Wine Blogging Wednesday #20 - ABC

This month's theme for Wine Blogging Wednesday, the international wine tasting event, is ABC, or any white wine other than Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling. It is hosted by Bill at Wine for Newbies. Check his site for the wrap-up in a few days.

My selection is a 2003 Roero Arneis by Filippo Gallino from Canale, Italy for $14. It is 100% Arneis from a 20 hectares estate. 1,150 cases were produced. The Roero Arnies DOC is located in the Roero hills north and east of Alba in southeastern Piedmont.



I have enjoyed a few other bottles of Arneis from other producers (Giacosa and Graziano) and recommend the wine with food. It is usually the first wine I will suggest when someone is looking for an ABC wine with dinner.

Arneis is said to mean "the difficult one", or "whimsical one"' or "a little crazy" due to the difficulty of producing the wine. Locally it is called Nebbiolo Bianco and is used also in blending in red wines with Nebbiolo and Barbera to smooth out the young reds.

Arneis dates back to the 1600s and was originally a sweet wine but today is vinified dry and considered by some to be one of the best white wines with a dinner of fish or white meat.

The wine sampled today has delicate aromas of fruit and herbs and a crisp clean taste and medium finish. Thanks to the blog, Italian's Insight to Travel Italy, for helping with some of the background information.