This colour is now listed within the Harvard library of pigment, and the Massican staff is presently working with Pantone to listing it as an official colour.

6. Massican has its personal cookbook… and journal… and fragrance.

   Petroski’s all the time aimed for Massican to achieve past wine, and exist as extra of a life-style model. In step with this, Massican has produced its personal journal, launched a cookbook, and in addition has its personal signature fragrance, a scent designed by Petroski’s spouse to seize the Mediterranean spirit. To not be boxed in, Massican additionally produced a Belgian witbier and pilsner (made in Massican white wine barrels) from 2015 to 2022, and crafted dry white and candy vermouths from 2011 to 2019.

7. Massican collaborates with winemakers from throughout the globe.

   Along with its core lineup of wines, Massican produces a specialty Collaboration Collection with different U.S. winemakers, in addition to producers from Italy and Australia. Although the model strays from its core grapes for these wines, the general mission stays the identical: crisp, refreshing, and complicated whites with compelling aromas and textures. Latest examples embody a collaboration with Oregon’s Walter Scott vineyard, made with Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio and a mix of Tocai, Ribollia Gialla, Sauvignon Blanc, and Malvasia made with Sonoma’s Idlewild.