We had arranged a Virtual Happy Hour/Birthday Party last week with friends — his birthday fell on a weekday this year, so we opted to gather on the Saturday following his big day — and I decided to toast him with a sparkling wine.
Which wine, however, was the question. It’s a commandment around the BrockShah household that at least two bottles of sparkling — Champagne, Sekt, Lambrusco, Cava, or another variety of bubbly wine —be chilled and ready to serve at all times.
On that auspicious Saturday, I had the following bottles from which to choose: a Riesling Sekt from Loosen Bros., a 2011 DVX from Mumm, a Lambrusco from Cleto Chiarli, a non-vintage Billecart-Salmon Rosé, and a Monfort Rosé from Cantine Monfort. I chose the latter bottle, and we celebrated our friend’s birthday in Italian style.
Trentino, in the countrys’ far north, is the home of Monfort, and Trento DOC is an appellation about which you should know more (if you don’t already). The sparkling wines made there are of great value, and the producers are fine practitioners of the metodo classico.
The Monfort Trentodoc sparkling we drank possessed a beautiful pale-salmon hue in the stem. Perlage was distinct, fine, lively, and vigorous. We drank it with Goldfish, and loved the pairing. You will note appealing aromas of wild strawberry and citrus; hints of toast and nuttiness are the flavor profiles.
This Rosé is 50 percent Chardonnay and 50 percent Noir, and alcohol comes in at 12.5 percent. Residual sugar, you ask? That would be 8 grams per liter, decidedly dry. Look for this wine at the $30 price point.
How’s your summer going? Is it summer? Judging by most of the conversations I’m having, it’s a summer like no other … I do not count among my friends or acquaintances anyone who remembers the global pandemic of 1918-1919.
As usual, I’ve been tasting a lot of wines, for review purposes and otherwise, and every time I sit down to write about them, I hear a voice in my head saying something along these lines: “Wine? You are writing about wine? The world is falling apart, the alleged leader of the U.S. performing on par with the leaders of Russia, India, and Brazil, a pandemic is killing hundreds of thousands of your fellow citizens, and you are extolling the wonders of Riesling?”
I listen to the voice, and I know it has a great point. “I am writing about wine, I respond to the voice, but I am also working on a piece that will attempt to lay out my emotions and thoughts about the chaos and dysfunction we are all experiencing.” The voice grows quiet, for a moment …
Yesterday, I published Wine Talk, this one featuring Bibiana González Rave, and today I’m going to sample one of her wines, a Syrah. She makes a Sauvignon Blanc that I wish everyone could taste. Get to know her, and buy some of her wines.
My Summer Wine Guide was published last week, at PaperCitymag.com. It is a selection of bottles I love, wines from, among other places, Italy and Oregon and California and Germany. Give it a read here.
I love to talk about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.
In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I meet as I make my way around the world, individuals who love wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. You’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well.
Bibiana González Rave is a complex individual.
She learned how to make wine while attending university in France (the Lycée de L’Oisellerie in Angoulême and the University of Bordeaux); developed her skills in Cognac (Lycée Agricole de L’Oisellerie), Burgundy (Domaine Devevey), Bordeaux (Château La Dominique, Château Haut-Brion, and Château La Mission Haut-Brion), and Côte-Rôtie (Domaine Michelle & Stéphane Ogier and Domaine Clusel-Roch), and Alsace (Domaine Scheidecker); in a particularly hectic three-year period worked six harvests; has a degree in chemistry, earned in her hometown of Medellín, Colombia; and is married to a fellow winemaker, Jeff Pisoni, with whom she makes wine under the Shared Notes label.
Did I mention that Rave, who resides in Santa Rosa, owns Cattleya Wines and Alma de Cattleya? She does, and the wines she is making at both operations are worthy of attention — the former brand encompasses her high-end offerings, while the latter comprises her entry-level range, including one of the best Sauvignon Blancs ($22) I’ve tasted in a long while. (I forgot to tell you that she was the San Francisco Chronicle Winemaker of the Year in 2015.) As I said, Rave, the mother of two sons, is complex, busy, and a great winemaker.
This Sauvignon Blanc is now on my always-have-on-hand list.
Rave’s journey took her to California in 2004, when she moved to Sonoma and began immersing herself in the Golden State wine world. She took positions at Qupé, Peay Vineyards, Au Bon Climat, Lynmar Estate (where she was winemaker from 2009 through early 2012), and Pahlmeyer, among others. She founded Cattleya — name after the national flower of her homeland — in 2012, and launched Alma de Cattleya in 2015.
Several weeks ago, I participated in an informative and fun virtual tasting with Rave, which marked the occasion on which I met her. The session also included her husband, Jeff, and Mark Pisoni, Jeff’s brother, who is vineyard manager at Pisoni Estate. We tasted the 2019 Alma de Cattleya Rosé of Pinot Noir, the 2019 Sonoma County Alma de Cattleya Sauvignon Blanc, the 2018 Lucia Vineyards Sonoma County Chardonnay, and the 2018 Santa Lucia Highlands Lucia Pinot Noir (the latter two made by Jeff Pisoni), all off which are drinking well.
While I much prefer in-person meetings and conversations, this long-distance talk demonstrated more than clearly that Rave is a passionate perfectionist when it comes to making wine. When I mentioned to her that I noticed a slight haziness in the sample bottle of Sauvignon Blanc I had received, she responded with what approached alarm, apologizing profusely. A few days later, she sent an email explicating the haziness, which had to do with temperatures during shipping. I like drinking wines made by such people.
I look forward to meeting Rave and her husband in person, but until then, sampling her wines, including a 2017 Syrah that I cannot wait to open, must suffice. (Reviews to come soon.)
Here is Rave’s Wine Talk.
James Brock: Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile? How about a food pairing for each one?
BR: First, the 2019 Alma de Cattleya Sauvignon Blanc. I love making Sauvignon Blanc wines, and the weather right now is just perfect for it. This summer we’ve been cooking a lot of fish with roasted vegetables, and the Alma has been a staple for the season.
Next, the 2019 Lucy Rosé. I am a big fan of my husband’s rosé of Pinot Noir — unbiased, I promise! It’s made entirely with estate fruit, farmed sustainably, and just overdelivers on quality for the price. This rosé is so flexible with food pairings, or simply an apéritif all by itself.
Finally, the 2018 Château de Saint Cosme – Côtes du Rhône. It is the entry-level wine produced by this property, but a great wine that should be perfect for outdoor dining, BBQs, light salads, pizza-to-go, etc.
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why?
