The Pio Cesare winery was founded in 1881, by the man himself, Pio Cesare, in Alba. If you appreciate Barolos and Barbarescos, you certainly know the name. The fifth generation of the family is now involved in the business, and I am comfortable stating that —barring a climate catastrophe — the 10th generation of the family will one day make great wines under the label.
The family that makes wine together stays together …
I wrote Barolo and Barbaresco, but a few days ago I drank a Chardonnay from Pio Cesare, the 2016 Piodilei Langhe DOC. It’s a barrel-fermented wine from the Il Bricco vineyard in Treiso and the Colombaro vineyard in Serralunga d’Alba. The Il Bricco vines were planted in 1980 (the very first Chardonnay planting of the winery).
I loved this wine. It’s a serious Chardonnay, with an elegant, long finish. Apples cooked for three hours at low heat, wet speckled stones, flowering lime, almonds … those things and more struck me while drinking the Piodilei. A profound and refreshing creaminess is also evident.
A serious Chardonnay
This Chardonnay begins fermentation in stainless, then is moved to French oak for eight months. Six months of bottle-aging then follow. It represents what the family says is “our desire to produce a white wine with the same body, complexity, and aging potential of the great reds historically produced in the area.” They met their goal with this wine.
It comes with a $50 suggested retail price, and you can enjoy it now, or hold until 2022. I would happily pair the Piodilei with a mussel risotto.
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.
Another day, another Zoom Virtual Tasting … and an excellent one at that.
Joshua Maloney was the main attraction, along with wines from three brands for which he serves as consulting winemaker. They are highly enjoyable pours, and they represent great value. These are wines to purchase by the case and share with family and friends.
Here’s a rundown of what we tasted, after which we’ll get back to Maloney. (I’ll publish reviews of the wines on Mise en Place soon.)
Maloney, who has a degree in chemistry from Cornell, started out in the industry as an assistant winemaker at Heron Hill Winery, in New York’s Finger Lakes region. His next stop was Napa, and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, where he spent time as a lab technician and cellar worker. Estancia Estates was next — he was in charge of the Merlot program there — and in 2005, at 32, he moved on to Chateau Ste. Michelle, where his title was red winemaker.
Maloney has also added to his experience at Milbrandt Vineyards and Wahluke Wine Company, and boasts more than 100 90-plus scores (thus far) for his wines. In addition, he has a single-vineyard project that intrigues me: “Each year I will contract one acre of Cabernet Sauvignon from a grower and vineyard I respect. I will tailor the winemaking to accentuate the terroir of that site. I will document the winemaking here.”
Since 2016, Malony has worked as a consultant, and Aquilini Family Wines, the name behind the brands we tasted during the Zoom session, made a wise decision when it hired him. You can taste his experience in the bottle. Here is Maloney in Wine Talk:
James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?
Joshua Maloney: I’m embarrassed to admit this, but the pandemic hasn’t affected me adversely, either professionally or personally. I’ve been working remotely since 2016, when I started consulting exclusively, and that work has actually expanded considerably over the last year. As far as personal impact, I’ve been able to spend a lot more time with my daughters (12 and 14), which I’ve enjoyed immensely. Please don’t ask them how they feel about that. I’ve always been a homebody, so not being able to go out and socialize in person hasn’t bothered me that much. Quarantine hasn’t been too difficult for introverts like me, which hasn’t received much press, probably because we’re introverts.
JB:Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile?
JM: I’m knee deep in harvest right now, so I’m not actually drinking much wine. Partly because of the old adage that “it takes a lot of beer to make wine” — but mostly because I try not to drink too much during harvest — I frequently get calls or texts at 4 a.m. with issues that arise during picking and don’t need my judgment clouded from the night before.
