Italian Style...American Soil

Italian Style...American Soil

Italian Style - American Soil. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report.

Gino Cuneo seems like a down to earth kind of guy who wants to bring Italian style wines to Walla Walla and the Northwest. He has been growing Italian wine grape varieties in Washington.

CUNEO: It's the opportunity to try to see how Italian varietals such as Barbera, Sangiovese and Nebbiolo do and perform in the unique soils of Washington. Some of these varietals have been tried and been in use in small amounts but we're taking a completely different approach in trying to mimic if you will the growing conditions, the way they're grown in their native soils.

He says they are not trying to be Italy.

CUNEO: To try and coax the best out of the individual varieties I think we have to go back to where it did begin and take a look at how those varietals best perform, how they want to grow. The approach I've take is to go back in this case and design our vineyard exactly like those and then modify it over time to suit the Washington conditions.

The results are being poured from their new all Italian-style retail tasting room in downtown Walla Walla.

CUNEO: Just pop in and try it. People that love great cabernet or syrah are also generally open to some of the other potentially great wines such as the Nebbiolo makes or Sangiovese so that gives us the opportunity to showcase those in a beautiful setting. I think the results are in the bottle.

That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.

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