When most of us think of a winery, what usually comes to mind is the romantic stereotype of a rustic but exquisite barn situated halfway up a mountain in the western U. S. overlooking a bucolic valley below; a fabulous hundred-years old chateau surrounded by ancient vines somewhere in France; or perhaps even a charming azienda agricola in Italy with a view of Roman ruins. But that’s not the only way to do it. Adega Northwest of Portland, Oregon, is very much an urban winery. There are vineyards, of course, you just won’t see them if you pay the winery a visit (by appointment only). And because they are not tied to an estate, Adega Northwest can and does draw on sources throughout the region. Continue reading “Adega Northwest Winery”
Until Yellow Tail precipitated the boom in “critter wines” in 2000, it can be argued that Penfolds was just about synonymous with Australian wine in the U.S. The label is ubiquitous here, in both grocery stores and fine wine shops. Prices range from about $12 per bottle for the Koonunga Hill Shiraz-Cabernet, to $850 for the legendary Grange, and everything in between. (That $850 is doubly amazing, because just five or six years ago Grange was “only” about $200.) The selections are mostly reds plus a few whites and even a tawny Port.
Founders Dr Christopher and Mary Penfold immigrated to Australia from England in 1844, bringing their own French vine cuttings. Not long after, their fledgling vineyard was officially established as the Penfolds wine company at the 500-acre Magill Estate in Adelaide.
The Penfolds were believers in the medicinal benefits of wine, and they planned to concoct a wine tonic for the treatment of anemia. Initially, they produced fortified wines in the style of sherry and port for Dr Penfold’s patients. The operation enjoyed early growth, and since Dr Penfold was focused on his medical practice, much of the running of the winery was delegated to Mary Penfold, including the cultivation of the vines and wine blending. On Christopher’s death in 1870, Mary assumed total responsibility for the winery. According to one historical account, by that time the business had “grown to over 60 acres with several different grape varieties including Grenache, Vverdelho, Mataro (aka Mourvedre), Frontignac and Pedro Ximenez,” and the estate was “producing both sweet and dry red and white table wines with a growing market in the eastern Australian colonies of Victoria and New South Wales.” Clarets and Rieslings were especially popular.
During her tenure, Mary engaged in experimentation, explored new methods of wine production, looked into ways of combating diseases like phylloxera, and engaged a cellar master by the name of Joseph Gillard.
Penfolds was producing a third of all South Australia’s wine by the time Mary Penfold retired in 1884. The company passed to her daughter Georgina and son-in-law Thomas Hyland. By 1907, Penfolds had become South Australia’s largest winery (It is still big, but it no longer holds that position.) Eventually, the business was passed onto their two sons and two daughters. The company became public in 1962, and the Penfold family retained a controlling interest until 1976.
In 1948, Max Schubert
became the company’s first Chief Winemaker. A loyal company man and true innovator, Schubert would propel Penfolds onto the global stage with his creation of Penfolds Grange. (That’s a story for another time, if I can ever get my hands on a bottle. Hey, Penfolds! A little help here?)
In 1959, while Schubert was perfecting his Grange experiment in secret, Penfolds’ tradition of ‘bin wines’ began. The first, a Shiraz with grapes from the company’s own Barossa Valley vineyards, was simply named after the storage area of the cellars where it was aged. And so Kalimna Bin 28 became the first official Penfolds Bin number wine.
In 1988, after four decades of Grange’s success and growth into a wine world icon, Schubert was named Decanter magazine’s Man of the Year, and on the 50th anniversary of its creation, Penfolds Grange was given a heritage listing in South Australia.
In 1976, control of Penfolds was acquired by Tooth and Co., a brewer based in New South Wales, which in 1982 became part of the Adelaide Steamship Company Group. In 1990, SA Brewing purchased Adelaide Steamship’s wineries. Later, SA Brewing was divided into three separate entities: the wine assets were named Southcorp Wine.
Southcorp Wines became a part of the Foster’s Group in 2005. In 2011, Fosters was split into two separate companies; the wine side became Treasury Wine Estates, headquartered in Melbourne and Penfolds current owner. The chief winemaker since 2002 has been Peter Gago.
Vineyards
Adelaide Magill Estate 5.34 hectares / 13.2 acres
Shiraz (known as Syrah in other parts of the world
Eden Valley High Eden
66.42 hectares / 164.1 acres
Riesling, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc Woodbury 69.56 hectares / 171.9 acres McLaren Vale 141 hectares / 350 acres
Shiraz, Grenache, and Cabernet Sauvignon Coonawarra 50 hectares / 120 acres
Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz
Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2018
Although somewhat deceptively named for a specific Barossa vineyard, this wine is sourced from various South Australian sites. After fermentation, it was aged for 12 months in American oak. An impenetrable dark purple in the glass, it has a nose of dark stone fruits, especially plums, and eucalyptus. The palate is the same, plus cocoa and some bracing tannins. The finish is long and very dry. ABV is 14.5%.
