On Wednesday, April 3, 2024, we had the opportunity to meet and interview Dan Petroski. Dan is the former owner, creator, and winemaker of Massican Wine. We covered five of his new-release Massican wines. Check out what we learned from and about Dan.
Before we get to the wines, I thought I would share how we came across Dan and some tidbits that Dan shared in the interview.
- My first introduction to Dan and his story was via The Wine Makers podcast – After listening to this interview, I knew I had to have him on and cover his wines.
- Then Hardy Wallace had him on his Extradimensional Life podcast just before our interview. So, we were ready to roll when the date came to interview Dan and cover his new wines.
- Dan was the winemaker at Larkmead for 15 years. They are know for their Cabs!
- While there, he created Massican.
- Massican is a white only wine brand.
- The French Laundry bought his first 50 cases of Massican Sauvignon Blanc.
- Dan states that Massican is a brand and style, not a winery.
- A cool temperate and wet climate is deal for the grapes Dan was to use. Carneros is the closest California region to that desired climate.
- Dan recently sold to Gallo, together they hope to grow and expand his dream for these wines.
- Gallo is going to let him expand using Tocai Friulano.
- Dan sees less California grown Ribolla Gialla in the future.
- The 2023 Annia is a white blend of 43% Tocai Friulano, 34% Ribolla Gialla & 23% Chardonnay
- 25% of all of the Tocai Friulano in the state of California is in this wine.
- Annia is his northern Italian influenced blend.
- Annia wine was named after his mom.
- The 2023 Gemina is a white blend of 60% Greco, 23% Falanghina & 17% Fiano. He calls it his “GFF” wine.
- Gemina is his southern Italian influenced blend.
- The 2023 Pinot Grigio is a blend of 88% Pinot Grigio & 12% Cortese.
- Gallo owns their own glass company.
- This was his first year using Gallo glass. As a result, he is using a lot less glass volume. More than 50% comes from recycled material.
- Massican Blue is a recorded Harvard Library pigment.
- As part of the sale, Dan told Joe Gallo that he is in it for at least 5 years, maybe 10.
- Then I expect him to head off to the south of France, once his dream has become a reality!
Below is a summary of the wine offerings from Massican that we covered with Dan. The links below are to our full reviews. If you are interested in ordering and trying these wines, you will find some of these wines on top quality wines lists. You can also purchase these wines on the Massican website.
1) Massican 2023 White Blend “Annia” (CA) $32 (KWGTP 92)
2) Massican 2023 White Blend “Gemina” (CA) $38 (KWGTP 93)
3) Massican 2023 Pinot Grigio “California” $32 (KWGTP 91.5)
4) Massican 2023 Sauvignon Blanc “California” $32 (KWGTP 92.5)
5) Massican 2023 Chardonnay “Hyde Vineyard” (Napa Valley) $60 (KWGTP 92)
You can find reviews of past and future Massican wines that we cover on the Massican KWG winery page on our website. We hope you enjoy these terrific wines as much as we did. Cheers! – Ken