Infiné 1939 Pinot Grigio Trentino DOC 2016

When David Taub co-founded his wine importing company in 1977, most Americans could only identify Italian wines by their unique packaging: Chianti, for its straw-covered flask, and Soave Bolla, which came in a tall, elegant, rocket-shaped bottle. David expanded the American palate for Italian wine by introducing a simple white wine called Pinot Grigio. It became the top-selling Italian wine in the United States, part of an international surge in popularity that helped Italy surpass France in the 1980s as Europe’s largest wine exporter. Beyond introducing Pinot Grigio to America, his quest was to showcase Italy’s finest wines. He dedicated 36 years to pursuing his dream with world-renown winemakers, and that effort culminated in this pure expression of Pinot Grigio from the most unique Trentino vineyards. David Taub passed suddenly at the age of 72, but his vision lives on with Infiné 1939 (David’s birth year). Infiné 1939 is a project over two years in the making, personally driven by his son Marc. In Italian, Infiné means “At Last” which evokes a culmination of producing wines that represents the best a region can produce.

The two vineyard sources for this wine are planted at 1,300 ft in elevation, the highest possible altitudes that this variety can be cultivated upon. In the wine growing region of Trentino, this is considered extreme altitudes for Pinot Grigio and is one of the reasons that Marc was drawn to these vineyard sites. If his father David was known for introducing Pinot Grigio to Americans, he wanted his father’s legacy to encompass David’s spirit of always pushing the boundaries. The bunches were carefully chosen within the two vineyard sites - Bleggio Superiore and Valle di Cavedine - and harvested exclusively by hand.  The must is gently pressed from whole bunches to prevent any color from being extracted off the skins and the juice is then fermented and aged in oak barrels. The resulting wine is a pale, yellow straw color with ripe, fruity aromas on the nose reminiscent of green apple, pear, and citrus notes. On the palate, Infiné 1939 has substantial structure and complexity with a particularly high acidity for the variety, with astounding sapidity and minerality. A full-bodied Pinot Grigio that deserves a resurgence in popularity!