BR: I am a huge fan of Chatêau Haut-Brion, and their Bordeaux Blanc is far out of my budget. If cost was not a consideration, I would have every single vintage of that wine. I gained a very special appreciation for their wines when I worked there during the 2003 vintage. I attended the University of Bordeaux and had the opportunity to do my thesis research with them. I was able to spend six months working with an extraordinary team focused on excellence — and some of the best fruit I have ever tasted from a vine.
I know the wines are ultra-expensive, so it is hard to talk about a brand that very few people taste . However, working there day to day, you learn why those wines have mystique surrounding them. Their focus on crafting wine is remarkable. I wish I could have a vertical of all their wines going back to 1945, red and white.
Rave, a native of Colombia who knew from an early age that she wanted to make wine, moved to France and learned to do so.
JB: What is your favorite grape, and why?
BR: I would say it is very hard for me to have a favorite grape, especially because I love working with all the different varietals for my three different brands, but if I have to choose one that I am very passionate about, I would say Syrah.
I find myself saddened by the bad reputation (or lack of appreciation for) of Syrah from California, while someone may feel fine buying a $500 bottle of Guigal or Domaine Stéphane Ogier from Côte-Rôtie (both totally worth that price, especially the Ogier wines). (Full disclosure: Ogier is one of my dearest friends from my time in France.) I think Syrah’s quality in the United State has increased tremendously, mostly from small family estates that continue to put a lot of care into and focus on the making of those wines, such as Alban Vineyards, Dehlinger, Pisoni Vineyards, Peay, and Donelan, among others.
I certainly put a lot of attention to my Syrahs. I used my most expensive barrels on my Cattleya from the Soberanes Vineyard and treat the wine the same way I would treat, for example, a Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. I tend to do very slow fermentations for a long period of time in tank, then age in barrel between 15 and 24 months.
JB: How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day?
BR: The 2018 Cattleya The Initiation Syrah from the Soberanes Vineyard in Santa Lucia Highlands. I just tasted that wine today before pulling out of barrel for bottling. I decided for this specific vintage to leave the wine in barrel for 22 months. I loved what that extra aging did for the wine. It is a 100 percent French new oak barrel-aging, and the wine is just delicious. It will be about 85 cases total production only, but I do believe the wine is going to reach a beautiful point in 10 years from now. I was so excited about the taste of the wine that I called my grower to tell him how beautiful it was tasting, and of course, to thank him for his hard work. (He happens to be my brother-in-law, Mark Pisoni.)
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle?
BR: If we have time to escape for a date, I love to go to San Francisco. The city is a place where my husband, Jeff, and I love to go for special meals. There are just so many remarkable wine lists that have everything you want. We love finding white Burgundy gems on wine lists, from small producers that always excel at their craft and Rhône Valley wines with some age on them. Boulevard Restaurant is one of these spots I have always loved, for food and wine. Their list is phenomenal.
Locally, we enjoy going to a great restaurant called Bird & The Bottle. They have a lot of great dishes and my kids are big fans of their sliders. They also carry the Alma de Cattleya Sauvignon Blanc by the glass, so that often becomes our selection for lunch or dinner.
Rave, whose wines I want more people to know about and taste, holds Syrah in high esteem.
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
BR: Purity. I believe that even when consumers tell me that they don’t know about wine, or that they are not wine connoisseurs, our bodies always can sense purity in food and wine. So, when you find wines that are intense on the aromatics and with a refined texture, with volume and velvety tannins, then you have found something special.
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
BR: 1994 Domaine Romanée Conti, La Tâche
I tasted that wine in 2004, just before departing France to come to California for my first harvest in the United States. The wine already had 20 years of age, and it was just brilliant. I was speechless, having one of those moments you rarely get with wine, when the world disappears around you and all you hear, think, and see is the image of the wine going through the process of being smelled, tasted and consumed. It was the first time I drank Pinot Noir that made me want to produce wines from that varietal, and here we go. California became that place for me.
JB:What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?
BR: The way I got accepted into my first school in France was both pivotal for my career, and very strange in the way it happened. All my initial mailed enrollment applications from Colombia were rejected (11 of them, since I wrote to all 11 schools in France that focus on the BTS of Viticulture and Enology), so I decided to just visit the schools in person. When I arrived at the first school, near Cognac, I met with the school’s principal. He spoke only French, and I spoke only Spanish —yet, somehow, we carried on a conversation for more than an hour!
When he said “Tractor” I was very excited, because Tractor sounds the same in French and Spanish. At the end of our conversation I left convinced that The Lycée of L’Oisellerie would become my new school for the first few years of my education in France. A month later I got a call and the confirmation that I was enrolled in the program I never knew for sure how it worked, but I assumed it was my passion and persistence that convinced him, that and the belief that it was just meant to be.
It’s all about Sancerre …
JB: What is your favorite wine reference in a work of literature or a film?
BR: Sancerre in the book “Fifty Shades of Gray.” I heard from so many people that Sancerre has become their favorite wine after they read the book or watched the movie. Cool to see that Sauvignon Blanc could become popular after being referenced that way.
I love to talk about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.
In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I meet as I make my way around the world, individuals who love wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. You’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well.
I was waiting on Michael Kennedy at the bar. I had tasted his wines the week before, and was looking forward to meeting him in person. Email correspondence had given me a good idea of the man — thorough, enthusiastic, intelligent — and I’m always happy when my initial assessment is verified. In Kennedy’s case, I was correct.
He had come to Houston to sell his wine, which I was representing with Monopole Wines. Component is Kennedy’s label, and wines bearing the name hail from Napa and Bordeaux. He and his partners have three lieux-dits (left and right banks) in Bordeaux from which they source fruit (Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon), and in Napa they have made wines with grapes grown in the Yount Mill Vineyard (Semillon), the Caldwell Vineyard (Cabernet Franc), and on Pritchard Hill (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot).
Lunch was a glass of wine and a croquet madame, paired with lots of conversation, and afterward, I was convinced that Kennedy was someone I would be glad to know. We visited a few restaurants, and a country club or two, and sold some wine. We had dinner that evening, at Tony’s, joined by a few people Kennedy had met on Grand Cayman — he was a sommelier at Blue by Eric Ripert at the Ritz-Carlton — and the conversation continued (and continues).
Kennedy’s career includes serving as the beverage director at the Cayman Cookout, and his first vintage at Component was 2013. If you haven’t tasted what he is making, you will be in for a pleasant experience. I look forward to again sharing a table with him after the pandemic’s demise allows such pleasures.
Here is Kennedy in Wine Talk:
James Brock: Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile? How about a food pairing for each one?
