Cabernet, Cheese, and Shiny New Tanks
Making wine is simple. Grow some
grapes, crush them up and let the juice go crazy for a while in a tank or
barrel. Stick it in a bottle and sell
it. Anyone can do it. Of course the grapes have to be good, from a
good vineyard, and you can’t let them go off in a wrong direction. Barrels are expensive, and so is all the
equipment you need to keep your precious juice from going off. And then there are labels, corks, bottles,
capsules, boxes, vineyard maintenance, market research, loads of corkscrews and
hats with your name on them, entry fees, taxes, hiring a sales person, more
taxes, posting issues, label approval, more taxes, loans to pay, and the like.
It is a wonder anyone can make a good bottle for less than a thousand dollars.
We have the fortune of selling this
marvelous elixir, pushing grape juice in bars and bistros, stores and shops
from B-Ham to B-Vue, Olympia to the Olympic Mountains and all small spots in
between. Luckily, every year or two we
get the pleasure of traveling down to one of the sources of fine wines to see,
firsthand, how the magic happens. Late
April in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys is just before the buds turn to
flowers. Grape vines are just beginning
to stretch out their tendrils to the sun.
The tourists might be around for the weekend, or spring break, but it is
mostly a time to see the locals. These
are not big towns, this is still farm country.
Warm enough some days to wear shorts, but you should be smart enough to
bring a coat for the cool evenings.
Twenty-Two salespeople descended from the wet northwest on the two
valleys. This is our story, and it begins at an In-N-Out.
Wednesday Morning,
just outside Sacramento.
We missed it last time, and, by
God, Phil wouldn’t let that happen again.
Like pilgrims to Mecca, we had to stop at the home of the
Double-Double. A constant stream of cars
in the In-N-Out drive-thru is a testament to the marketing power and money
making genius that has turned a simple menu with only three items into a
phenomenon. Nothing satisfies the hunger
left from a fine in flight meal of pretzels like a “number one”: double-double,
fries and a coke. Of course, a few had
to have two burgers; little did they know that hunger would not be a problem on
this trip. But it was good to build a
foundation for the coming assault on our stomach, liver, and palate.
Caves and Art.
The concrete and chain stores of
the central valley slowly give way to the rolling hills of Napa Valley. The meandering farms with cows and sheep
change to well defined, striped rows of vines stretching from the industrial
park of the south, home to barrel makers, cork suppliers, warehouses and bulk
producers, up north past familiar names that have made Napa what it is in the
public’s eye today. Driving up the
eastern edge of the valley to the edge of the Stag’s Leap District, we came
upon a familiar place, but not like we last left it. We were in fact late, but we had to feed the
In-N-Out urge, and I must point out that it was the only time that we were actually
late. A familiar face greeted us at the
newly recreated Cliff Lede Vineyards.
Our old friend Michael Updegraff was waiting to show us what had become
of the old S. Anderson facility, now redesigned as a homage to Art, luxury, and
Stag’s Leap wines. When the Anderson
family sold their tiny Bubbly producer, Vancouver, B.C. wine lover Cliff Lede
found the perfect place to make the Bordeaux style wines he loved. A Canadian who loved the French wines, but
somehow didn’t speak French, he decided that Stag’s Leap would have to do.
The old champagne caves were damp
and musty, empty of the riddling racks that used to fill them. They waited refurbishing to bring them up to
the level of the much larger addition to the caves that drove straight back
into the hill behind the new winery.
These were state of the art caves, even having sprinklers. Cutting down on those common caves fires is
really important to Californians. New
caves, new winery and a new, young winemaking “hedonist” named Michelle Edwards
showed us that Cliff Lede is serious about making world class wines. Think
“luxury lifestyle”, these wines are Rolls Royces in a bottle. The reds are dark and intense, graceful and
elegant. The Sauvignon Blanc is like
Audrey Hepburn in a white dress, classic.
Needless to say, the place was way too nice for a lot like us, so after
we ate our first batch of cheese, we had to move on.
