“Plus” is a pride thing for restaurateur/vintner/television host Joe Bastianich—his homage to Friuli-Venezia Giulia, land of his Italian ancestors and arguably the best white wine-producing region in Italy.
Back in the 1950s, his mother, Lidia, spent time in a refugee camp near Trieste as the world re-drew international borders following WWII. Later, after emigrating to the US and becoming a successful restaurateur, author, and TV chef, she was a culinary ambassador for a region—Friuli—that most Americans had never heard of. Her restaurant, Felidia, always had a reference-point Italian wine list, and as Joe’s own career as a restaurateur, etc. took off, it wasn’t enough to champion the wines of Friuli—like many sommeliers, he wanted to make wine of his own. In 1997, he began acquiring vineyards in Friuli’s Colli Orientali region and producing wines with the help of famed consultant Maurizio Castelli. But if you’ve seen today’s wine, “Plus,” before, it was likely in one of the Bastianich restaurants: Made from 100% Friulano (previously known as Tocai Friulano) from a single, 70-year-old vineyard, “Plus” is not a big commercial label. It’s a small-production passion project and a very particular one at that, harvested in multiple passes and infused with the exotic fruit, viscous texture, and a hint of residual sweetness imparted by withered, botrytis-affected grapes. Its most recognizable French analog would be Alsatian Pinot Gris from a Grand Cru vineyard: It has the same breed, power, and balancing freshness, and that’s the point—to show that Italian white wine, and Friulian white wine especially, is so much more than light, spritzy quaffers in fish-shaped bottles. When the occasion calls for a powerful, layered white, today’s 2012 is a true gastronomic pleasure—a wine that shines brightest with food.
And I should know: I’ve been selling/drinking this wine since its first vintage. As some readers may be aware, Bastianich and I have known each other since college; we later co-authored a book on Italian wine and I worked at his Babbo Ristorante in New York for seven years. Despite all that, I am not on the take and my opinion of this wine is objective. “Plus” is not an ‘everyday drinker’ by any means, but more of a special-occasion white that is incredibly versatile with food. It is richly textured and very enjoyable to sip on its own, but that’s not really the way to bring out its best. It was a reliable utility player on tasting menus and I was especially fond of it with fresh, stuffed pastas dressed with butter; richer white-fleshed fish like turbot or halibut; and more assertive cheeses like gorgonzola and taleggio. Although Plus incorporates some late-harvested fruit, it is not a sweet wine—like some of the classic whites of Alsace (which for me is really the relevant analog), it is richly extracted to the point of near-oiliness, with only a small amount a residual sugar and lots of freshness keeping it crisp and lifted rather than cloying. It’s the kind of balancing act you find not just in Alsace but in some of the richer styles of German Riesling (i.e. Auslese Trocken) and Loire Valley Chenin Blanc. There’s a perception of sweetness rather than actual sweetness.
As for an Italian analog, anyone who’s tried the culty, deeply concentrated white wines of Miani—one of Bastianich’s neighbors in the Colli Orientali village of Buttrio, by the way—will find a kindred spirit in the much-less-expensive Plus. Its source vineyard is planted to old-vine Friulano rooted in a mixture of clay, marl, and limestone, with a hilltop exposure and a position at the warmer southern end of the Colli Orientali zone. Along with the neighboring Collio DOC, this is where the predominance of Friuli’s—and Italy’s—greatest white wines hail from; situated in the foothills of the Carnic Alps, these vineyards feel a warming influence from the Adriatic and a cooling one from the Alps in equal measure. The latter helps lengthen the growing season for whites and maintain freshness and nerve in the resulting wines, but there’s enough sunlight and warmth to create whites of significant power as well. At this end of the spectrum, the Friulano grape—a genetic relative of Sauvignon Blanc—sheds its greener, more herbal qualities and takes on an almost honeyed texture, with notes of apricot and peach layered over wet-stone minerality and a hint of almond skin.
Another noteworthy feature of this 2012 Plus is that it was not aged in wood—100% Friulano grapes were hand-harvested in multiple passes, with the later ones producing a percentage of withered grapes that had begun to show the effects of botrytis bunch rot. This wine is all about old-vine profundity: It spent about 7 months aging in stainless steel tanks (during which it received regular bâtonnage, or lees-stirring) followed by a year in bottle before its initial release. Now with more bottle age, the wine has knit together beautifully, its palate-coating texture checked by enlivening acidity.
Decant the 2012 Plus about 30 minutes before serving in red-wine stems (Burgundy or Bordeaux is fine; big is the idea) and allowing the temperature to come up to about 50 degrees. It’s a deep and lustrous yellow-gold in the glass, with aromas and flavors of dried apricot, green peach, citrus blossoms, acacia honey, marzipan, and wet stones. It has entered a beautiful drinking phase that should continue for many years to come—the combination of richness and freshness should preserve it over the next 10+ years. In terms of a pairing, I’ve been obsessed with a Friulian pasta recipe of Lidia’s since the early ’90s, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record I’m going to recommend it here:
Krafi, a.k.a. “Istrian Wedding Pillows.” It’s a lot of work, but, like this wine, it’s worth the extra effort. Enjoy!