Michael Kennedy: In our portfolio, I have really been loving our Sémillon this summer. It’s über fresh, with a bit of saltiness — perfect with raw oysters or other beach foods like ceviche. I have also been drinking quite a bit of our 2017 reds from Bordeaux. It’s a “fresh” vintage, so that means they’re drinking well young. Unlike in 2016, where our wines were austere and serious, the ’17 allows for some immediate pleasure out of the bottle. Strange, of course, to say young Bordeaux at this price point is drinking well, but I love vibrancy and acidity, which it delivers.
I am drinking these wines with summer meats — meaning pork tenderloin, crispy-skin chicken — especially if prepared simply on the grill, perhaps with some herbal friends like grilled rosemary. This will really trigger the herbacious qualities of the wine, while allowing the juicy acidity to play well with mid-weight meats. (2018 Component Semillon, Yount Mill Vineyard, Napa $68 a bottle, 2017 Component La Carrière Cabernet Franc, Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux $170 a bottle.)
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why?
MK: If cost was no matter … I’d love to have a cellar full of Château Lafleur. I truly have not had an experience quite like I had visiting the estate and learning from their winemaking team. The wine is so light, almost hard to believe it comes from Bordeaux, but what it doesn’t have is where I fall in love. It replaces weight with flowery elegance and toys with your mind. At one moment, the wine is intense, in the very next it is subtle. Alternatively, I’d love to acquire all of the old American Zinfandels out there — the classics from Ravenswood, Ridge, Swan — even further back from Martini and others. This varietal is so underappreciated — in fact, I like it that way.
JB: What is your favorite grape, and why?
MK: I wish I was cool enough to say something like Palomino or even Chenin Blanc, but I have to say the white wine I drink most at home is Chardonnay. I am a sucker for Bourgogne Blanc. Benjamin Leroux described it as the “red wine of white wines,” and that’s true. It can be so complex — texturally, aromatically — and confounding as well. If there’s another varietal I love, it’s Cabernet Franc — the feminine to the masculine Cabernet Sauvignon.
Component has roots in Bordeaux and Napa.
JB: How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day?
MK: Buy more American Zinfandel — something like Bedrock from a historic vineyard site (Monte Rosso, planted in 1886, is a good start). Not many people realize that some of the consistently oldest vines for commercial production are right here in the US. Plus, Zinfandel ages beautifully.
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle?
MK: All I want to do right now is go sailing with a bunch of friends and a cooler filled with entry-level white Burgundy, Vinho Verde, Muscadet and Pinot Grigio. Maybe next year …
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
MK: Wine is wine, you know? One of the coolest guys in the business is a man named Alessandro Masnaghetti. He’s an Italian mapmaker, and he said something that struck me recently in regard to “famous” winemakers. He talks about the phenomenon of “genuises” in winemaking being compared to Einstein or Dante — and the ridiculousness of this. One of those men discovered the theory of relativity, winemakers make wine for people to consume. I don’t know, I guess I just wish people would enjoy wine more — and stop “analytically tasting” wine. Just love what’s in your glass (but make sure it’s tasty).
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
MK: I feel like I’ve been talking a lot about Bordeaux, but, oh well. I have two moments, and both over a bottle of Bordeaux.
First, a 1996Château Montrose with my then-mentor, Allyson Gorsuch. We had worked a long tasting event and one of the benefactors of the event put out cases of wine from his cellar for us (the sommeliers working the event) to enjoy. I was just studying for my Certified Sommelier, and Gorsuch was studying for her Advanced. Everyone immediately took the Burgundy and Napa big shots, and we went with Montrose. It was in the “bret” days of the estate — and man was it awesome. We popped the bottle, sat down, and talked for two hours, watching the wine evolve. Over that conversation (which was arguably better than the wine), we saw this wine take a wild ride. It taught me about complexity.
The most important wine lesson I learned over a bottle of wine happened in 2012, when I had been given a bottle of 2005 Carruades de Lafite (the second wine of Lafite). I opened it with essentially the only wine collector I knew at the time. He had an excellent old-world cellar, and in an effort to prove to him that I knew something about wine (I had recently passed my Certified Sommelier) I googled everything on the internet I could find about the estate, the winemaker, the vintage, etc.
I opened the bottle and started babbling through everything I memorized earlier that day. This kind and experienced collector was so gracious; he listened and engaged sparingly. And when I ran out of information, it was a much quieter turn in the evening. After some time of silence, he started telling me things like, “This wine has really improved since I tasted it shortly after release five years ago,” and, “It reminds me of how the 1990 tasted at this stage,” and, “It seems to me that this wine will have a similar path of aging to the 1996”. It was in that moment that I realized I cannot “memorize” experience and that I should shut up, listen, and drink as many great wines as I can. To this day, I have to fight the urge to say too much, because I don’t want to miss something of meaning from someone more intelligent, experience, and generous than myself. (Although look how much I wrote here.)
JB:What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?
MK: Too many to mention. It’s an industry filled with characters! One of my favorites, though, is also one of my most embarrassing. I was 21, first month in the industry — straight out of college — and my brother’s friend who owns a really excellent distribution company invited us to a portfolio tasting. We of course decided to attend and loved every minute of walking around experiencing the different wines and producers.
It was all well and good until we walked up to the table of a top Italian winemaking family, hosted by the beautiful daughter of the founder. She was in a stunning white dress and had opened some of their family’s top red wines. There was even an older vintage in a large, wide-based decanter. I tasted through, somewhat starstruck about the wines, and when it came for her to pour us the older wine, I took a deep sip of it. My wonderful brother whispered a comment about her not being able to use the decanter well right as the wine hit my palate, and I sprayed the family’s rare red wine all over this woman in the white dress. I was mortified, and basically blacked out and ran away. I saw her years later from across the room at Food & Wine Classic in Aspen and immediately changed course to avoid her in the off chance she recognized me. So, yeah.
And it was good …
JB: What is your favorite wine reference in a work of literature or a film?
MK: I feel like there are plenty of deep and philosophical references out there, but I recently started looking at biblical wine references. I found a diagram of a wine press from Jesus’ times and then decided to see exactly how much wine Jesus made as his first miracle. Turns out, we know quite exactly how much wine: “Six stone water jars, containing 20-30 gallons each”. That’s about equal to 1 ton of grapes or two standard barrels, or 50 cases of wine. Man, I would have loved to have tasted that.
I love to talk about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.
In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I meet as I make my way around the world, individuals who love wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. You’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put me behind in meeting new people in person. Fellow writers, cooks and chefs, sommeliers, and, of course, winemakers. Aron Weinkauf (oh yes, he definitely has an appropriate family name!) is one of the individuals I look forward to meeting when next we are in Napa, and he’s the star of the latest Wine Talk.
Weinkauf is both vineyard manager and winemaker at the storied Spottswoode estate, whose team he joined in 2006 (as assistant winemaker). He is only the fifth head winemaker in Spottswoode’s history.
