Thinking-Drinking
  • Blog
  • Erin
  • Index
  • Articles
  • News
  • Contact

Chardonnay in Virginia & Beyond... 

7/12/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Click here to read my latest article for Knife & Fork magazine about chardonnay in Virginia. 

0 Comments

A Journey Through California's Wine History

7/11/2016

11 Comments

 
This post outlines Erin's journey from a Rhone Rangers Professional Study Travel Grant, awarded by the James Beard Foundation. To learn more about this scholarship, or to apply yourself, visit the James Beard Foundation's page that details their Scholarships and Grants. 

I just returned from an incredible journey through California, visiting several producers who focus specifically on Rhone varieties. The journey began in southern California and ended in the Sierra Nevada Foothills. As the trip progressed, it became clear that this was more than just a wine trip up California's coast... this was a journey through time that began with some of California's newest vineyards, and ended with some of its oldest. So, this post will start at the end of the trip, which was a beginning for Rhone varieties in California. 

The Gold Rush and Rhone Varieties in the Sierra Foothills

Picture
Placerville (June 2016)
Placerville is a fitting place to start. Once known as 'Hangtown' for the town's fierce justice and frequent hangings, this place served as a major hub during California's gold rush. There is even a (creepy) commemorative hanging man that marks the spot of the historic Hangman's Tree (not pictured here for your sake). 
Picture
Facade of the Historic Cary House Hotel (known by locals as the 'Scary House'), across the street from the Hangman's Tree.
Though much of California's deep wine history points to missionaries and sacramental wine, a whole other chapter can be found in the Gold Rush days. The influx of miners from around the world led to the pop up of many towns and, indirectly, the infrastructure of civilization, such as food and beverage production. Miners needed something to drink. 
Picture
The Skinner Family at Their Wine & Spirits Facility - mid 1800s - this photo hangs in the Skinner tasting room
<--That's where James Skinner came in. He moved from Scotland to Massachusetts in 1842, then headed west to California, seeking his fortune. He made it to Coloma (the site of the original big gold strike), but went instead to the Sierra foothills, ending up in a town called Rescue. Skinner set up a ranch along the Pony Express trail, planted grapes, and started making wine and brandy. 

Skinner's contribution to early California wine may have been lost had it not been for his ancestors discovering their connection to him by chance. They set up a new Skinner winery-- Skinner Vineyards--a short drive from the 1800s location, and planted many of the grapes James Skinner worked with, including grenache, carignane, and petit bouschet (fittingly-- the 'Skinner clone' of petit bouschet). 


Picture
Commemorating the past, an old basket press and a transplanted century-old mission vine stand out front today's tasting room...
Picture
The original Skinner vineyards are no longer in existence, but the new plantings by a later generation pay homage to James' Skinner's vision. 

Lodi's Bechtold Vineyard

Head to Lodi, and you'll find one of the most interesting vineyards in all of California: The Bechthold Vineyard, originally planted in 1886. Here, gnarly old cinsault vines stand sentinel and make some of the most interesting wine in California. 
Picture
Picture

Geyserville's Treasure Trove of Old Vines.... 

Geyserville is home to a wealth of old vines that, like the Bechthold vineyard, trace their history back to the 1880s. 
PictureWill Thomas, Viticulturist for Ridge, at the 'Old Patch'
As I asked around about some of the older vineyards in the area, by happenstance I ran into Will Thomas, Viticulturist at Ridge, who pointed out some of the older vines in Whitton Ranch's 'Old Patch.' 

For a wine geek, this enthralling plot of ancient vines is where you want to be. It was incredible to stand among vines that are older than my great grandparents. After all, what other agricultural product can service four generations over the course of its life cycle? Being around vines this old sparks a true communion with the past. Planted as a field blend in the 1880s, this patch is predominantly zinfandel, with other Rhone varieties mixed in, such as grenache, syrah, and carignane.