Patz & Hall was founded in 1988 when two Flora Springs Winery and Vineyards employees, assistant winemaker James Hall and national sales manager Donald Patz, decided to strike out on their own. Their ambition was to apply traditional (i.e. French) winemaking techniques to fruit from elite, small vineyards, specializing in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The winery went on to great success.
Ports, Sherries, Marsalas, and Madeiras are all beverages that fall under the broad category of fortified wines. During fermentation, the wine is “fortified” with brandy or neutral grain spirits. Originally, this was done to preserve and stabilize the wine for shipment, usually to England. It is now done to create sweet wine; the addition of the alcohol kills the fermentation yeasts, retaining any residual sugar.
A true Madeira such as this one comes from Portugal’s Madeira island, about 400 miles due west of Morocco in northern Africa. The small island has an oceanic, tropically-influenced climate and volcanic soil. Because of high heat and humidity, fungal diseases and botrytis (also known as grey mold) are constant hazards. To combat them, Madeira vineyards are often planted in low trellises known as latada that raise the canopy off the ground. The wine is cultivated in terraced steps of red and basaltic bedrock called poios.
Madeira’s unique flavor comes from two elements that would ruin other wines: heat and oxidation. During the era when the earliest Madeiras were shipped, it was discovered that aeration of the sloshing barrels in the warm hold of the ship made for delightful wine. (The Kelt line of cognacs get the same treatment even today.) As for Madeira, the process is emulated through the estufagem process, whereby the wine is placed in hot rooms or heated tanks (estufas) and slowly baked for a minimum of 90 days. Depending on when they are dosed with alcohol, Madeiras can range from quite dry to very sweet.
There are four distinct styles of Madeira. The pale, golden Sercial is the driest and lightest. Verdelho is sweeter and stronger, and Boal is fuller and sweeter still. Malmsey is the richest, darkest, and sweetest of all.
Although the history of Madeira goes as far back as the 18th century, Broadbent has been producing wines in Portugal for just over 20 years. In the mid-1990s Michael Broadbent, Director of Christie’s auction house, prolific wine author, and Madeira expert, partnered with Justino’s Madeira Wines, S.A. to create the Broadbent line. Justino’s was formed as a limited company in 1953, although it had been in existence since 1870 in Madeira as a private family company, when it was known as “Justino Henriques.”
BARTHOLOMEW BROADBENT
Broadbent is now helmed by Michael’s son Bartholomew. He was raised in the English wine trade in a formal apprenticeship to his father. The Broadbent line includes Port from the Douro, Madeiras and Vinho Verde from Portugal, and a Gruner Veltliner made in Austria.
He is credited as being responsible for the growth of Port consumption in North America during the mid 1980s. He was responsible for the re-introduction of Madeira to America in 1989, and instrumental in its growth since then.
He currently lives in Virginia, where he is also involved in the distribution of Virginia wines, now available in over 30 states.
Broadbent Rainwater Madeira
“Rainwater” is a soft, medium dry variant of Verdelho. According to legend, early shipments of Madeira were left on the island’s beaches to await pickup prior to shipment. During that time, the barrels absorbed water during rain showers. This diluted the alcohol and created a less potent wine.
This is one of six Madeiras under the Broadbent label. (There are 11 others branded as Justino’s produced by the house.) The fruit is 98% Tinta Negra, and 2% other regional red varieties. Aged in oak casks for at least three years, this wine is dark orange in color, with a nose of dried dates, figs, and orange peel. There are fresh citrus and caramel flavors on the full-bodied, satiny palate backed up with a zoomy acidity. It is indeed medium dry. It can be served as an apéritif or as an after-dinner drink. The ABV is 19% and 20,000 cases were produced.
Patz & Hall was founded in 1988 when two Flora Springs Winery and Vineyards employees, assistant winemaker James Hall and national sales manager Donald Patz, decided to strike out on their own. Their ambition was to apply traditional (i.e. French) winemaking techniques to fruit from elite, small vineyards in Napa Valley specializing in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The winery went on to great success.
The Brooks Winery of Amity, Oregon in the Willamette Valley was founded in 1998 by Jimi Brooks, a native of Portland and son of a pediatrician. The winery’s production is focused on Pinot Noir and Riesling, and includes about 20 selections of each in any given year. Brooks also dabbles in Tempranillo, Muscat, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Melon de Bourgogne (aka Muscadet), Gewurztraminer, and Viognier, all sourced from nearby vineyards.
All of the Pinot Noirs are destemmed and cold soaked; all of the whites go straight to press. In the winery, small lot fermenters are used and the components are kept separate until right before blending. For all Pinot Noirs, all estate fruit, and most whites, fermentation is driven by only the yeasts naturally occurring on the grapes, and the coolest fermentation temperatures possible are adhered to. Finally, the reds are finished in French oak, while the whites are all made in stainless steel.