However, like most winemakers, much of what I drink is wine made by colleagues. Recently, I had some Chenin Blanc from Pacific Rim that was really enjoyable, very dry and crisp to the point of being almost austere, with very lively aromatics. I also had a Roussanne from Goose Ridge that impressed me, very rich and lush on the palate with ripe fruit character on the nose. One wine that I made for Aquilini that I’m also enjoying at the moment is the Be Human Rosé of Cabernet Sauvignon. I really like how this incredibly powerful grape can make a Rosé that is very delicate and perfumed.
Manfred and Elaine Krankl, of Sine Qua Non and more. (Sine Qua Non photo)
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why?
JM: Probably something from Sine Qua Non … I’m not sure which one, though. I’ve always been a big fan of these wines, but also of the winemaker, Manfred Krankl. The wines are incredibly expressive and powerful, and his approach to winemaking has been an inspiration to me.
JB: What is your favorite grape, and why?
JM: Cabernet Sauvignon, hands down. This grape can produce wines in such a broad spectrum of qualities. They can be simultaneously powerful and elegant, with complexity and layers that show pronounced characteristics unique to both the vintage and the vineyard in which they were grown. I also like the fact that it takes a practiced hand to bring out these qualities and frame them in an enjoyable fashion. With other varieties, one can be accidentally successful with application of technique and produce an enjoyable wine, but that rarely happens with Cab. Discipline, study, and attention to detail are required to show the best of what this grape has to offered. It’s not a grape for the faint of heart.
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?
JM: Not a terribly specific answer, but any full-bodied red wine from Washington from the 2018 vintage would fit this bill. The 2018 reds are turning out to be some extraordinary wines with dense, rich tannins that will definitely allow them to age well.
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle? COVID-19 has put a crimp on going out, but pre-pandemic, where did you go?
JM: I don’t really have a go-to place outside my own home, especially in 2020. But before this year, it would be most common for me to have a glass (or more) of wine at a friend’s house.
Most of my friends are in the wine industry, many of them winemakers, and it’s very common when winemakers get together for them to open an obscene number of bottles of wine, take a taste or two of each, then set them aside. It may seem wasteful to many to end the night with a dozen or more open bottles that are more than half full, but for winemakers that’s not the case. Wine cannot be truly enjoyed until it’s opened (although a case could be made for the anticipation also being part of the enjoyment). And winemakers, perhaps more than most people, enjoy the experience of learning about a new wine most of all. So for us it’s not a waste, but an amazing gift to have another like-minded person with whom to share so many new experiences.
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
JM: It’s not as complicated as you think it is. There’s always been a lot of gatekeeping in the world of wine, but there are no right or wrong answers anymore. In fact, there never were. Drink what you like, how you like, and pair it with whatever food you like.
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
JM: Spring semester, my final year at Cornell (1995), Introduction to Wines class. A few weeks after the class started we got to the section on Burgundy, and the last wine we tasted was a 1959 Vosne-Romanée (sadly, I don’t remember the producer). I vividly remember having an emotional response to this wine, akin to chills up and down my spine. I had never had a reaction like that to food or drink before, but many times from music and art. I thought to myself, “If wine can make people feel this way I need to be a part of this world.”
JB: What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?
JM: I don’t think I’ve had many strange moments or incidents involving wine, but I did have a notable encounter that set me on my current path. After college, I was struggling to find an entrance into wine production and instead flirted with a few different careers. During that time my paternal grandmother died, and I traveled with my family back to Upstate New York for the funeral service. During the wake, I was chatting with lots of relatives and family friends. Many were asking me what I wanted to do with my new degree in chemistry, and I inevitably started talking about wine. It turns out that one of the friends at the service had a son-in-law who was the head winemaker at a winery in the Finger Lakes. He arranged an introduction, and a short time later I was offered an assistant winemaker job, and the rest is history.
JB: What is your favorite wine reference in a work of literature or in a film?
JM:“Reamde”, by Neal Stephenson, has a very quick, almost throwaway reference to a dry Riesling from Horse Heaven Hills. I was almost giddy when I read that, because I know the author lives in Seattle and was probably thinking of a specific wine when he wrote that, and chances are I know the wine (or at least know of it). It made me feel a personal connection to the author for a brief moment.