​

Several other California vineyards planted in this era are composed of similar field-blend ratios: zinfandel predominance, with a blend of Rhone varieties backing it all up. This Fin de Siecle field blend 'recipe' that mixes grape material from the Rhone valley, with zinfandel cuttings likely from Italy or Croatia, mirror the melting pot of international communities living in California after the Gold Rush. 
Picture
Whitton Ranch 'Old Patch' Grenache Vine Planted in Late-1800s, photo June 2016

Old Vines at Lytton Springs

A 5 minute drive from Whitton Ranch will bring you to Lytton Springs. Here, century+ vines planted just a short while after Whitton Ranch's 'Old Patch' went in the ground, continue to produce delectable fruit. . 
Picture

Picture
Lytton Springs Vineyard at Ridge

​<-- Just outside of the Ridge facility in Lytton Springs, a mixed vineyard is giving up some old secrets. A few mystery vines have recently been DNA tested, and some of the oldest pinot noir in the region (dating to 1901) grows in this vineyard. 

An Ancient French Grape in Paso Robles 

Though Paso Robles' wine history dates back to the late 18th Century, Prohibition cut short over a century of wine momentum. A new generation of wineries emerged with renewed strength in the 1990s, and today several producers are looking to the past to build a future.

At Tablas Creek, a deep focus on Rhone varieties has been the winery's mission. A recently-released 100% terret noir wine caught my attention. Tablas Creek orchestrated bringing the grape to the US, and it's a unique offering for both its rarity and its flavor profile. 

The Tablas Creek terret noir wine parallels the wine heritage of Paso Robles-- both experienced a surge of popularity in the late 19th century (terret noir was heavily planted in southern France in the 1850s). The ancient terret grape and the once-stalled wine region of Paso Robles both have a "new" story to tell, despite their deep ties to the past.
Picture
Vineyard and Solar Panel at Tablas Creek
Picture

The first bottling of Tablas Creek terret noir was released in 2013. This 2014 Tablas Creek terret noir is their second bottling. 

The wine is delightful-- it's light and refreshing, with complex overtones of floral aromas and hints of earthiness. To contextualize it, it reminds me so much of Jura poulsard. If there were more of it, this would be a fantastic wine for restaurants, because it has that unique ability to pair with meats, vegetables, and fish-- it can unite a table of different a la carte choices. 

Living History in Santa Barbara Country

As you travel farther south, the oldest vineyards get younger and younger. 

The oldest living syrah in Santa Barbara County can be found at Zaca Mesa. The Black Bear Block, planted in 1978, is a testament to the local wildlife you might find wandering through the block (in addition to bobcats, cougars, and wild pigs, oh my!).  

Today, Santa Barbara Country is well known for great syrah. This vineyard helped set all that into motion with the Zaca Mesa bottlings in the early 1980s. 

Picture
Dane Campbell at Zaca Mesa
Picture
1978 Black Bear vines to the left, and newer "Baby Bear" vines to the right. The Baby Bear vines were planted from Black Bear cuttings.
Picture
Black Bear Block at Zaca Mesa (planted 1978)
Picture
The wild sage growing throughout the mountains and around Black Bear Block may contribute to the fragrant herbal notes in the wine.

A Jewel in the Santa Maria Valley

Two of the first winemakers to work with the Black Bear fruit were Jim Clendenen (Au Bon Climat) and Bob Lindquist (Qupe), who worked together at Zaca Mesa before founding their own labels. Today, they work with fruit at Bien Nacido in the Santa Maria Valley. As two bellwether producers for the larger Santa Barbara Country, Clendenen and Lindquist have written (an continue to write) an important chapter for California wine. 

When you arrive at Bien Nacido, you unmistakably enter a special place. To get here, a long, hot, semi-flat drive suddenly opens up into a Brigadoon-like valley, with round mountains that rise up around a valley that winds through a lush paradise of vines that spill down the hillsides to the mixed crops below that push up from the valley floor. 
Picture
Bien Nacido
Picture
Storied Syrah from Bien Nacido
Picture
The unofficial guard of the valley, White Rock stands sentinel at an opening to the farm

New Ground in Santa Barbara ​



​A second generation of Santa Barbara winemakers has taken root among the founders. 

One of the movers and shakers over the last few years has been Stolpman Vineyards in the Ballard Canyon AVA, an AVA established in 2013, with a deep commitment to syrah from the outset. 