The free-spirited Jimi Brooks began his career by spending eight years throughout Europe, particularly Beaujolais, learning his craft in the vineyards and wineries there. After that sojourn, he returned to Oregon committed to a life in wine, based on his own intuition as well as holistic and Biodynamic farming practices, still a relative novelty just over twenty years ago. He continued to hone his skills with winemaking stints at Maysara and WillaKenzie Estate wineries before establishing Brooks Wines.
In 2008 the winery purchased the estate vineyard it had been working since 2002. Plantings include Pinot Noir and Riesling vines that are now over 35 years old, and contribute about 30% of Brooks’ fruit. Official Biodynamic certification from Demeter was obtained in 2012. This was followed by the opening of an entirely new winemaking facility and tasting room in 2014, which overlooks the Cascade Range and Willamette Valley.
Brooks Wines’ motto is Peace/Bread/Land/Wine.
Peace
It may seem rose-colored, but Brooks genuinely believes in kindness, inclusivity, caring, community, and social responsibility as guiding principles.
Bread
Brooks features a number of culinary experiences from cooking classes to wine and food pairing classes.. Their organic garden supplies herbs, vegetables, and cut flowers. Their eggs come from chickens on the property which are fed organically. Anything that doesn’t come directly from the grounds is sourced locally.
Land
Careful stewardship of the estate vineyard is achieved by
• Utilizing a rock garden to diffuse rain water.
• Encouraging botanical species diversity
• Protecting predator habitats
• Applying balanced crop nutrition
• Rotating cover crops
• Not using synthetic chemicals to control pests or diseases
• Utilizing mechanical weed control
Wine
Riesling is the bedrock at Brooks, and they claim to produce more of it than any other winery in America.
A bittersweet success
Behind all of this accomplishment lurks sadness and tragedy. Founder Jimi Brooks suddenly died in 2004 just before harvest at the age of 38 from the rupture of an aortic aneurysm (an abnormal bulge that occurs in the wall of the major blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body). Winemakers from all over the Willamette Valley, many of them competitors, volunteered to help the Brooks family cope with his untimely death and keep the winery open. The following year the winery was bequeathed to Jimi’s son, Pascal, who was eight when his father died and became the youngest winery owner in the world.
Once the future of the operation was assured, two key figures emerged. Brooks’ friend and assistant winemaker Chris Williams ascended to full-time winemaker. Brooks’ sister, Janie Brooks Heuck, reluctantly became head of winery operations. It’s quite the commitment; she lives in California with her husband and two children and is constantly commuting between the two states. It is a commitment that has paid off, though. Under her supervision the business has grown by 400%.
L to R: Pascal Brooks, Janie Brooks Heuck, and Chris Williams
Heuck had always had been close to her brother. “We were a year and a half a part. As adults and parents, our conversation centered around our children and his business,” Heuck said. “It’s not so much that the winery brings back memories for me, but I [continue to] learn about new stories and memories that would have been Jimi’s.”
She believes the wines are a vehicle for conveying an important message about life, about living in the moment and to the fullest, about keeping the big picture in mind. “I feel like through the wines and the experiences that people are having,” she said, “the connections and the conversations and the sharing of the Brooks story, and having it remind people of how important every day is and every moment is. I just don’t ever want that to stop. The more lives we can touch and the more times the story is told and the more it brings perspective to people, that’s the gift from this whole situation.”
If you have access to Amazon Video, the film American Wine Story profiles Jimi Brooks and a number of other winery owners drawn to the business based on sheer passion.
Brooks Wines’ distinctive logo is an ouroboros (or uroboros). It is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail to assure its future existence. Originating in ancient Egyptian iconography, the ouroboros entered western tradition via Greek magic and mysticism. Heuck shared, “We like to talk about it symbolizing the circle of life, continuation. My brother got it as a tattoo on his left shoulder in the early ’90s. It meant so much to him that he decided to make it his wine label.”
Although Pascal remains emotionally invested in the winery and his father’s legacy, he is at the beginning of his life journey and feels the need to find his own way. Now 24 years old, Pascal is living in Paris after graduating from UC Santa Cruz in 2018 with a double major in creative writing and sustainable agriculture, an interesting pairing for sure. He has been working as a wine steward there and also doing urban rooftop farming. Following in his father’s footsteps, in 2019 he worked harvest at Domaine Dechamps, and currently is involved at Domaine Ostertag in Alsace. (Read more about a pivotal part of Jimi Brooks’ time in France here.)
Brooks Ara Riesling 2018
Brooks has staked their reputation on Riesling, so they better know what to do with it. Happily, this expression doesn’t disappoint. Indeed, it’s one of the most interesting Rieslings I’ve ever had. Ara (the Altar), is a constellation. In ancient Greek mythology, Ara was the altar where the gods first made offerings and formed an alliance before defeating the Titans. This was one of the very first Rieslings Jimi Brooks made after starting his winery, and the name reflects his passion and interests in mythology and astrology.
The wine is 100% Riesling, half from the Brooks estate vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA and half from the Yamhill vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. It is a bright lemon yellow in the glass, with aromas of lemon curd and orange blossom. The lemon theme continues on the palate, with the addition of nectarines, Sweetarts, and apples, but the wine is definitely dry. The flavors are well-supported by tingly acidity. ABV is 14% and just 325 cases were produced.