Weinkauf grew up in Nevada, where his family tended a vegetable garden (organic at that) and raised a variety of animals, including pigs, chickens, and horses. He went to school at Berry College, where he studied Spanish, a major that, though he did not know it at the time, put him on the road a career in wine.
During his junior and senior years at Berry, Weinkauf studied in Spain, where he learned to appreciate a glass of wine at meals. While working as a teacher after college, he volunteered at a winery in Nevada, and fell in love with the processes of growing grapes and making wine. Fresno State University was his next stop.
At the California school, Weinkauf, who was born in 1976, studied viticulture and enology, and he worked as an assistant winemaker at Ficklin Vineyards (which happens to be America’s oldest Port winery) while attending Fresno State. A stint at Paul Hobbs Winery was next.
And then came Spottswoode. Weinkauf oversees the estate’s 24 blocks, making some excellent Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc — if you have not had the pleasure of tasting these wines, do something to change that. He also makes a Syrah, from Sonoma County fruit.
Let’s see what Weinkauf has to say …
Aron Weinkauf with Panda and Cachou: Every estate needs a dog or two.
James Brock: Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile? How about a food pairing for each one?
Aron Weinkauf: First, if you can still find a 2012 Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc, try it. One doesn’t age Sauvignon Blanc that often, but I really love ours with a little age on it. They can be so nuanced and yet still so fresh and youthful. You can get current vintages and try them young and try and age one if you can. My wife makes a salad with grapefruit, lettuce, shallots, a mustard dressing, and then crab or abalone (or any fish/shellfish), that is pretty awesome with it.
Next, a Keller or Emmerich Knoll Riesling (Trocken) with some Thai or southeast-Asian stir fry.
Drink this wine, says Weinkauf: Good things come from Weingut Knoll. (Courtesy The Source)
You can get the above bottles online, or ask at your wine shop; the Spottswoode can be ordered directly from us.
I am very anxious to try a few more Priorat wines, too. I just had one and was amazed. The overripe, jammy versions of the 90’s seem to have made way for some really beautiful, balanced styles now. I want to see if that is true.
Finally, I would also get a bottle of the Spottswoode’s 2016 or 2014 Estate Cab. Both are exceptional vintages and in very good shape, in youthful places. The 2017 is also great, yet one is rewarded by drinking Cabernets with a little more age on them.
Weinkauf likes birth-year wines, and this one, from Heitz Cellar (1976), is on his list.
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why?
AW: I’m a big fan of birth-year wines. It’s so special to open up those bottles to celebrate with friends and loved ones. For myself, a ’76 Heitz Martha’s or Fay. 1977 Taylor’s Port for my wife. My brother’s and sister’s years are still around, too. I guess I’m lucky in that most are not considered amazing vintages in general, so hunting them can be more affordable.
Aron Weinkauf wants you to know the stories behind the wines you buy and drink, including those of the people who make it and the places from which it comes. (Courtesy Spottswoode)
JB: What is your favorite grape, and why?
AW: I would say Cabernet Sauvignon. I work with it, always getting to know it more, and love how it grows in the vineyard. It has a health, structure, and balance in the vineyard, and I see so many of its physical traits in the wines it becomes. We don’t always see how dynamic it can be, but it can be very much so, though always with a more tannic edge.
JB: How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day?
AW: Without a doubt I have to say Spottswoode Estate Cab. It’s from a special place, will age beautifully, and I’m proud of what we make.
Buy this, and let it age.
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside your home and workplace)?
AW: At one point in time I would have told you Willi’s Wine Bar in Santa Rosa. It burned in the Tubbs Fire of 2017, and I now have two young kids, so if not work or home, going out is probably only going to happen with family or at a friend’s … and now socially distanced. (Note: Willi’s Wine Bar reopened, in a new location, in 2019.)
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
AW: Now more than ever, I wish people would know the story behind anything they purchase. Who owns it, how it’s made, farming practices, the effort, labor, and passion that has or has not gone into what you’re buying. There are real people behind each — where we choose to spend our money is how we pick whom we are supporting.
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
AW: I was lucky enough to have studied in Spain. It was my first introduction to wine at the dinner table, and I loved it. I was lucky, too, that Spain makes some great wines and the people I was with would open good ones. Nothing collectible, just good table wine.
JB:What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?
AW: The making of the 2017 vintage wines. The heat spikes of 2017 were so extreme … we hadn’t seen anything like it, and every day brought something new and peculiar. And then to have the vintage punctuated by all of the fires … It was a wild ride for sure.
Jawohl, Herr Goethe, life is too short to drink bad wine. (Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, Goethe in der roemischen Campagna)
JB: What is your favorite wine reference in a work of literature or a film?
AW: There is a quote that I think Tony Soter mentioned to me, but many have heard it: “In winemaking we are all interventionalists, otherwise we’d be making vinegar.”
On a truer literary basis, I must admit, an immediate reference did not come to mind. So, I looked up a few things and followed those wormholes a bit.
From Goethe’s play Götz von Berlichingen: “Wine rejoices the heart of man and joy is the mother of all virtues. ”
And from Groucho Marx: “I shall drink no wine before its time! OK, it’s time!” (I know, a little cliché, but I did have to look this up quickly. )
I love to talk about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.
In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I meet as I make my way around the world, individuals who love wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. You’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well.
Molly Lonborg’s laughter is infectious, even experienced over a Zoom virtual tasting, which is how I was introduced to her last week. She’s the winemaker at Alta Colina, a Paso Robles-based estate “whose singular purpose is to grow superior Rhône-style wines.”
We tasted through several barrel samples on the chat, and a bottle sample of Alta Colina’s 2017 GSM. All were tasting well, and I was drinking quality, something that never fails to please me.
Lonborg came to Alta Colina in February of 2020, by way of Halter Ranch, whose team she joined in 2011 as lab manager and cellar assistant. She graduated from California Polytechnic State University in 2009, with a degree in earth sciences (with a concentration in wine and viticulture), and studied geology in New Zealand at the University of Otago. She was hand-picked by Bob Tillman, the founder and co-owner of the family-run Alta Colina, to succeed him as winemaker (Tillman is still a hands-on owner, and has the title of director of winemaking at the estate).
As you’ll read, Lonborg loves Grenache, and what she’s doing at Alta Colina with Rhône varietals is, based on my (thus far) limited tasting, exemplary. The bottle sample of the 2017 GSM we tasted was delicious, and the barrel samples caused me to write “get your hands on more of this producer’s bottles.”
I look forward to meeting Lonborg (and Tillman) in person, but until then, let’s see what she has to say in Wine Talk.
James Brock: Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile? How about a food pairing for each one?
