Breggo Cellars

Breggo is a new label in Anderson Valley, sourcing fruit exclusively from the AVA and making the wine in the valley as well. The debut whites are an encouraging sign – not just because they’re good but because they’re not Chardonnay, Riesling or Gewurztraminer. Not that I don’t like those grapes in Anderson Valley – indeed I do. But other grapes are hiding up in the hillsides and in back corners of the benchlands, and, rather than see them disappear into generically labeled Alsatian-style blends, I’d like to drink them for what they are: individual expressions of the valley’s character.

Most Pinot Gris (or Grigio) I taste is initially interesting and then gets less interesting as the wine gets warmer or my palate gets more of it. Not here. The bright grapefruity aromas and initial flavors come with refreshing acidity, giving the wine a grip on your palate that's well integrated with the flavor and staying power of the wine. This has some unmistakable sweetness from residual sugar, which hardcore Pinot Gris fans might not favor, but the wine finishes dry in the mouth without astringency or cloying – in other words, clean as a happy, white-wine-drinking whistle.

Reviewed June 26, 2006 by Thom Elkjer.