THE SO-CALLED "WINE of the popes," Frascati is said to have once flowed from the fountains of Rome to celebrate the inaugurations of two particular pontiffs, Clement X and Innocent X, in the 17th century. The Italian white wine, no longer in favor, could perhaps use a papal endorsement today.

Frascati's popularity with Americans peaked almost 30 years ago with Fontana Candida, the brand that became synonymous with this light-bodied, quaffable wine. Introduced to the U.S. market in 1974, Fontana Candida Frascati, from Lazio, Italy, was one of the top-selling imported wines in America by 1989, with 322,000 cases sold a year, according to a spokesperson for Banfi Wines, Fontana Candida's importer. Today's figures are much more modest: About 60,000 cases were sold in the U.S. last year.

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Source: http://www.wsj.com/