Taking the Cabernet
Challenge.
Dinner was at a new winery, to us,
called Rutherford Ranch. The same
winemaker that brought us Pepperwood Grove, (when it was still good) Bob Broman, is now creating great value Napa
Valley wines, as well as value California wines under the Round Hill
label. Tasting the Napa wines side by
side with well known wines like Cakebread Chardonnay and Jordan Cabernet,
certainly made those wines seem overpriced, and the Rutherford Ranch wines seem
like a steal. A fine meal of cheeses,
olives, greens, and a big juicy steak topped it off. A certain veggie in our group didn’t want to
cause a scene by asking for a different plate.
But once that big hunk of meat showed up, she quickly decided to ask for
a different dish with less flesh, more twigs and gravel. We headed back to the hotel;
it was a much nicer place than we were used to.
On past trips the Kelseyville Motel was right up our alley. We are either getting more sophisticated, or
old. Or both. But some of us still felt young, and Morgan Zaninovich,
whose family owns the winery, convinced us to join him for a few drinks at the
hot and happening local hangout in Napa called Downtown Joes. Morgan’s family
is huge in the table grape business as well. The odds are better than most that
if you have eaten a grape from California or Chile, including the Organic ones,
that you have eaten some of their grapes. The crowd at Joe’s was definitely
younger than us, but Napa isn’t San Francisco, and there are not a lot of places
to go. We didn’t exactly close the place down, but not for lack of trying. Besides, a breakfast of hearty Zinfandel was
waiting.
Thursday Morning,
standing outside our armada of minivans.
Nine A.M. came fast and loud and we
were soon standing in the driveway of Aldo’s house, in front of the Black
Chicken vineyard. Bob Biale and Dave
Pramuk were there to take us on a tour of some of the best Napa Valley
Zinfandel Vineyards. There is something
special about standing amongst the knotty old vines of Aldo’s Vineyard and
drinking the wine from those vines that make it all seem clear. Normally I wouldn’t drink a high octane
monster Zin before lunch, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices. We also stopped to see the Grande Vineyard,
drink some more Zin, and revel in the grace and power that is Robert Biale
wines. Even with the extraction and
depth, the vineyards really do shine through in the wines. It’s also a testament to Bob that people like
the owners of the Grande Vineyard call him to have their fruit. These are wines that reflect the old
vineyards of Napa, farms that have been there for generations as the specter of
encroaching progress pushes against their borders. There’s nothing quite like the dedication of
keeping and preserving old gnarly Zin vines that grow right next to housing
developments filled with $800,000 McMansions.
Biale has a new winery; they finally
have their own little place to tend to their wines. Al Perry will make the wine
here, too, as soon as the fire department gives their final approval. These are wines that express the vineyards; I
would call them elegant power. So
refined on the surface, but boiling with depth and extraction underneath.
Thankfully there was no cheese course here, just some delicious spinach
frittata that Bob’s mom made just for our visit.
Lunch on the Right
Bank of Napa.
Driving up highway 29, we turned
down a small road that is next to the Temple of Bob, the excessive palace that
is Opus One. We crossed over the Napa River,
which is unlike the benches to the west.
It is more alluvial from the flooding of the river over the years. Andre Tchelistcheff told Clarke Swanson that
this was land for Merlot. Even though
famous Neighbors like Silver Oak and Groth were growing Cabernet. He must have known something about this
“Right Bank” of the Napa River.
The Swanson Oakville vineyard is planted
mostly to the Merlot that is their main bottling. Lunch this day was going to be a relaxed
affair under the shade of the oak trees on the lawn, surrounded by
vineyards. A nice meal of lasagna and
the most amazing walnut and olive bread was just perfect. We met the new winemaker, Chris Phelps, who
came from stints at Caymus and Dominus.
