Sales of Obscure White Varietals

This post goes along with the two previous blog posts on Albariño and Vermentino. Per local wine writer, Peg Melnik, the popularity of lesser known white wine varietals is increasing. This includes Vermentino and Albarinño plus other unusual grapes like Cortese, Fiano, and Verdeho and slightly better known ones such as Grenache Blanc, French Colombard, and Chenin Blanc.

A local wine shop owner she talked with said their sales of these unusual whites is up 10 to 20 percent. She interviewed an employee from a local winery, Portalupi Wines. They said it's mostly the under 40 crowd looking for something besides Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

I found Peg's article, Uptick in Sales of Rare White Varietals, in print in last Sunday's Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Haven't found it online, so I can't link to it.