Brooks Janus Pinot Noir 2016
Brooks considers this their flagship Pinot Noir, and was Jimi Brooks’ first Pinot release. Janus was the two-faced Roman god who looked both to the past and future, a reference now to the winery’s timeline being divided by Jimi Brooks’ premature death.
This 100% Pinot Noir was sourced from 60% Brooks Estate and the remainder from seven other sites around Willamette Valley. After fermentation, it saw 18 months in French oak barrels. It is a medium purple in the glass, with a nose of rich plum, vanilla, and rose. The palate features tart cherry, ligonberry, and black tea on the medium finish, all supported by lively acidity and balanced tannins. The ABV is 13.8% and 1000 cases were made.
Disclaimer: I’ve been a member of the Clos Pegase wine club for years, so this post is hardly impartial.
Clos Pegase Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
Clos Pegase was founded by Jan Shrem in 1983 on a 50-acre vineyard near Calistoga in Napa Valley. He was born in Colombia in 1930 to Jewish-Lebanese parents, and spent his childhood in Jerusalem and his early adolescence back in Colombia. After he arrived in the United States at age 16, he attended the University of Utah and UCLA. While in college, he sold encyclopedias.
Imagery Petite Sirah 2016 and Imagery Gee eS eM Red Wine 2017
My first career paths as a young man were art and architecture. I have a Bachelor’s degree in architecture, and got half way through a Master’s in fine-art printmaking. I ended up traveling neither of those avenues professionally, but have remained keenly interested in both ever since. So, I was intrigued to learn of Imagery Estates’ commitment to fine art.
In 1973, newlyweds Mike and Mary Benziger drove west and permanently settled in Northern California. Seven years later, Mike and and his brother Bruno Benziger purchased the historic Wegener Ranch on Sonoma Mountain in Glen Ellen, California. Hearing the Sirens’ call of the Golden State, over the next six years the four remaining siblings — Bob, Joe, Jerry, and Patsy, with their spouses — made their way to California.
Joe Benziger
In 1986, winemaker Joe Benziger first partnered with artist Bob Nugent to launch the Imagery Series of wines in a converted brewery. This pairing of wine and art continues to this day, and permeates every aspect of Imagery Winery, including unique artwork replicated on every label. The winery’s dedicated on-site art gallery features 500 works from over 300 notable contemporary artists. Usually, between 60 and 150 pieces are on view in the gallery at any one time. Contributing artists have been selected from around the world, including: Sol LeWitt of Connecticut, Shoichi Ida of Japan, William Wiley of California, Goncalo Ivo of Brazil, David Nash of Wales, and Judy Pfaff, Pat Steir, and Terry Winters of New York. The artists are specially commissioned by Imagery to create a new and original piece; unsolicited submissions from others are not considered. At any given time, as many as 35 artists are working on pieces that will appear on future Imagery wine labels. Of the 200 or so artists reviewed each year, only five are actually offered a commission. The artists are not limited by size, medium, or content, except for one requirement. It can be either representational or abstract, but every image must include the Benziger Estate‘s “Parthenon.” it was on the property when the Benzigers first arrived and overlooks the rolling vineyards.
In December 2017, Joe Benziger retired, and his daughter Jamie took over as second-generation winemaker. She was named the 2019 Best Woman Winemaker in the International Women’s Wine Competition, and was also included on Wine Enthusiast’s list of 40 Under 40 Tastemakers.
Although she studied marketing at Loyola Marymount University, Jamie eventually came to realize she wanted the family wine business to be her future after all. Jamie transferred to Sonoma State University to complete her marketing degree, and added wine business to her studies. She interned in marketing with Gundlach Bundschu Winery during school, but while working her first harvest at Benziger Jamie realized her heart was really in winemaking.
Since then, Jamie has aggressively pursued her knowledge of wine, working in the wine labs at St. Francis and Bogle, traveling to New Zealand to work harvest at Villa Maria, and getting her hands dirty in the field at Enterprise Vineyards. Mentored by her father and just as adventurous, Jamie says she is, “passionate about taking Imagery to a broader audience.”
Imagery Petite Sirah 2016
The origins of Petite Sirah (aka Petite Syrah) have been shrouded in mystery and confusion. It was originally thought to be related to the renowned Syrah of France’s Rhône region. Then it was decided it was actually Durif, a minor Rhône varietal now nearly extinct. But then along came pesky science, and a DNA analysis in the late 1990s identified the grape as a cross between Syrah and Peloursin. It is grown much more extensively in California than France, but can also be found in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. Somewhat disparaged at the turn of this century, it is now enjoying a renewed popularity.
Petit Sirah can make big, full-bodied wines, and this selection is an excellent example. Imagery likes to call this a “toothbrush wine” because of its deep color and bold flavor (although dentists caution against brushing your teeth soon after drinking wine, as the lingering acidity can damage tooth enamel by doing so.)