We also had the chance to drive over and see the Schmidt Ranch vineyard,
home of the Cabernet and Syrah blend called “Alexis”, as well as see the
Pennsylvania Oak staves seasoning in the sun, waiting years before they are
made into barrels. They have enough “barrel
kits: some assembly required” for the next four years, having just sent a load
off to be transformed. Chris isn’t sure
if they will always use this type of oak, he is playing with some French as
well, but there certainly is a commitment to the process. The wines show that they have chosen the
right grapes for the vineyards. The
Merlot is all plums and cocoa, very elegant and smooth. The Pinot Grigio might be the best in
America, certainly the most interesting and refined. The Alexis is powerful and deep. The Schmidt Ranch used to be the home of the
Thackery Orion wines, and you can taste the vineyard in this wine.
It was hard to get up from the
table after drinking and eating such wonderful things, but there is no rest on
wine trips.
And now for something
completely different.
We were promised a surprise. We were also promised that it wouldn’t be a
stop to drink port and ice wine after drinking lots of other wine. A brief respite from all the eating and
drinking was awaiting us at the Yountville Bocce courts. Michael Hutchinson, of Olé Imports, was
standing, with a bottle of Cava in one hand and a set of Petánque balls in the
other. Pilling out of the vans, we all
shared in a toast to our newest Spanish importer and the great wines we just
received.
It would be fair to say that the
games that followed did get a little competitive. Bocce balls are bigger than Petánque, and the
court is a bit longer. But even though
some people didn’t really know all the rules, a spirited competition was soon
underway. I won’t say who won, but I
will say that Scott’s team lost in the finals.
Ro and Charlene were understandably uninterested in joining the
testosterone filled competition. Our
tournament ended too soon, but we had to go to the mountain.
Going to the
Mountain.
Twisting and turning up a steep
road, past ranches with horses and llamas, and a smattering of vineyards, we
only got lost once. But eventually we
wound our way up a small road that led us to the mountaintop home of Robert
Craig winery. Spreading out before us
from this Howell Mountain perch was a breathtaking view of the entire Napa
Valley. We had come to the mountain to
live and love the Cabernet that mountain fruit can create. Our beloved wine loving madman Elton Sloan
was just getting off his BMW motorcycle to welcome us. He introduced us to Robert himself, as well
as the young winemaker Chad Alexander.
We sat around and marveled at the
awesome view, and shivered in the strong winds as we tasted the fantastic
Durell Chardonnay, and their Zin and Syrah.
But this is a winery that is all about Cab. We had the chance to enjoy the Affinity Cab
from the floor of the valley. The Affinity is bright and juicy, really solid
and certainly a fan favorite type of Cab.
Then we dove into the two mountain cabs; the equally intense and
seductive Mt. Veeder and Howell Mountain bottlings. If you really want to show off, grab a
mountain cab. Either one will do, the
“screaming good” (Elton said that) Mt Veeder, or the darker and deeper Howell
Mountain. These wines are like the above
motorbike screaming down a winding mountain road. One is red, one is black. You just have to
pick one.
Our last trip to the valleys was
concentrated in Sonoma, and we said that all we ate was Lamb, and cheese, to
feed the lamb. But in Napa, it’s about
the beef. And some cheese, too. Great food, with some more glasses of great
wines (including a barrel sample of the ’02 Howell Mountain Cab), made a
wonderful evening. Only the brave were
sitting outside under the heaters so we could watch the sun go down over the
hills. It wasn’t that cold. But then we
got to climb into our heated vans, and Elton had to drive his bike down the
mountain in the cold, dark night.
We did get cold enough that we
needed to stop at the store on the way back to the hotel to stock up on beer,
crown royal and munchies for the night.
We took over the patio and fire pit at the hotel, as we seem to do most
places, and enjoyed a nice cigar and a stiff drink. These trips are such hard work.
Not just Napa.
This trip was about Cabernet and
new wineries. But not just about the
Napa Valley. We woke up early on Friday
and set off, driving up through the valley to the place where a glacier had
closed off and redirected the Russian River that formed Napa. The people in Napa don’t like to talk about
how there valley was created by that river in Sonoma, but geology doesn’t
lie. The Napa River isn’t big enough to
carve out a gulley, much less a valley.