Nick and Adam Franscioni's great-grandfather came to California from Switzerland in 1886. You might have heard of their father, Gary, who began the family's wine adventure. (Richard Green Photo)
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.
One thing (among many) to which I am looking forward when we can venture forth and mingle with those outside of our quarantine pods is meeting in person some of the individuals I have met during Zoom virtual tastings and seminars. Adam and Nick Franscioni are two of those people.
The brothers — and sons of Gary and Rosella Franscioni — participated in a Santa Lucia Highlands AVA gathering and seminar (virtual) to which I was invited, and their enthusiasm and dedication appealed to me immediately.
Adam is the vineyard manager at ROAR — the Franscioni family’s label — and Nick holds the position of winery manager. Adam graduated from the University of San Diego, and joined the family business in 2011, while his brother has a degree from USC and, following a stint in the consulting world, began working at ROAR in 2017.
ROAR was founded by Gary and Rosella in 2001 (Scott Shapley has been their winemaker since 2012), and the wines the family produces — Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, Grenache, and Viognier — need to be on your radar screen and in your inventory.
After the SLH virtual seminar, I knew I wanted to feature Adam and Nick in Wine Talk, and here they are:
James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?
Nick Franscioni: Outside of our workplace, it completely shut down our market visits and tasting events. At work, it hasn’t had a significant impact, since our winery team consists of just three people and our vineyard team maintains a natural spacing of 6 to 8 feet per vineyard row. We are small but mighty!
The bright side is that we have spent more family time and meals together. Also, we have a new family member to welcome, and that has brought a lot of excitement for us. We are excited for my brother Adam and his wife, Tamara.
Rosella’s Vineyard is named after Rosella Franscioni, Nick and Adam’s mother.It was planted in 1996 and is composed of Arroyo Seco sandy loam. (Wildly Simple Productions)
JB: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?
Adam Franscioni: My wife and I are always fans of Champagne, and we are enjoying Champagne Gonet-Medeville Premier Cru Brut, ( around $30 a bottle). We love the bang for your buck. It is so fresh and has beautiful apple crisp notes. We pair it with blue cheese or Salmon.
Next, the 2016 Walt Bob’s Ranch ($80 a bottle). Walt is a label of Hall Wines and Bob’s Ranch is their part of their estate fruit. They always make great wines and their Bob’s Ranch is no different. I am enjoying it with lamb.
And Jacob Toft 2017 Mary Jane’s Cuvée ($60 a bottle). Jacob Toft is small label located in Paso Robles, and the Mary Jane’s Cuvée is their GSM blend. The winemaker sources from great Paso Robles vineyards, and this wine is just fun. A lot of dark, red fruit and the tannins are beautiful. It’s a very complex wine. I usually enjoy this bottle with steak.
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why?
NF: My pick is very cliché, but I’m okay with that. Romanée-Conti. My reasoning is because it is consistently heralded as the most fascinating and desirable piece of history in wine. More important than the wine itself is the place that it comes from and the hands that carried it. I would take 1989 vintage as a birth year, please).
JB: What is your favorite varietal, and why?
AF: That’s a tough question, as I enjoy a lot of varietals, but I’d have to say Pinot Noir is probably my favorite because of it s versatility. It goes well with so many meals, yet you can find Pinot Noirs that can stand alone on their own. Whatever the social situation calls for there is a Pinot Noir out there to enhance the experience.
Rosella’s Vineyard is the source of some outstanding Pinot Noir. (Nick Franscioni Photo)
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?
NF: A great family friend of ours is winemaker Adam Lee. Adam makes wines under several labels nowadays, and one of the most special Pinot Noir bottlings comes from our home ranch, Rosella’s Vineyard. He created a new label called Clarice in honor of his own family member. The 2018 vintage was very special in California and one that has incredible aging potential. After tasting this bottling, I am sure that it is bound to dance and delight for the next decade and beyond.
