The Nebbiolo grape
Today’s article is about the Italian varietal Nebbiolo.  There are a couple of different thoughts on where the name of the grape comes from but my favorite is that it comes from the Italian word “nebbia” or foggy.  Ripe Nebbiolo grapes have a foggy/frosty appearance thus the name.  Predominately grown in the Piedmont [...]

The Arneis grape
Today’s article is back to my basics again, I’m back to describe and investigate a little known Italian varietal that happens to be grown in Temecula Wine Country.  The Arneis (pronounced “are-NAYS”) grape is today’s featured varietal.  Some of the common synonyms for Arneis include Barolo Bianco, Bianchetta d’Alba, Bianchetto, Bianchetto di Verzuelo [...]

Why name the winery Cougar?
This month I am taking a hiatus from my articles on the Italian grape varietals that we are growing and/or producing wine from.  Next month I will be back on the grape subject.  I am writing this article because of the misconception about the name of our winery by a few [...]

The Vermentino grape

Today’s article is about a wonderful crispy and acidic grape varietal Vermentino (pronounced “ver-mehn-TEE-noh”), again from Italy.  The best known Italian Vermentino is from northern Italy and the island of Sardinia.  It is also the most widely planted white grape on the island of Corsica, where high altitude and hot climate vineyards produce [...]

The Primitivo grape
Today’s article is about a wonderful fruity grape varietal Primitivo (pronounced “Pree-mih-TEE-voe”), again from Italy.  Primitivo is a dark red wine with bold fruity flavors.  Primitivo has been genetically linked to the better known grape varietal Zinfandel.
In this article we will discuss another one of these newly emerging Italian varietals in Temecula Valley [...]

The Malvasia Bianca grape
Today’s article is about a wonderful fruity grape varietal Malvasia Bianca (pronounced Mal-va-ZEE-ah Bee-AHN-Kah), again from Italy.  Malvasia is genetically the same as the more commonly known Muscat Canelli or Muscat Blanc grape.  Styles of this wine can vary from lightweight to full-flavored, dry to sweet, low to high alcohol. It is [...]

Cougar Vineyard & Winery is planted in entirely Italian varietals with 2,000 of the 8,500 vines being Montepulciano. We will be discussing some of these other varietals being grown by Cougar in upcoming articles about the Italian grape varietals planted in Temecula Wine Country of Southern California.

In this article we will discuss one of these newly emerging Italian varietals in Temecula Valley Wine Country. Aglianico (pronounced “ah-LY-AH-nee-koe”) is a black grape grown in the Campania and Basilicata regions of Italy. The vine originated in Greece and was brought to Compania by Greek settlers. The name may be a corruption of Vitis hellenica, Latin for “Greek vine”. Another etymology derives the name Aglianico from a corruption of Apulianicum, the Latin adjective which indicates the whole of southern Italy in the Roman age. In early Roman times, it was the principal grape of the famous Falernian wine which was the Roman equivalent of a First Growth. Recent research has indicated that Aglianico may be related to the Syrah grape.