Over the pass lies the Alexander
Valley. It is long and narrow, with a
diverse set of microclimates. The south is cooler, more suited to Merlot,
Chardonnay and even Pinot Noir. The
middle and northern parts are much warmer, home to Cabernet.
Geyser Peak has been in the
Alexander Valley since 1880, though it is not a small, quaint facility with
rustic presses and old barrels in the courtyard. This winery is on the cutting edge of
quality, even the big boys have come up to see the rotary fermenters and bladder
presses. Rotary fermenting works faster
than regular, but you do have to make sure that fermentation is done before you
move it to tanks; especially those without air locks. This was illustrated nicely by the tank that
looked like it had exploded from the inside, without bursting. Kind of like a beer can left too long in the
freezer.
Aussie native Mick Schroeter is the
head winemaker here, and he showed us about as we tasted through some of their
wines. The clear winner here is the
Sauvignon Blanc. It’s almost like a Kiwi
wine, but at a much better price. It was
very refreshing to drink out on the new patio as we sat down with a bunch of
winery folks for lunch of lamb (finally!) and chicken. We also drank a few of the reserve reds,
though the temperature was much hotter than other days, so it was tough to put
down the Sauvignon Blanc. We did manage
to talk them into a taste of sparkling Shiraz, which sadly is only available at
the winery.
I won’t bother to write about the
effect the heat had on Brent and his stomach, as it isn’t nearly as funny as
the time when Ro lost it coming back from Steele. But needless to say, Brent was hurting. Though it should be noted that he was raring
to go by dinnertime.
Coffee and vineyards.
By God we needed coffee. You can take the North Westerner out of the
Northwest, but you better give them coffee.
The poor woman in the Italian restaurant in Geyserville (population
about 1400) was probably terrified out of her mind to have all these coffee
snobs descend on her small espresso maker asking for drinks no Californian has
ever ordered correctly. Properly
caffeinated, we made the arduous drive a whole mile to our next stop, at a
vineyard perched overlooking the town.
Our old friend John Helfrick was
waiting to introduce us to winemaker Nick Goldschmidt and his wife Yolyn. Nick has traveled the world making wines, and
now has a new project that brings that experience in focus. A long table, covered in white linen, sat
beside rows of vines. A small table of
cheese (Yay!) and a large bucket of ice to keep the wines cool was beside the
easel that announced that class was in session.
In a short hour or so, we learned more about taste, grapes, wine,
vineyards, and sheep jokes about Australians from our New Zealand born
Professor Nick than we expected. Apparently,
all the jokes about sheep involve Australians; it seems to be the national kiwi
sport.
The wines of Forefathers include
and zingy New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and powerful McLaren Vale Shiraz, and a
Cabernet from the Alexander Valley vineyard right next to our seats. Also, under the Goldschmidt Vineyards label, is
a pair of reserve Cabernets from the Alexander and Napa Valleys.
I would personally recommend that
you never buy a car from a rental agency.
Not because they aren’t a good deal.
But because more than likely someone like me has gone off roading down a
vineyard access road at speeds that even brand new minivans should not be
driven. But you can go ahead and buy one
if you like, just stay away from the gold Chevy Uplander that smells like
cheese and wine. It turns out those minivans aren’t as wimpy as they seem.
A storm is a coming.
The day had started out clear and
warm. The Alexander Valley is pretty toasty, and we all enjoyed the A/C as we
headed down into the Sonoma Valley. But
the weather was taking a turn for the worst.
Clouds were rolling in from the San Francisco Bay and over the Coastal
range. We were headed to the Russian
River area to visit Paul Hobbs.
When we last visited the winery,
Paul had just planted the vines, and all that was there was a small rambler of
a house that would look at home in any subdivision in America. The vines were much larger now, and the house
was still there this time, but it was up on blocks at the entrance to the
driveway looking ready to be moved or trashed.
