Winemaker Steve Matthiasson crafts his 2020 Tendu Vermentino with grapes sourced from the Dunnigan Hills AVA in northwest California. The result is a California Vermentino that’s light, crisp and ready to drink.
I love when I can remember the first place I discovered a new wine producer. With Matthiasson Wines, it was a bottle of the Matthiasson White Wine, Napa Valley at Michael Mina’s now defunct Tail Gate restaurant that was next to the also now defunct Bourbon Steak at Levi’s Stadium.
A quick note on that particular wine: the Matthiasson White Wine is a blend of 50% Sauvignon Blanc, 25% Ribolla Gialla, 20% Semillon, and 5% Tocai Friulano. For my money, it’s the Ribolla Gialla and the Tocai Friulano that make this blend exciting. I know we’re here to talk about the Matthiasson Tendu Vermentino, but if you haven’t tried this white wine blend, please do – it’s spectacular.
I’ve been wanting to try Tendu Wines for a while now, and once I discovered this was a Steve Matthiasson project, I wanted to try these wines even more. Being a freelance wine copywriter means exploring new bottles and producers is all part of my “research”, so I couldn’t wait to jump into this bottle and see what the palate was all about.
What is Vermentino Wine?
Vermentino is a white wine grape that originated in the western Mediterranean regions of Italy, France, Sardinia, and Corsica. Because of its high acidity, Vermentino is sometimes compared to Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, and Pinot Grigio. These wines are fairly dry and never sweet.
Matthiasson Tendu Wines
Tendu Wine keeps a low profile. Unless you do a little research, you’d never know this label was part of the Matthiasson Wine family.
Winemaker Steve Matthiasson has a thing for making California wine from Italian grapes. Under his eponymous label, Steve works with Refosco, Schioppettino, Ribolla Gialla, Falanghina, and a few others over the years. If you’ve noticed a trend here with a string of Friulian grapes, that’s because Matthiasson loves wines from Friuli. I’m surprised he hasn’t made a Ramato style Pinot Grigio yet!
When it comes to price, Matthiasson wines range between $30 a bottle for his Napa Valley white wine, to around $80 for the Matthiasson Cabernet Sauvignon. Many of these bottles are only available to Matthiasson wine club members, which, in my opinion, prevents the average wine drinker from sampling some of his more interesting bottles like the Refosco and Schioppettino. But, it’s also a great incentive to sign up for the club.
Tendu Wine is meant to be the value-driven alternative to the Matthiasson brand. These California wines, made primarily of Italian varietals, range in price from $16 a bottle for the Cortese, to around $24 a bottle for the Tendu Red Blend. I think I picked up this 2020 Tendu Vermentino for $17 at Whole Foods.
It’s worth mentioning that The Tendu Red Wine, which is a blend of Aglianico, Montepulciano, and Barbera, has something of a cult following.
Tendu also makes a canned rose wine, which I’m looking forward to trying this summer.
Steve Matthiasson & Jill Matthiasson: A Biodynamic Farming Duo
One thing I love about Matthiasson Wines is that Steve and Jill Matthiasson are farmers first and winemakers. In fact, Steve helps winemakers across the country transition from conventional farming practices to organic. He was actually a vineyard consultant before he started making and selling his own wines.
What I’m trying to tell you is that a lot of winemakers lean into clever marketing slogans, some might call it green-washing – but that’s a conversation for another day – but Steve and Jill are the real deal.
Jill has a background in botany and studied ancient farming techniques in Israel, and while she was a grad student at UC Davis focused on soil health. Meanwhile, Steve made horticulture his focus in grad school, and worked as a sustainable agriculture consultant prior to starting the Matthiasson label. He even co-authored the 1999 California sustainable vineyard practices manual, and was a founding architect of Lodi Rules, one of the nation’s first sustainability programs for the wine industry.
The Matthiassons don’t just farm vines, they farm peaches too. The fruit from their Fay Elberta peaches, an heirloom variety, are used to make Matthiasson peach jam (available to wine club members and a small number of local restaurants), and during the pandemic they released a Matthiasson Lightly Sparkling Grape and Peach wine, of which I purchased three bottles, thank you very much, and they were all delightful. I wish that was an every year thing.
California Vermentino
California Vermentino done well is a glorious thing. It’s light, it’s refreshing, it’s infinitely quaffable.
According to the 2021 California Acreage Report, (you know I love the acreage report), there are 99 acres of bearing Vermentino vines in California, and 30 acres of non-bearing Vermentino vines. For a total of 129 acres of Vermentino in the state of California.
Acres of Vermentino in California by County:
Most of California’s Vermentino grapes are grown in San Joaquin County, which has 32 acres of Vermentino grapes. San Luis Obispo has 21 acres of Vermentino, and Mendocino County has 13 acres.
El Dorado: 12 acres
Sonoma County: 11
Riverside: 10
Yolo: 8
Amadore: 8
Napa: 4
Santa Barbara: 3
Fresno: 3
Monterey: 1
San Benito: 1
Calaveras: 1
San Diego: 1
What’s interesting about the report, which you can view here
2020 Tendu Vermentino Tasting Notes
This California Vermentino is a beautiful translucent gold. The first thing you’ll notice about this wine is the intense lime aroma coming from the glass. On the palate, that refreshing lime flavor – it’s almost like a key lime pie – leads the way, followed by grapefruit, and possibly tart green apple. Vermentino wine is known for having hints of almond flavor, and this bottle did have faint traces of that.
Matthiasson’s Tendu Vermentino is acidic, has a nice mineral backbone, and an I’ve-got-places-to-be finish, meaning it could have been a tad longer. But for a wine at this price point, and from this producer, who am I to complain. This California Vermentino was so easy to drink I’d buy it again.
The grapes for the 2020 Tendu Vermentino are sourced from the Windmill Vineyard in Dunnigan Hills, which is located in Yolo County.
My overall impression on this bottle is that it would be a great gateway wine if you’re trying to introduce your non-wine drinking friends to an approachable bottle of California white wine. For the price, its a low commitment wine that’s well-made, and could please people who “know wine”, and those still forming an opinion.