To mark forty years of success, Bollini released a Ramato wine (2018 vintage), a classic Pinot-Grigio-driven rosé featuring a unique coppery color that comes from a few hours spent on the rosy grape skins. As with all the Empsons’ winemaking ventures, this one is all about quality and features the unique landscape of Italy’s northern mountainous region.

But first, why Pinot Grigio?

Often forgotten or underappreciated, Pinot Grigio – the Italianized name for the French Pinot Gris – is actually a natural charmer and was on menus all across the boot in the Seventies, Eighties, and Nineties as the wine of choice for aperitivo or light dinners thanks to its zesty acidity and pleasant citrus and floral aromas.

Just as the trend in Italy was in full swing, quick-thinking winemakers – including Neil and Maria Empson – put it on the tables of American diners and it began to gain popularity for all the same reasons it did in Italy. It rapidly became a leading Italian white in the US, pushing Soave out of the way, and even becoming a symbol of Italian white wine.

In Neil’s quest for quality, he looked to the Macon area of France for winemaking inspiration and focused on making a very clean medium-bodied white that would replace weaker or lighter wines that went down like water. This meant lower yields and slightly higher extract.

While all this was happening, new IGTs were being approved and in fact, the Vigneti delle Dolomiti appellation made its way into the books in 1997.

Hop over to Sevenfifty to read more about the area and see what Tara Empson had to say.