Made by Joe Benziger not long before he turned the winemaking over to Jamie, the fruit for this wine was sourced from the Shell Creek vineyard in Paso Robles, one of Imagery’s longest-standing grape suppliers. The wine itself is dark inky purple, with a nose of blackberries and plums. These continue on the palate, with a plush, full body, and big but controlled tannins. This was accomplished by tasting the juice at every pump over, to assure that the tannins did not become excessive. Jammy concentrated fruit comes through mid palate, with a lingering richness on the finish. The ABV is 14.6%, and 1074 cases were made.
The label artist is Robin Denevan of San Francisco, California. The image is part of Denevan’s River Series, and is an encaustic painting, a mixed media technique that involves using heated beeswax to which colored pigments have been added. The liquid/paste is then applied to a surface — usually prepared wood, although canvas and other materials are also used. The term is derived from Greek, meaning a burning in. A subtle reflection of the “Parthenon” is shown in the water in the bottom third of the picture. https://robindenevan.com/
Imagery Gee eS eM Red Wine 2017
This too-cutely named (for my taste anyway) blend is made from 35% Grenache, 35% Syrah, and 30% Mourvèdre sourced from a number of North Coast vineyards. GSM, as it’s more commonly referred to, is a mix traditionally produced in the Côtes du Rhône region. It is also a favorite of the so-called “Rhône Rangers,” a group of American winemakers who promote the production of wines containing at least 75% of the 22 Rhône grape varieties. This is Jamie Benziger’s first solo effort.
Dark garnet in the glass, this wine starts with aromas of figs and roast plums and a bit of vanilla. These are followed by flavors of strawberries and tart cherries. There is just the right amount of acidity, and the soft tannins are restrained. The silky structure all wraps up in a nice long finish. The ABV is 14.9%, and 558 cases were produced.
The art adorning this bottle is by Santa Rosa artist Sami Lange. It is one of her paper collage “quilts” that are created by hand cutting, dying, and stitching thousands of circles to create intricate meditative patterns. The fuchsia “Parthenon” arises from a field of orange.
In 1819 English missionaries first brought vines to New Zealand. For the next 150 years or so, most of the wine produced there was for local consumption. That began to change in 1973, when Sauvignon Blanc was planted in Marlborough. Within the next decade, the wines and the region became New Zealand’s most famous.
Althogh the nation is, surprisingly, made up of around 600 islands, there are two primary ones, the aptly named North and South Islands. Predictably, most of its regions have a maritime climate. The country is divided along its length by a spine of mountains, which causes a rain shadow that keeps things fairly dry on the eastern side, where almost all of the grape growing is done, while it’s quite rainy on the west.
In 1987 Brent and Shirley Rawstron started farming 7.5 acres of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir on the banks of the Halswell River in Canterbury, New Zealand. They soon re-planted to almost all Pinot Noir, which they found to be much more suited to the property. Eventually the estate expanded to 15 acres, all on north-facing slopes. In 2004, they pressed into Marlborough in search of additional desirable vineyard sites, and the couple now owns 100 acres of vineyards there, planted to Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris. Like 98% of New Zealand’s production, their grapes are sustainably grown.
Marlborough offers a special combination of climatic features that create the ideal site for bright, ripe, balanced fruit: plentiful sunshine, long, warm summer days, and cool nights that keep acidity in the grapes. These conditions particularly suit Sauvignon Blanc. Soils vary considerably in the region, allowing subtle differences between and even within vineyards. These are divided into blocks according to soil and aspect, and are harvested and vinified separately.
The name Waipapa Bay comes from a spot on the Pacific Ocean known for surfing and marine life. It is located halfway between the Canterbury home of the Rawstrons (native New Zealanders) and their vineyards in Rapaura.
The Waipapa Bay line is imported by Broadland Drinks, a 50-year-old international wine business with a British heritage. It has also been co-owner of the brand since 2012.
Waipapa Bay Pinot Noir Rosé
This 100-percent Pinot Noir hails from the Rawston’s estate in Canterbury. To produce the wine’s pale salmon hue, the skins are in contact with the wine for the first 24 hours. This rosé has aromas of strawberries and summer fruits, with a dash of spice. Carried by a medium body, on the palate there are plenty of red fruit flavors, especially raspberries and strawberries, which linger on the long finish. These come with a grapefruit-like zippy acidity. Serve lightly chilled. The ABV is 13%.
Note: In 2001, a small group of winemakers created The Screwcap Initiative, and the closure has become ubiquitous there, with 99% of New Zealand’s wines now released under screwcap. The closure has gained major acceptance from Australian producers as well.