Molly Lonborg: Our current technique at Alta Colina is for our red wines to undergo 22 months of barrel-aging and an additional year in bottle. We just released our 2017 reds and a couple of our whites. At the moment, my personal favorites are the 2017 GSM, the 2019 Grenache Blanc, and our 2019 Rose.
Alta Colina’s GSM: France-inspired Californian
Our 2017 GSM ($56) is a blend of 76 percent Grenache, 20 percent Syrah, and 4 percent Mourvèdre. This wine has a beautiful combination of fruit and rusticity. With Grenache in the driving seat there are notes of strawberry fruit, leather, and dried cranberry; the Syrah is providing some unctuousness and depth; and the Mourvèdre rounds it out with earthy notes and spice characteristics. I personally love to age Grenaches, as I think they are complex, and over time the flavors become more layered. So although this wine is drinking great right now, I think it has the potential to shine around 2028-2030. This is an extremely versatile wine and can pair beautifully with a wide range of foods, from hearty vegetable dishes to wild game.
I am also really enjoying our 2019 Grenache Blanc ($34). I love Grenache Blanc from Paso Robles. Over the years it seems that it has received a bit of a bad rep as being a flabby (low acid) white wine. However, I think a lot of that comes from the fact that it is a Rhone white varietal and historically the tank space was favored for red wines, resulting in whites that were often left too long on the vine prior to vinification.
Grenache Blanc is actually one of the few white grapes that is able to maintain acidity in our hot climate, while also having some body. Our Grenache Blanc is true to the varietal with notes of white flowers, honeydew melon, pear, and a great minerality. Most of our whites are fermented in barrel and aged for 18 months, but the Grenache Blanc is tank fermented and released after after months of aging in the tank, which makes it a fresh, ready-to-drink offering. This wine pairs well with summer salads and anything from the sea.
A sampling of Alta Colina’s production
My third wine is our 2019 Rose ($28). It is 100 percent Grenache, picked early and pressed whole-cluster prior to fermenting cool in the tank. This wine saw a few weeks of neutral oak, which adds some nice creamy notes to the predominant flavors of wild strawberries and guava. I love this wine with brunch, egg-based dishes, salmon, or vegetarian cuisine (Esther Mobley just wrote an article touting this wine’s ability to pair well with asparagus, a notoriously difficult vegetable to pair wine with due to the sulfur qualities in contains).
(Note: Alta Colina’s sales skew about 95 percent direct to consumer, so the best way to find these wines is through its website.)
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why?
ML: This is a tough question for me … there are so many really! Honestly, if someone said I could spend $500 to $1,000 on a bottle of wine, I would probably ask to take the money and spend it on a case or two from a bunch of different producers. I love to try out new, fun, unique offerings from the U.S. and around the world. I like to support small wineries that are preserving varietal characteristics in their wines.
However, if I were forced to buy one bottle it would probably be a 2016 Château Rayas. Although I have never been able to taste a Château Rayas I love Grenache and I have heard great things about the 2016 vintage in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
JB: What is your favorite grape, and why?
ML: Well, I kind of just gave it away, but Grenache is by far my favorite varietal. There are so many reasons why I love Grenache. It is such a versatile grape, it makes delicious Rose and red wine; it can be beautiful on its own, but also shines in blends. Because it is a medium-bodied wine it tends to not do well with new oak, as the intricacies of the varietal can easily be overpowered. It can be head-trained or trellised. It withstands virus in the vineyard well, and pairs well with a wide variety of foods. It is generally affordable, and has amazing red fruit characteristics like strawberry, cherry, cranberry, even watermelon and guava when used for a Rose.
I am also really excited that in 2020 we are going to continue a project that I started while working at Halter Ranch Vineyard by producing a carbonic Grenache at Alta Colina.
JB: How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day?
ML: Red-letter day, I love that! I would suggest two wines, our 2018 Model Citizen Roussanne (will be released this fall), as I love the way Roussanne ages, and our 2017 Ann’s Block Petite Sirah. These are both gorgeous wines that should drink well for 10 to 15 years.
Bob Tillman, Alta Colina’s founder and co-owner, sold the first bottle of Alta Colina-labeled wine in 2009.
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside your home and workplace)?
ML: Sadly, I don’t get out much these days (and not just because of COVID-19 times), because we have an 11-month-old that keeps us pretty busy. However, on the rare occasions we do get out we will usually head to 15C for a wide range of wines, Lone Madrone for burger Sunday and to enjoy some delicious wines crafted by the father-son duo of Neil and Jordan Collins (all fruit is sourced from dry-farmed vineyards, with minimal oak/additives), or we often frequent the Collins’ other establishment, Bristols Cider House.
Alta Colina’s tasting room is looking forward to a post-COVID-19 world.
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
ML: That if you think the wine is good, then it’s good. I waited tables for years, and people would always ask me if I thought a particular bottle was a good wine. My response was always, “It doesn’t matter what I think, if you like it then it’s a good wine.” I think people get wrapped up in the prestige of wine, what other people think, the price, the label, etc. At the end of the day, wine is a labor of love, and we do what we do in hopes that wherever you are when you open that bottle of wine that it makes you feel something and provides some happiness.
I met the Alta Colina team of Bob Tillman, Maggie Tillman, and Molly Lonborg at a virtual tasting in May.
The 2019 Syrah Block 8 barrel sample is confidently speaking of the vintage’s potential.
Lots of great Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre is growing at Alta Colina.
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
ML: That’s a bit hard to say. I didn’t grow up in a wine family, and I don’t think I can trace my interest back to one bottle or tasting. However, I began my interest in university. I studied earth science at Cal Poly and spent a lot of time in soil classes; after my freshman year I spent a year in New Zealand studying geology. Upon my return to Cal Poly, I discovered the wine and viticulture department. I quickly added a concentration in wine and viticulture to my curriculum. I began working in the industry thinking I would go into sustainable/organic vineyard work, but I ended up on a path that kept me in the winery.
There used to be a wine seminar called A7 that was created for industry members who loved Rhône wines. I remember the first one was at Law Estate, and there were two presentations by amazing women winemakers, Anne-Charlotte Mélia–Bachas of Font du Loup and Helen Keplinger of Keplinger wines. I had felt a bit of an odd (wo)man out in the wine industry, as it has been pretty male dominated, but after hearing these women talk I knew I was hooked and that I wanted to be a winemaker.
Font du Loup’s Anne-Charlotte Mélia-Bachas is in part responsible for Molly Lonberg’s winemaking career.
JB:What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?