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle? COVID-19 has put a crimp on going out, but pre-pandemic, where did you go?
AF:Spruce Restaurant in San Francisco. They have an amazing by-the-glass menu and their food is unreal.
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
NF: Think about what type of wines you enjoy, and more specifically what exactly you love about those wines. Whether it’s the fruit, the spice, the herbs, whatever … take note of those things you love to taste and that will help you find more of the wines you enjoy.
Gary, Nick, and Adam Franscioni during harvest. (Richard Green Photo)
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
AF: It was December 2012 and I was at a Pinot Noir blind tasting amongst friends. Most people brought Burgundy and we guessed AOC’s until we were blue in the face. Most of the wines were young (2008-2010), so they weren’t hitting their stride yet. But one wine stole the show — it was a 1985 Chalone Vineyard Pinot Noir. I could not believe how fresh it was still tasting. We all thought it was Old World. It was so fun to see that California wine could age that well and it taught me about judging wines before tasting them.
JB: What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?
NF: Well, at the ripe age of 10, I was visiting France with my family for a summer vacation and experienced my first barrel tasting, for which I was busy training my palate. We quickly learned that I could not hold my liquor after stumbling around, blowing out candles, and using “adult” words. Our French guide was notably courteous and asked that I be excused. My memory is hazy from that day, but it is a moment that no one else will forget.
The Sierra Mar Vineyard’s Island Block. The vineyard, planted in 2007, is situated 1,100 feet above sea level, and is marked by decomposed granite and gravelly loam. (Richard Green Photo)
JB: What is your favorite wine reference in a work of literature or in a film?
AF: “Sideways” has two moments that I appreciate. I loved the end scene in which Paul Giamatti’s character is drinking 1961 Chateau Chevval Blanc at what appears to be an In-N-Out. I found that so funny and, sadly, something I might find myself doing.
A thin skin, temperamental …
He also has a beautiful line about Pinot Noir in the middle of the movie. It still rings true to me: “It’s uh, it’s thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early. It’s, you know, it’s not a survivor like Cabernet, which can just grow anywhere and, uh, thrive even when it’s neglected. No, Pinot needs constant care and attention.”
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.
What initially drew me to this winemaker was the way he talks about soil and rocks. I have read many interviews with (and stories about) Matt Dees, and immediately after finishing the first one I wanted to feature him in Wine Talk.
My journey with wine began in Germany, during high school, which I attended in the Pfalz. Riesling was my first companion, of course (it is still my favorite traveling mate wine-wise). Early on, I learned about and came to appreciate the qualities of slate and granite and limestone and greywacke (and many more types of soils and rocks) and how they affected and nurtured vines and imparted flavor and other characteristics. I became a lifelong amateur researcher in the field. So Dees appealed to me immediately. (And little did I know that he also likes Nina Simone, one of my favorite musicians.)
Dees, who studied plant and soil science at the University of Vermont, has been the winemaker for The Hilt and Jonata since 2004, and loves to talk dirt, in all its forms.
In 2014, a 3,600-acre piece of land (the famed Rancho Salsipuedes) that includes two prime vineyards — Radian and Bentrock — became part of Dees’ Hilt playground, and his creativity and experimentation in Santa Barbara County have been running wild, much to my delight. I plan to store up as much of his wines as I can, because I know they are bottles I will enjoy drinking for the rest of my life.
A little background on Dee’s three projects (all owned by Stanley Kroenke, the man in charge of Screaming Eagle and the Los Angeles Rams, among other things): Jonata, located in Ballard Canyon in the Santa Ynez Valley (around 5,000 cases a year, with recent bottle prices ranging from $185 for a 2015 El Alma de Jonata, $160 for the 2016 La Sangre de Jonata, and $80 for a 2015 Felix — all prices from wine.com ); The Hilt, based in the Sta. Rita Hills (7,000-8,000 cases annually … look for a 2016 Old Guard Chardonnay for $70, the ’16 Vanguard Chardonnay for $65, and the 2017 Vanguard Pinot Noir for $17); and The Paring (15,000-16,000 cases per annum, wines “made from vineyard blocks that are either too young or don’t fit into the vintage style” of Jonata and The Hilt selections — try the 2016 Sauvignon Blanc for $23, the 2015 Paring Red for $27, or the 2018 Rosé of Pinot Noir for 2018). There’s something for all budgets here.