Some winemakers and winery proprietors are born into the business. Some buy into the business. And some evolve into it. Greg LaFollette of Alquimista evolved quite successfully. He has been called a “vine whisperer,” a “cellar magician,” and a “tireless coaxer and protector of handcrafted wines.” He is one of Sonoma’s most revered winemakers, and was honored as Winemaker of the Year in 2010. He has also been tagged “Prince of Pinot” by the website of the same name.
first, a career in science
La Follette’s early years were spent as a musician. At 17, he became the bagpiper for the Queen Mary berthed in Long Beach, California. (And he plays the bagpipes to this day.) “I wanted to be a winemaker since my teens,” admitted La Follette. “But who in Los Angeles becomes a winemaker?” Eventually he decided that neither music nor wine offered a viable way forward, and after earning degrees in Plant Biology and Chemistry, La Follette started his professional career in 1984 at the University of California, San Francisco, as an Infectious Disease researcher specializing in HIV suppression. While there, he co-authored over a dozen papers in the field. But, he was also still feeling the pull of his early interest in the wine industry. Continue reading “Alquimista Cellars”
To say that the Taub family is an international wine and spirits powerhouse is, frankly, quite an understatement. It all started on December 6th, 1933, when Martin Taub and his brothers started making brandy in Jersey City. After World War II, Taub started a distributorship in New York because long-time clients Ernest and Julio Gallo needed a partner on the East Coast.
There’s an old witticism in the wine business that goes, “If you want to make a million dollars by producing wine, the first thing you need to do is spend a million dollars.” For a young and ambitious vintner to be able to skip that first step would be quite a blessing. Such is the case with Riley Flanagan. She is the eldest daughter of Eric Flanagan, a boutique winemaker and grape supplier in Sonoma, California. Through his Flanagan Wines operation, her father shares the tasting room, winemaking facility, and some of the fruit for his daughter’s own wine label. Continue reading “Riley’s Rows”
Eric Flanagan did not come of age with a background in the wine business, or even farming. After graduating from college in 1985, he embarked on a banking career, which he pursued until 2013. His job during those years took him on journeys around the world. He had always had an interest in wine, and over the course of these trips Flanagan became fascinated by how grapes of the same variety expressed themselves in different places.
In the tradition-bound world of wine, winemaking has, predictably, been dominated by men. For example, there are about 4,800 wineries in California, but only 10 percent have female lead winemakers. (When it comes to winery ownership, the number does jump up to about 19 percent, according to Woman Owned Wineries, a nationwide directory of female wine entrepreneurs.)
Encouragingly, however, greater educational opportunities (as opposed to the historically more usual inheriting a wine operation) have been opening the possibility of becoming a winemaker to more and more women. One of these is Nicole Walsh of Ser Winery in Aptos, California, due east of Santa Cruz.
The winemaker
During the course of her over 19-year career, Walsh has held just about every position in the wine industry, including associate winemaker, winemaker, vineyard manager, grower-relations manager, and owner. She was born in Saginaw, Michigan, in 1975. An early interest in wine drew her to Michigan State University, graduating with honors in 1998. At the time, the undergraduate department of Viticulture and Enology there was, remarkably, comprised of just two students. This provided a highly unusual opportunity to be immersively mentored by Horticulture professors in grape growing and winemaking. As part of her last semester at MSU, she attended a sustainable agriculture university, EARTH, in Costa Rica. While there, Walsh became proficient in Spanish, and she solidified her commitment to sustainable agriculture.
Nicole Walsh Photo: www.wildu.co
After graduation, she worked for four years on the Leelanau peninsula in northern Michigan. This small AVA (one of five in Michigan) is home to 27 wineries, and has diverse microclimates uniquely suited to cool-climate wine grapes, particularly Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Franc. During her time there, she managed vineyards and honed her winemakeing skills.
In early 2001, she married Kevin Walsh, and together they moved to Santa Cruz, California. Shortly thereafter, in February, she started working with Randall Grahm at Bonny Doon Vineyard.
Walsh took a sabbatical from Bonny Doon in 2008, when she moved with her husband and young son to Marlborough, New Zealand. After a year, she returned to Santa Cruz to develop Bonny Doon’s newest property in San Juan Bautista. She continues to manage that property as well as make wine at Bonny Doon’s Santa Cruz winery.
In 2012, reflecting on her New Zealand experience, especially with Pinot Noir, Walsh decided to start her own wine brand as well, which she christened Ser, which is Spanish for “expressing identity or origin; having the intrinsic quality of.”
“I was inspired for the name after reading an article by Andrew Jefford, ‘Wine and Astonishment’. It was in that writing that the notion of the ‘being’ of wine truly resonated with me. Being is different than existing. It is true, wine exists; you can touch it, smell it, drink it. To quote Jefford, ‘Being, by contrast, is the ‘isness’ inside.’ In other words, the natural essence of the grapes unique to each specific growing area. I am dedicated to preserving the ‘isness’ of wine, to allow its true varietal expression and the place and time of its origins,” shared Walsh. Clearly, this thinking closely aligns with the traditional concept of terroir.
She continued, “Jefford also talks of that first moment of insight, that moment when some people decide to devote their professional life to wine. He says,’It gives the lucky few who choose to ‘grow wine’ the chance to use craft to embody, reflect, and echo nature itself.’ I am privileged to be one of those ‘lucky few.'”