Picture
A new, high-density vineyard at Stolpman
Picture
Stolpman Estate





The Stolpman family, along with winemaker Sashi Moorman and vineyard manager Ruben Solorzano have a unique perspective on wine. They aren't afraid to take risks or experiment, and because they push limits with vine density, yields, farming methods, and dry farming, the wines are exciting to taste. 
At Stolpman, you'll find some unique viticulture. 

This syrah vineyard is planted using the layering technique -->

It's an age-old method (possibly the oldest technique?) of propagating a vineyard. Plant material is stretched out, laid on the ground, and when new roots sprout, a new plant is established. At first, the new plant benefits from its connection to the root system of the mother plant, but over time it builds up its own strength.

Layering growth is exponential-- the first few years are slow going, but things pick up once you gain a critical mass of vines. 

As with any own-rooted vines, you risk phylloxera exposure, but ultimately, having a vineyard like this for comparison with other vineyards might answer the question: is there a quality difference in the wine between young vineyards planted by cuttings, and young vineyards planted by layering?
Picture
A Stolpman vineyard planted by using the layering technique -- a fascinating example of a newer winery using ancient techniques.

California: South to North is a Journey into Historic Vineyards

Juxtaposing the vineyards in the south against the old vineyards in the north, you'll find great differences in age. The producers in the north who work with the old vines shepherd the established vineyards through the season and work with a framework handed down to them from the past. The producers in the south are building such a framework that will hopefully, one day, be the future of Santa Barbara Country wine. 
Picture
Stolpman's Brand New Vineyard in Southern California (Ballard Canyon AVA)
Picture
Whitton Ranch's 'Old Patch' Grenache, Dating to the late 1800s
11 Comments

Qupé (Santa Maria, California)

7/6/2016

7 Comments

 
Picture
view of Bien Nacido from above
During the summer of 2016 I drove from LA to San Francisco to learn about Rhone varieties in California. A visit to Qupé was, of course, an important stop on the journey. 

The drive north to Qupé from Solvang was hot and dry, but after turning off the main road, signs of life sprang up. Two expanses of lettuce fields wallpapered each side of the pavement. In this area, grapes, lettuces, and berries are the bedrock of the economy.  

To get to the winery, you must drive over a cement bridge to get across the "river," which at this time was really a dry bed-- a testament to the 3 drought years prior. (But recently there has been a trickle!)

A building in the distance bustled with industry as barrels moved on the crush pad, receiving their cleaning in anticipation of the fast-approaching harvest. 

​It was almost time for lunch at the winery, a Qupé ritual. 

Picture
lettuce fields on the road to Qupé
In 1989, Bob Lindquist (Qupé founder) and Jim Clendenen (Au Bon Climat founder) teamed up and built a joint winery. The facility is large enough for both of them, and it's segmented into different sections. Everyday, the teams of both wineries gather together, make lunch, and discuss the day. The usually taste a few wines, too, and explore their merits and faults along the way. This daily exchange and wine tasting seems a vital and invaluable exercise in cultivating the culture within this winery.  
Picture
The Lunch Table
Picture
Bien Nacido
Picture
White Rock
A series of vineyards meanders through the valley, and you'll find several grape varieties including syrah. Many locals point to syrah from here as benchmark California syrah. 
The twin winery set-up is a unique one, but it works for Bob & Jim.

As a testament to their long friendship, if you look up in the winery, in the space where a transom would be,  you'll see a few photos-- one is a picture of the two from decades ago, and the other is recent picture. 

Two wineries, uniquely intertwined, helped start an incredible wine movement in the Santa Barbara area. 
7 Comments
    Picture
    _

    Erin

    I’m Erin, and this is my wine blog. Here, you'll find information about wines from around the world, and Virginia.  



    Top Posts

    Elizabeth Bird
    Sommelier History
    Stars & Terroir
    Dry German Wine
    1962 NYC Wine List

      Want to subscribe?

    Submit

    Archives

    March 2024
    February 2023
    December 2021
    May 2021
    June 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    January 2016
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011

    RSS Feed

    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.