Embracing Wine Diversity in Pennsylvania
“We look for the best because it satisfies us: great books, great movies and great wines. With my wines, I want to give an experience that makes people say ‘wow,’” said Gino Razzi, the larger than life President of WinesU, which is one of the largest importers of Italian wines in North America. And you may be surprised to hear that he wasn’t talking about the fine wines from his native hometown in Abruzzo of Italy, or the powerful wines he has made in the past — namely, the Symposium Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 1997, which James has rated 95 points at the Wine Spectator. Razzi was referring to the Penns Woods wines he makes in Southeast Pennsylvania, which is roughly a 30-minute drive from downtown Philadelphia.
Only a few insiders on the East Coast are aware of the fact that Razzi isn’t joking, and great wine can be made in Pennsylvania. The Penns Woods Ameritage Reserve 2013 and 2005 are the proof of this, as both wines were tasted and rated 96 points at our recent Pennsylvania tasting session in New York City. Both of the reds mentioned are concentrated and complex Bordeaux-style blends with great balance and elegance, which makes them easily mistaken for European wines.
Waltz Vineyards Estate Winery’s cabernet sauvignon vineyards is rather stony, which is reminiscent of the soils in the Medoc.
Razzi’s journey to Pennsylvania was a long one, and it all started in 1962 — from joining the Marine Corps and studying college in California to wine importing and mastering the challenges of winemaking on the humid and stormy East Coast of the United States. However, when you talk to Razzi, you’ll get the feeling that all of this had only spurred him on. Since purchasing the Smithbridge Winery in Chadds Ford in Pennsylvania back in 2004, Razzi has combined his sharp sense of humor and precise approach to winemaking to produce a range of wines of impressive quality.
Most of the wine media are still behind the curve when it comes to Pennsylvania wines because journalists often associate the state with the French American Hybrid varieties that account for a large part of its substantial wine production (by volume, Pennsylvania is the 8th largest state in the union). However, Razzi’s first red wines attracted the attention of a group of ambitious winemakers dotted across the state. Most of these winemakers had just begun production, and they were eagerly seeking local heroes who could show them what’s possible and how it’s done.
From left to right: Gino Razzi (President of WinesU), Sarah Troxell (winemaker at Galen Glen Winery) and Jan Waltz (winemaker at Waltz Vineyards Estate Winery).
The climate of Pennsylvania is much more varied than you might think. The Southeast, where Razzi’s vineyards are located, is great for the Bordeaux family of grapes but in most years, it has been too warm to make good pinot noir reds or riesling whites. However, the Northeast has an almost ideal set of conditions for growing these grapes. The climatic diversity means Pennsylvania cannot major in one grape the way that Napa Valley does with cabernet sauvignon, or Rioja does with tempranillo.
The ambitious winemaker Jan Waltz of Mannheim in Pennsylvania was lucky that the climate in his part of the state is similar to that of Razzi’s vineyards. Waltz then became a kind of disciple of the Italian American. Although he did tell us, “of course, we still get corrected when the right people come to taste.” And our tasting suggested that Waltz learned extremely well from his mater. Two of his wines were rated 94 points: Cabernet Sauvignon Crow Woods 2014 and Chardonnay Reserve 2015. The latter could easily stand comparison with many of the best chardonnays from California or Burgundy. Moreover, a good number of other wines from here were rated 90 points or higher, proving its suitability to the warmer parts of the state.
A foggy day out in Galer Estate Winery’s chardonnay vineyards.
More recently, Razzi has also learned from some of those he inspired. “When I tasted the gruner veltliner from Galen Glen and liked it, I decided that I had to make one,” he mentioned with great enthusiasm. Located in the Lehigh Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Northeast Pennsylvania, Galen Glen is a small winery with gruner veltliner and riesling that bear a striking resemblance to the dry wines made in the Austrian section of the Danube Valley; the only difference is that Galen Glen’s wines tend to be lower in alcoholic content than those in Austria. As their Grüner Veltliner Stone Cellar Reserve 2014 scored a total of 93 points in our report, it is no wonder that the Galen Glen is a hot candidate for best American gruner veltliner. Razzi’s first gruner veltliners were, however, made from grapes purchased in the Finger Lakes region in New York City. It is only from the 2017 vintage that the wine is made from Pennsylvania grapes.
While the Penns Woods vineyards are all on gentle slopes at low altitude, those of Galen Glen, lie over 300 meters above sea level, are steep and windswept. All this explains the great diversity of wine styles represented in this report. We urge you to drink the best that Pennsylvania has to offer and be prepared to be surprised! — Contributing Editor Stuart Pigott