It turns out a neighbor wanted the house. But after three years, it’s still sitting
there.
We missed out seeing Paul; he is a
busy man making wine in two hemispheres.
But we did get to see the new winery. It’s not a Château or Estate, but
a solid example of how to build a winery for the wine, and for the place. Three small buildings that had a modern look
them, one for crushing and fermenting, one for barrels, and one for storage and
offices.
As usual, it was a treat to taste
his Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet, both the current releases and barrel
samples. The wines are so well crafted,
so extracted and juicy. Amazing and
seductive, these are wines of great class.
But the storm was coming, and we
sadly had to say good bye.
Sausages
It should be noted at this point
that the group divided up. Most drove
back through an unbelievable torrential downpour to the hotel, where many ended
up going out for Mexican food. We had
had enough meat, cheese and meat, and thought we should have meat, cheese,
beans and chips. That and we needed a
margarita.
We followed that up with another
night out at Downtown Joe’s. It looked like the same crowd, plus their parents.
We watched some tourists from Seattle (what are the chances?) who made fools of
themselves on the dance floor. Plus the
constant parade of overconfident guys in their matching Friday-Night-Shirts
making vain attempts at scoring with the lady in the pink shirt who was slowly
getting wasted on white Zin.
A few others went to visit our old
friend Lance Cutler for an evening of way too much food and wine. They say they
ate too many sausages, but why did the guys stop at a taco truck to get more
food? This makes no sense. But what
happens in the valleys, stays in the valleys.
Including most of what Sketch ate.
On the side of the van.
He did say that he felt much better than the others did the
next day.
Sonoma or bust.
Saturday morning we dragged our
aching bodies over to see our friends at Gundlach Bundschu. Diana and Susan were there waiting to show us
the newly remodeled tasting room, when hiking down with a backpack full of
umbrellas came the one and only Jeff Bundschu, and his much better half, Liz.
Our plan was to hike up the
mountain behind the winery, but Jeff was afraid the rains might come
again. We had to tell him that real
Washingtonians don’t use umbrellas. We
just buy more sunglasses than anyone else because we lose them in the long gaps
between the sunny days.
A nice tasting of the Block 13
wines in the almost finished tasting room, with some fantastic Sonoma goat
cheese, was our refueling for the hike.
Some of the more “seasoned”, “old” and “still sick” members of our
troupe decided to be driven up the hill.
But most of us set off on a hike up the access road above the 145 year
old Rhinefarm Estate. At our first stop,
we stood at a clearing and overlooked the lower part of the vineyard where the
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Gewürztraminer grow.
Then we tasted the two zingy whites and snacked on some more cheese. We continued to hike up the hill that would
not end, drinking lots of water along the way, until we reached the top. A nice
breakfast spread of Oregon blue cheese, Sonoma Chévre and fresh fruits was
waiting to be enjoyed with a tasting of the Gun Bun reds, including the
fantastic 2001 Vintage Reserve Cabernet.
Jim Bundschu buzzed us twice in his small plane as we stood atop the
hill surveying the breadth of Sonoma.
You could see the Golden Gate
Bridge in the distance, and the variation of the Sonoma Valley below. From the cool Carneros to the warmer
mountainsides, Sonoma is much more varied than Napa. Rhinefarm itself is a microcosm of the
valley. Carneros like conditions in the
lower vineyards, and warmer Bordeaux varietal areas above the fog line.
It is always good to see the
Bundschus, and share their fantastic wines.
A visit to the
“Cathedral”.
We drove through the town of
Sonoma, past the houses and stores, up the side of the mountain to the home of
the best Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the new world. Hanzell has been producing these incredible
wines since the 1950’s at their estate that is modeled after Clos de
Vougeot. This is Burgundy in California,
wines of amazing elegance and complexity.
Hanzell wines age for decades.
They are one of the few wineries in California that not only can say
that, but have bottles to prove it.