Ser Winery Tasting Room in Aptos, California
Once the winery was underway, she began working with local Santa Cruz Mountain growers to purchase fruit from a number of interesting vineyards with distinct microclimates in the appellation. In symbiotic partnership with those farmers, she started experimenting with several varieties, such as Riesling and Chardonnay (both of which she had worked with on Leelanau), Syrah, Mourvedre, and a much less-known variety, Cabernet Pfeffer. She is committed to preserving and enhancing the unique character of the varietals used in her wine.
Ser’s label, designed by local artist and teacher Jenny Angelacos, was inspired by an ocean wave and Walsh’s love of surfing. It is intended to convey the unifying thread that connects the diverse places from which she sources her grapes.
The wines
Nicole Walsh hard at work; winemaking doesn’t get more hands-on than this. Photo: www.wildu.co
Ser Dry Riesling Wirz Vineyard 2017
OK, I’m going to be honest about this up-front: although Riesling is, by all accounts, one of the world’s greatest white-wine grapes, and makes classic food-friendly wines in a range of styles from quite dry to very sweet, I’ve never been much of a fan. But I enjoyed this expression, so kudos to Ms Walsh.
The fruit came from the Wirz Vineyard, located in San Benito County’s Cienega Valley, in the foothills of the Gabilan Mountain Range at about 1100 feet above sea level and 25 miles or so from the Pacific Ocean. It is composed of granite and limestone soil. Owner Pat Wirz employs head training, dry farming and organic techniques on the over 90-year-old Cabernet Pfeffer and 60-year-old Riesling vines.
In “head training,” vines are tied to a wooden stake positioned at each one. The stake generally stands three to four feet above the soil surface. When used conservatively, this system is ideally suited to production of low to moderate quantities of high-quality grapes.
To make this wine, Walsh pressed whole grape clusters in stainless steel, which was also used for fermentation. She used an indigenous yeast, and the wine was bottled prior to malolactic fermentation to lend softness without stripping the acidity. It is medium yellow in the glass, with a nose of olive oil and delicate floral notes. These are followed by mostly tart citrus on the palate, particularly lime, with subtle hints of pear and apple. It’s balanced out by that good acidity, and wraps up with a medium finish. The ABV is 13% and 160 cases were made.
Ser Vermentino Cedar Lake Vineyard 2019
Cedar Lane vineyard is located in the Arroyo Seco appellation of the Santa Lucia Highlands in Monterey County. Soils are well drained, river bed gravelly loam.
After arriving at the winery, the grapes were whole-cluster pressed into stainless steel tank to begin primary fermentation. The wine was transferred mid-way through fermentation to neutral French oak puncheons (500L). There was partial malolactic fermentation, followed by eight months of aging in barrel prior to bottling.
This very pale wine has almost no nose. On the palate you will find delicate citrus, lychee, and a hint of honey. It offers crisp acidity and a short finish. The ABV is 13% and 175 cases were made.
Ser Dry Orange Muscat 2020
Before opening the bottle, I thought this might be an “orange” wine, that is, a white wine made by leaving the skins on white grapes during fermentation, also known as skin-contact wine. This results in an amber or orange hue in the finished product. But no. Orange Muscat is a relatively obscure grape variety, a cross between two more widely-known parents: Muscat Blanc à Petit Grains and Chasselas.
There are many other subcategories of Muscat as well, and these are often vinified into sweet or fortified wines. However, this one is bone dry and is pale gold, much like any other white. Whole grape clusters were pressed to stainless steel, followed by a cool fermentation for 20 days. The wine was bottled without malolactic fermentation after four months on the lees. Unusual for a Muscat, it is only slightly aromatic, with apricot and mango on the nose. These flavors continue in the mouth, but are masked somewhat by the bracing citrus-laced acidity. There’s even a hint of pepper. ABV is 13%, and 87 cases were made.
Ser Rosé of Grenache Loma Del Rio Vineyard 2020
The Loma del Rio vineyard is located on the west side of the Salinas Valley at the foot of the Santa Lucia Highlands just south of King City. Walsh declares it, “one of my favorite sites for Grenache.”
This wine was whole-cluster pressed to stainless steel. The juice was clarified with a centrifuge to help mitigate smoke taint due to the wildfires in the region at time of harvest. Happily, none is evident. It was bottled without malolactic fermentation after four months on the lees.
This wine is a delicate pink salmon, with an unassuming aroma to match, one that is primarily rose petal. The palate offers strawberry and guava. There is plenty of juicy grapefruit-laced acidity, and a medium finish. This is a wine that benefits from not being numbed. After being on the counter for a while, and it came up from the refrigerator temperature of 36° F to about 50° F, the nose didn’t change much, but the flavors became much more apparent. Walsh made 100 cases, and the ABV is 13%.
Ser Pinot Noir Tondre Grapefield 2016
This is the first time I have encountered a vineyard referred to as a “grapefield.” It was planted in 1997 on six and half acres in the heart of the Santa Lucia Highlands appellation. It now has seven blocks in 104 acres, 81 of which are planted with Pinot Noir. Tondre Grapefield is SIP Certified.