ML: So many, how to choose just one … One of my favorite wine moments was discovering a gem of a wine that I had completely overlooked. The 2017 harvest was difficult for whites in Paso Robles because we had a lot of rain, which resulted in a lot of crop and canopy, but then, in the beginning of September, we had 10 days over 100 degrees, which caused a lot of the fruit to stall in ripening. At Halter Ranch we had some Picpoul Blanc that just never ripened; we kept letting it hang, thinking it might eventually ripen, but we ended up harvesting it in the beginning of November at 19 brix (typically we would harvest around 23 brix). We vinified it in tank and racked it clean to a topped-up tank, thinking we would sell it on the bulk market. I was tasting through tanks one day, and when I smelled this tank I was completely blown away. After tasting it I was hooked! We ended up bottling it on its own at 11.2 percent alcohol, and it was such a fun wine and a beautiful expression of the varietal.
However, by far the craziest wine incident in my career involved an intern that accidentally removed the wrong clamp, and the 3-inch bottom valve to a 10-ton fermenter that was filled with actively fermenting Syrah blew off and wine and grapes began to deluge everywhere. It took three of us to put all of our weight into covering the hole while someone else set up a sump and a pump and we pumped as much as we could into an empty tank. It took about 45 minutes for us to get the thing under control, and by the end we had lost quite a bit of wine and fruit and we were covered from head to toe in fermenting Syrah. Man oh man, I wish those were the days of iPhones and easily accessible cameras; sadly, there is no photo of the aftermath.
JB: What is your favorite wine reference in a work of literature or a film?
ML: I wish there were more to choose from. But probably my favorite wine reference is from The Jerk when Steve Martin is asked if he wants another bottle of Chateau Latour and he responds with, “Yes, but no more 1966. Let’s splurge! Bring us some fresh wine, the freshest you’ve got. This year’s. No more of this old stuff. He doesn’t realize he’s dealing with sophisticated people here!”
I love to talk about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.
In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I meet as I make my way around the world, individuals who love wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. You’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well.
Mumm Napa is a beautiful place. Back in 2003, I toured the winery on a warm, sunny afternoon, ending the day seated on a terrace outside, glass of sparkling in hand. Memories of France — and a day at Maison Mumm — came back to me as I drank and admired the view.
Back in late September (2019), I was scheduled for a return engagement at Mumm Napa, but had to cancel, to my regret. As soon as we are able to travel, the winery will be one of our first destinations. Until then, I’m sampling a few bottles I received — a Brut Prestige, a Brut Rosé, the 2013 DVX Rosé, and the 2011 DVX — and taking the time to research the history of Mumm … it’s a fascinating (German) story, so if you don’t know the house’s origins get reading. (And here’s a bit about Mumm Napa’s founding.)
Mumm Napa was completed in 1987.
I’ll have review of the sparkling wines soon, including a profile of Guy Devaux, the man responsible for Mumm Napa, so look for that, but in the meantime I’m featuring Tami Lotz in Wine Talk. She oversees winemaking at Mumm, and is engaging and opinionated, qualities I like.
Lotz, a Napa native, has a degree in enology and viticulture from U.C. Davis, and has spent time in Germany, Australia, and Chile (focused on wine, of course). She worked as an intern at Mumm after college, and returned to the Napa estate full time in 2003.
Let’s see what she has to say.
James Brock: Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile? How about a food pairing for each one?
Tami Lotz: I tend to drink a lot of sparkling wine, so, of course, I have a couple to recommend.
First, I’ve been really enjoying the Mumm Napa 2014 Blanc de Blancs Reserve. The blend is 82 percent Chardonnay and 18 percent Pinot Gris. I love the stone fruit and melon notes that the Pinot Gris contributes to the apple and citrus-dominant Chardonnay. It aged for almost four years on the yeast, so there’s a lot of toasty complexity in the wine. I think it will continue to age beautifully for another 5 to 10 years. My favorite pairing with this wine? Oysters! I love living close to the coast so we can drive out and pick up a few dozen to take home and savor. Retail price: $44
I’m always looking for new bubbles to try, and I recently came across a bottle from England, a Hattingley Valley Classic Reserve. I haven’t tasted a lot of English sparkling, and I was very impressed by the quality. The fruit was fresh, the acid bright, and the wine very balanced overall. I enjoyed that bottle with sushi, but I think a cheese board would also be nice. Retail price: $50
As you can probably imagine with my sparkling wine background, I’m a big fan of acid. I tend to seek out German wines because I love their acidity, minerality, and amazing aromatic expression. I recently opened a 2017 Juliusspital Würzburger Stein Silvaner Erste Lage trocken. It was gorgeous. The nose had a lot of pear and citrus, and the palate had a surprising amount of weight, with excellent minerality and a long finish. We went with traditional German fare that evening, and paired it with Weißwurst and Käsespätzle. Retail price: $35
Tami Lotz loves — as she should — Chardonnay.
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why?
TL:1979 Salon. It’s one of only 37 vintages they produced in the 20th century and happens to be my birth year.
JB: What is your favorite grape, and why?
TL: It’s hard to pick a favorite grape, just like it is to pick a favorite wine, but I’m especially enamored with Chardonnay from a sparkling wine standpoint. It provides acid backbone, elegance, and length to blends, and it is perfectly wonderful when in the spotlight as a Blanc de Blancs. It ages exceptionally well, and pairs with the foods I enjoy most.
JB:How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day?
TL: People don’t always realize how well sparkling wine can age. I would recommend the Mumm Napa 2006 DVX Extra Brut. After eight years on the yeast, this wine was in balance with very little dosage. It still shows youth in the bright fruit and acid, but offers so much complexity in the brioche notes contributed by the yeast. The palate shows a lot of weight and creaminess, and the finish seems to last forever. It will still be beautiful in another decade.
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside your home and workplace)?
TL: My go-to is the Oxbow Cheese and Wine Merchant in Napa. I love that they are constantly changing their list and bringing in new and interesting wines from all over the world. It’s a great place to catch up with friends and enjoy some wine and cheese. (Note: I miss the days of being able to experience the above. My current go-to place is the back patio next to the old orange tree, and our happy hours are virtual, but still very fun!)
A sparking named after a great winemaker.
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
TL: The one thing I can’t say enough is to drink what you like. I think that, too often, people drink what they think they “should” or what they think might impress someone. If we could all just take a moment and think about the wines that have made us smile, that made our day a little brighter, or that simply tasted good, and then go buy those wines, we’d be much happier wine drinkers.
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
TL: I remember my first year at U.C. Davis. I was an Animal Biology major, but decided to take an Intro to Winemaking class. I grew up in Napa, was working in restaurants to pay for school, and enjoyed tasting wine, but didn’t really know much about how it was made. When it struck me that making wine was a unique blend of art and science, and that it could be a career, I changed my major and never looked back.
JB:What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?