Good friend of the Bundschus and
son of longtime winemaker Bob Sessions, Ben Sessions was waiting with National
Sales Educator Armen Khacheturian to show us around. A brand new winery, with custom made
“tanquitos” (little 300 gallon tanks), and a long monastic cave with a
chandelier made from a barrel that you have to see to describe, were the
technical side of the tour.
But it was the visit to the library
that really got us excited. Although on
this trip we wouldn’t taste older vintages, to see racks with bottles of
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir going back to the 50’s was awe inspiring. It was like going to church.
In a surprising twist on tasting
their wines, we sat down before our lunch and tasted the current releases of
Hanzell beside a grand cru Burgundy and a Corton-Charlemagne. It would be impossible to pick any of the
wines as the best; they were all ethereal and beautiful. But it illustrated that Hanzell belongs in
the class of fine Burgundy, at a much more realistic price. They are still expensive, but they are worth
it.
Drinking fine Burgundy and Hanzell
with our lunch, which ended with a great cheese course, was the epitome of why
we do what we do. Living is good, and
wine brings people together to live and share.
Once again, it is hard to beat a visit to Hanzell.
Hanging on by a
thread.
Thankfully, we didn’t try to top
Hanzell. We had a nice break scheduled
to allow us to relax. Most went back to
the hotel, though some of us stopped in Sonoma to get a nice refreshing
beer. On a wine trip, beer is better
than coffee. It perks you up just
enough, and really cleans the palate.
We were almost late to our last
stop of the day; service was slow getting us our second beer. But down in American Canyon we pulled up to a
large warehouse with a small sign on the door.
We had no idea how impressive and huge the winery inside would be. Cartlidge and Brown is a great value brand
made here by winemaker Paul Moser. What
really brought home the message about the quality was the chance to barrel
taste some of the components of the Cabernet, as well as to taste some of
Paul’s abilities in the tasty Durell Vineyard Pinot Noir he had off in a spare
tank. The wines are solid across the
board, and it was really nice to meet the people who bring the wines to us, and
share a nice dinner in the barrel room.
What we do is so different than what winery people do, and the exchange
of ideas was refreshing; it allowed us to understand them, and allowed them to
understand what we have to do to get their product out to the public.
It should also be noted that they
do lots of custom crush and bottling for other wineries. This warehouse was huge, well over 100,000
square feet. And I have never seen so
much wine stacked so high. Picture a
stack of 4 palates of wine, without the palates, just shrink wrapped. Now picture a row about 150 feet long. Now picture 10 rows. This was just one bottling of Barefoot they
were doing. And distributors always complains
that they have lots of wine in their warehouse.
Slipping away.
I don’t think very many of us went
out that night. Too much wine and
cheese. I retreated to my room to finish
off some of the extra cab we brought back from Hobbs and Goldschmidt and
watched the Sonics give the Sacramento Queens a good thrashing. A fairly early night for most of us, I guess
we are getting old.
Breakfast was at the hotel with our
good friend Jeff Dye. Jeff now brings us
Oak Grove and Oak Hurst. After the loss
of our good friend Frank Corey, we are very happy to know that these great
brands that are important to Unique are in the hands of someone we know.
The trip always ends with a
whimper, by the time we stopped for a lunch of In-N-Out; most of us couldn’t
handle a double-double again, and retreated to Del Taco for something lighter,
all except Jerome and his 2 pound burrito.
After we gassed up the vans as well, it was off to the excitement of
waiting for our plane to be delayed so we could go home.
We did what?
These trips to the wine country are
about connecting with the people and the places that make the wine what it is
in the bottle. This trip was not just
about Cabernet and Cheese; it was seeing new wineries and meeting new
people. But it was also a great chance
to understand what these wines really are, and who these people are that bring
this joy to our life. Every trip we
learn something new, even at places we have seen before.
Just let me lose a few pounds
gained this trip, and I am ready to go back.
More Wine!
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