Composition is 100% Pinot Noir, all from the Tondre Grapefield, and harvested from 10-year-old Pommard clone vines. (The Pommard clone was originally sourced from the Château de Pommard in Burgundy by Dr. Harold Olmo of the UC Davis’ Department of Viticulture and Enology in the early 1970s.)
Walsh created this Pinot Noir by starting with five days of cold soak. Indigenous yeast was used for the eight days of primary fermentation. This was followed by four days of maceration before being pressed into neutral French puncheons (large oak barrels that usually hold 80 to 133 gallons) for 14 months of malolactic ageing.
This shows Pinot Noir’s classic clear, bright red in the glass. The nose offers aromas of cherry, raspberry, blackberry, and roast plum. The palate is dominated by tart cherry and zippy acidity. The wine has excellent balance, and it all wraps up with a long finish. ABV is 13.5%. Just 80 cases were produced.
Ser Cabernet Pfeffer Central Coast 2016
Cabernet Pfeffer is an extremely rare variety with less than 12 acres grown in California, most of them located in San Benito, a wine region at the southern end of the Santa Cruz mountains. It was once thought to be a crossing of Cabernet Sauvignon and another, unknown variety, and to have been bred in Los Altos Hills, California, in the late 19th century by farmer and winemaker William Pfeffer. However, a recent ampelography ( the field of botany concerned with the identification and classification of grapevines) study by UC Davis on the Wirz vines discovered they are are in fact Mourtaou, a French variety from the Bordeaux region. Whether the variety was named after the farmer or for its spicy characteristics (Pfeffer is German for pepper) is a mystery.
Ser’s Central Coast Cabernet Pffefer began with five days of cold soak with a small addition of sulphur . Indigenous yeast was used for the ten days of fermentation. This was followed by ten days of maceration before being pressed into barrels, of which 50% were neutral and 50% were new French oak. After three months, the wine was transferred to neutral oak for 14 months of barrel ageing. The blend is 76% Cabernet Pfeffer and 24% Cabernet Franc.
The wine starts with a bright, clear red cherry color in the glass, much like the Pinot Noir. But then we move on. The nose shows plenty of juicy fruit, like cherry Starburst candy (seriously) and hints of violets. Then come flavors of those same juicy cherries. Also, since Cab Pffefer is known for its spice and pepper, I was surprised on first trying it that those were subtle, at best. But after about two hours of air, it’s “Hello pepper!” settling on the back of the tongue. It is supported by good acidity, fine tannins that resemble those of Cabernet Sauvignon, and a medium, slightly bitter finish. The alcohol is 13.3%, and 220 cases were produced.
Ser Wirtz and Silletto Vineyards Cabernet Pfeffer 2015
As noted above, this varietal is quite rare in California, so it is remarkable that Walsh makes a second expression.
This wine was sourced 64% from the Wirz Vineyard and 36% from the Siletto Vineyard, both in San Benito County.
The Wirz vineyard is located in the CIenega Valley of the Gabilan Mountain range. The 95-year old-vines are dry farmed using organic methods in decomposed granite and limestone soils. The Siletto vineyard is located just East of the Wirz vineyard near Paicines in San Benito County. These 25-year-old vines live on gravelly-loam soil.
After harvest, the grapes were cold soaked for four days prior to primary fermentation. They saw five days of maceration post fermentation, then were pressed to neutral French oak puncheons, where they aged for 14 months prior to bottling.
Like the Central Coast offering, the wine starts with a bright, clear red cherry color in the glass, with a hint of brick. The moderate aroma is predominantly cola. This is followed by flavors of dark fruit, baked plum, tart cherry, and some more of that cola. Unlike the Central Coast wine, the pepper was quite subtle. There is good acidity and delicate but well-integrated tannins . The alcohol is 14%, and 230 cases were produced.
Ser Graciano Bokisch Vineyard 2018
This wine is all Graciano (aka Morrestel in France), a red-wine grape traditionally hailing from the Rioja and Navarra regions of Spain. The fruit was sourced from the Terra Alta vineyard farmed by Bokisch Vineyards, a winery and grape grower located in the Clement Hills subdistrict of the Lodi AVA. Grown on Redding gravelly clay loam, the vines are roughly 19 years old. Markus Bokisch named this property “Terra Alta” because it reminded him of the wine region near his home town in the Catalunya region of Spain. The vineyard is Certified Organic by CCOF and Certified Green by the Lodi Rules Program.
After fermentation in one-ton bins, the wine was pressed to neutral French oak puncheons and aged for 16 months. It pours a transparent purple, with mouth-watering aromas of red and black fruit. On the palate, this is predominately cherries and red berries, with a bit of white pepper spice. It has a medium body, not unlike a Pinot Noir. It is supported by good tannins that offer up just a hint of bitterness. Walsh made 70 cases, and the ABV is 13.4%.
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Waipapa Bay Rosé