TL: A college classmate’s parents showed up with a bottle of dandelion wine for us to taste It’s still one of the most unique tasting experiences I’ve had.
JB: What is your favorite wine reference in a work of literature?
TL:Ernest Hemingway wrote that “Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing which may be purchased.” I would agree.
Virtual tastings: How many have you participated in during the past week? I’ve enjoyed several, including one a few days ago that featured a Chardonnay, a Syrah, and a Cabernet Sauvignon, all from California, from different producers, and all representing great value (look for a review soon).
COVID-19 has made this type of tasting a regular thing, and I am looking forward to taking part in more of them later this week, and well (who knows for how long?) into the future. Let me know how yours are going.
Today, I want to tell you about a 2016 Merlot, from Gundlach Bundschu, an estate that traces its founding to 1858, when a Bavarian, Jacob Gundlach, purchased 400 acres in Sonoma, an expanse he named Rhinefarm. He then returned to Germany, married Eva, and the couple traveled in their homeland and France on their honeymoon, during which Jacob bought the rootstock he planted on the farm. The following year, 1859, Jacob and his three partners established 60,000 vines on the property.
The 2016 Gundlach Bundschu Merlot is well worth its $35 price.
The sixth generation of the family is now in charge at Rhinefarm, led by Jeff Bundschu, who became president of the family-owned venture in 2001, when he was 33.
To the 2016 Merlot. It marked the 40th anniversary of the wine for Gundlach Bundschu (the first vintage was 1976), and here’s the rundown on the varietal composition: 82 percent Merlot, 9 percent Petit Verdot, and 9 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. It was aged for 17 months in 100 percent French oak (Nadalié), 40 percent new. Alcohol is 14.6 percent.
I opened this bottle one evening last week, and sampled it immediately. I was met with aromas of dark cherries, tobacco, earth, and mushroom, an entirely pleasant experience. The spice notes rang out in the mouth, along with mushroom, vanilla (slight), ripe cherry, and leather. Tannins here are rounded, relaxed. My next taste came 20 minutes later, and the time benefitted the wine’s balance.
Pairings? I had laid out a block of Gorgonzola earlier in the day, and it was perfect for this bottle. The main course that evening was lamb meatballs, and I cannot think of anything I’d enjoy more with this Merlot, which can be had for around $35 — it’s sold out at the winery, but is available at many merchants.
I love to talk about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.
In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I meet as I make my way around the world, individuals who love wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. You’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well.
James MacPhail was busy when we walked up to Grapewagon Custom Crush, his winemaking facility in Healdsburg, California. It was a beautiful harvest day, early October 2019. He and a crew were unloading a truck full of grapes that had just arrived, and they were in a hurry. I shook his hand in greeting, and he went back to the task at hand.
A bin of grapes await human hands at Grapewagon Custom Crush.
I was there to meet MacPhail (for the first time) and taste some of his Tongue Dancer wines — he and Kerry MacPhail, his partner and wife, launched the label in 2012. (Note: The brief wait for MacPhail to finish his work was well worth it, because there are some great wines being made in the well-designed facility.)
Grapewagon Custom Crush
MacPhail’s name is known far and wide in the wine world, for good reason. His touch with the Pinot Noir grape has been producing memorable results for a long time — his first “assistant” winemaking job started in 1999, and he launched MacPhail Family Wines, as head winemaker, with the 2001 vintage. (The Hess Collection purchased MacPhail Family Wines in 2011.)
MacPhail, in addition to Tongue Dancer, makes wine for, among others, Chronicle Wines, Grant Family Vineyard, Tipp Rambler, and Sangiacomo Wines. He has produced more than 130 Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays that have been awarded 90 points or more by critics and publications, a feat that has earned him a spot in the 90+/90+ Club in Sonoma County. Grapewagon Custom Crush counts among its clients Sangiacomo, Calafia Cellars, and Flaunt Wine Company. It’s a busy place.
Kerry and James Macphail, the team behind Tongue Dancer Wines.
After a quick tour of the crush facility, James took us upstairs, where we tasted a number of wines, including some excellent Pinots and Chardonnays. Kerry joined us and added to James’ stories — it was quickly obvious that she is more than an equal partner in all aspects of his life. They have a great thing going on.
Not long after I moved to Los Angeles, in November of 2019, I found a bottle of 2004 MacPhail Toulouse Vineyard Pinot Noir at a local merchant. I picked it up for about $30, and opened it a week or so later, to pair with a steak. Its color had faded a bit, but it was drinking wonderfully well.
This Pinot Noir made by James MacPhail, which I opened late in 2019, had aged well.
A wagon full of grapes …
MacPhail has many years of winemaking ahead of him, and for that we should all be glad, because he’s getting only better.
Let’s see what MacPhail has to say in Wine Talk:
James Brock: Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile? How about a food pairing for each one?
James MacPhail: There are a couple of wines right now that are singing. First, the 2017 8 Hand Fiano. It’s a beautiful domestic expression of the Italian grape. Comes from a vineyard out in the Dry Creek Valley. Beautiful nutty notes with white flowers and honeysuckle. Nice acidity, with a low impact of oak. Great wine to have chilled on these warmer days with fish dishes (halibut, ceviche, sushi), and light pastas (angel hair with prawns or pesto). I believe it sells for around $35 a bottle. (Note: If you want more information about 8 Hand, including ordering details, leave me a comment.)
Next, 2017 Sangiacomo Pinot Noir Roberts Road Vineyard, from one of my all-time favorite vineyards. I’ve been making wine from this vineyard since 2003 (13 years for MacPhail, four years now for Sangiacomo). This is a beautiful expression of bright red-fruit Pinot, with balanced oak and acidity, and a very enjoyable, fun, and thought-provoking Pinot. The vineyard sits in the Petaluma Gap, so with the cooler climate, fruit gets slightly tougher skins, resulting in a Pinot with a good backbone as well. Delicious. Best all-time pairing is Peking duck.
Finally, my 2015 Tongue Dancer Wines Chardonnay Bacigalupi Vineyard. From a rich vintage (last drought year), this Chardonnay is weighty, rich, opulent, and lush, yet still carries an elegant acidity that keeps it bright and refreshing … the best of both worlds. We are officially sold out of this, but have kept a small “stash” because it is such a gem. If anyone is interested, here’s the link: https://tonguedancerwines.com/library-wines. Since this is a ‘big’ Chardonnay, richer, creamy pasta dishes pair well (lobster and crab!). Also, grilled chicken.
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why?
JP: Pinot Noir. When I first began in this industry, I started out learning winemaking at Quivira Vineyards, a small, artisan producer in the Dry Creek Valley. They focused on their estate varietals — Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel — and some Rhone varietals — Grenache, Mourvedré and Syrah. Made a nice GSM. I spent about five-and-a-half years working there. I then went to work for Unti Vineyards, another small, artisan producer in the Dry Creek Valley, also focusing on their estate varietals, this time all Italian.
Over these years, I was always going home and drinking Pinot Noir. That was the grape varietal that resonated with me the most, had the most layers, and was the most thought-provoking. I feel that our winegrowing and winemaking industry really started to “figure out” Pinot here in California in the early to mid-1990’s — where it excelled, best winemaking practices, etc.
After my time at Unti, I decided to focus exclusively on Pinot Noir, and that is when I went to work for Gary Farrell. From that point on, I committed myself to Pinot. I told myself I wanted to learn one varietal and learn it well. Now, 20 years later …
JB:How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day?
JP: My wife, Kerry, and I have our own personal wine brand, Tongue Dancer Wines, that we started in 2012. We make only a limited production of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, from the best vineyard sites, artisan cooperages, and only small lots. One of the Pinots is from my favorite vineyard out on the “true” Sonoma Coast — Putnam Vineyard — about three miles off the Pacific Ocean. The site and winemaking lends itself to a wine that is very age-worthy. The way the first set of vintages has aged is very exciting. We call it the Pinot de Ville, and the label has a different classic vintage Cadillac with each vintage. In my opinion, it’s a Pinot that can go up against any other Pinot from California or Oregon!
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside your home and workplace)?
JP: Well, this is a hard one, because Kerry and I don’t really go out to drink; with so much wine in-house, we stay home! My favorite bar in town is Duke’s Spirited Cocktails. Great bar. However, when I am on the road, I seek out wine bars. I always like to patronize local establishments trying hard to educate and offer a diverse and interesting selection of wines.
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
JP: That’s simple: Try. Something. New.
James Brock and James MacPhail during a tasting at Grapewagon Custom Crush.
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
JP: Well, I never had an “Ah-Ha” moment. For me, it stemmed more from being around wine growing up, and being taught about wine. I grew up around a very European table, where food and wine went hand in hand. My parents would always have a bottle of wine with dinner, and teach my sister and me, from as early as I can remember, on special occasions with a shot glass of half wine and half water. So I think I got it in my blood.
I had an opportunity in my mid-20’s to change course in my life, and I chose to move to Healdsburg and learn how to make wine. It was already a hobby of mine. That was the biggest “Ah-Ha” moment, leaving a good corporate-paying job that was not making me happy, and packing my bags to move north, to make $10 an hour and be the happiest I had ever been, and feeling more whole because I was “crafting something” from the earth.
JB:What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?
JP: Through the hundreds of wines I have now made over my career, I would have to say that the strangest moment/incident is experiencing a wine that I thought was not my best, to having it turn out to be one of my favorites.
Case in point, the 2011 Oregon Roserock Vineyard Pinot Noir. Picked it on November 4, 2011, one of the latest picks dates in the history of Oregon. Only reason we picked it that day was because Oregon’s first major storm was coming the next day, and the window would then be closed. We picked at 21.5˚ Brix, much lower than I wanted, and much less “physiologically ripe” than I had hoped for. First and only wine I have ever chaptalized. Now, nine years later, one of my all-time favorites. The fruit still sings, the wine is perfectly balanced … really mind-blowing!
JB: What is your favorite wine reference in a work of literature?
JP: I really enjoyed Wine and War. An easy read, but a fascinating history of how the French hid their wines from the invading Germans. My favorite wine film, and don’t laugh, is A Good Year, with Russell Crowe. A bit cheesy, but the storyline is pretty dreamy. I would love to find out I had an uncle in Burgundy that left me his estate!
I am not the first person to advise that one should have at least one bottle of Champagne or sparkling wine in one’s refrigerator at all times. Even in periods — or perhaps especially in periods — of prolonged exposure to one’s home environment devoid of outside visitors, a bottle or two of bubbles at the ready is a must.
At the moment, I have a Cava and a sparkling wine from California in my ice box, chilling for a late-afternoon toast or a brunch of poached eggs and asparagus, the latter of which brings to my mind an anecdote conveyed by M.F.K. Fisher that took place on a train during a journey with her “kindly, urbane uncle”. She was 19 years old, and the exchange took place in the train’s restaurant car. Her uncle asks her if she would prefer a “a fresh mushroom omelet or one with wild asparagus.”
When she mumbles in “shy ignorance” that she doesn’t really care, he firmly reprimands her: “You should never say that again, dear girl. It is stupid, which you are not. It implies that the attentions of your host are basically wasted on you. So make up your mind, before you open your mouth. Let him believe, even if it is a lie, that you would infinitely prefer the exotic wild asparagus to the banal mushrooms, or vice versa. Let him feel that it matters to you … and even that he does!”
I would prefer the wild asparagus, and though it was not a wild bunch, asparagus is what I paired one day recently with a bottle of sparkling wine from England, Nyetimber’s Classic Cuvée. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier from the house’s vineyards and several vintages are in the elegant bottle, as is a great sparkling.
This traditional-method sparkling makes thoughtful gift, so buy a case, give six bottles to some lucky friends, and keep six for yourself. (Image courtesy Nyetimber)
The Nyetimber estate, located about an hour south of London, was mentioned in the Doomsday Book, and the first vines were planted there in 1988 — the aforementioned classic trio. Eric Heerema bought the estate in 2006, and Cherie Spriggs and Brad Greatrix have been the Nyetimber winemakers since 2007.
I chilled the bottle in an ice bucket for 15 minutes, and poured the sparkling into a Schott Zwiesel white wine stem. The wine’s bubbles were distinct and fine, and brioche and a touch of nutmeg are evident in the aroma. I had poached the asparagus in butter, and, after sprinkling it with salt and black pepper, ate a piece, following it with a sip of the wine. It was a delicious combination; the salt played well with the apple hints in the Nyetimber, and the asparagus’ acidity was lifted by the wine’s spice notes.
The estate puts a code on each bottle of Classic Cuvée that one can enter on the Nyetimber website and learn the particulars of the wine. For example, my bottle’s blend was 62 percent Chardonnay, 30 percent Pinot Noir, and 8 percent Pinot Meunier, with the following vintage blend: 2015 (80 percent); 2014 (9 percent); 2013 (3 percent); 2011 (3 percent); and 2009 (5 percent). It was bottled on March 13, 2016, carries a riddling date of August 12, 2019, and was disgorged on August 20, 2019. Don’t care to know all of that? Perfectly fine, the contents will be no less pleasurable.
The Classic Cuvée carries a suggested retail price of $55, and you can order it now (with free shipping) from the estate’s site.
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