A fine trio of Chardonnay
Last month, I had the pleasure of participating in a Zoom tasting with Dees and sampling three of his The Hilt Chardonnays — a 2017 Estate, the 2018 Radian Vineyard, and a 2012 Vanguard. It was a satisfying day, to say the least. The contents of the bottles were singing beautifully.
Dees, who was born in Kansas City, is as engaging live as he comes across in articles and interviews, and he’s someone I know I’d enjoying share a long meal with. (Note his food pairings below, and you’ll no doubt conclude he is a serious and thoughtful eater and drinker, my favorite type of person.)
Drinking these wines reaffirmed my enthusiasm for Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay; Dees speaks of its “electric acidity,” and if you have not experienced it, do so as soon as you can. I look forward to meeting this gifted winemaker in person one day, but until then, here he is in Wine Talk.
James Brock: How has COVID-19 changed your work and life?
Matt Dees: In terms of my job, we’ve changed our approach as a winemaking team. We are wearing masks and keeping distance. We now have two teams with two different bathrooms, two different dining tables, two different coffee makers, etc.
In the vineyard, we are working in smaller teams and keeping them as far apart as possible. Beyond the day-to-day changes in routine, I’d have to say that I’ve had far more time to myself than I’m used to. I’ve never had so much time and space to myself in the vineyard. I’ve really been able to closely watch all the subtle changes in the vines over the growing season. I definitely have a more intimate understanding of our property and our vines after this time alone.
In the cellar, I’ve become my own worst enemy with all this newfound space and alone time. I’ve been tasting our wines so much more these past few months. I’ve never spent so much time in my own head tweaking and tweaking blends. My blending neurosis and self-doubt surely put Woody Allen to shame.
An excellent choice …
JB: 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?
MD: 2015 Jean-Marc Vincent Auxey-Duresses “Les Hautes.” One of my absolute favorite Burgundy producers. I always grab bottles of this blend whenever I can find it. Like all his bottlings, this is vibrant and precise with depth and power. All the things I love so much about white Burgundy. We just enjoyed this bottle with black cod en papillote.
2013 Franck Balthazar “Cornas Sans Soufre Ajouté”. My goodness! We just popped this bottle a week ago, and it stunned me. Such an elegant wine with incredible structure. Isn’t Cornas just about perfect? I loved it. Wish I had more. I seem to recall that this worked incredibly well with grilled Portobello mushroom tacos.
2017 The Hilt Estate Chardonnay. I’m so excited about the energy, tension, and salinity that shines in our estate Chardonnay bottling. In 2017, the green citrus notes are at the forefront, and they seem to welcome so many different food pairings. Our go-to dinner pairing at home is a simple lemon-and-garlic roast chicken. It’s a Sunday-night tradition these days, and is such a welcome celebration with our family.
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why?
MD: As a history buff and a lover of classic Bordeaux, I’d absolutely love to taste a great bottle from a top-growth chateau from 1865. That’s not even classic Bordeaux, that’s “ancient and old school” Bordeaux. That’s before phylloxera and even before the familiar cast of characters (grape-wise) had settled in. I would just be fascinated. If anyone wants to share a bottle, just give me 24 hours notice! I’ll be there.
A few selections from The Paring
JB: What is your favorite grape, and why?
MD: I’ve got a pretty serious love affair going these days with Chardonnay. Ditto with Cabernet Franc, but let’s focus on what I’m drinking as I write this.
When I moved to Santa Barbara, back in 2004, Chardonnay probably wouldn’t have even cracked my list of the 100 grapes I wanted to work with for the rest of my life. If it had, it would have been 98 or 99, and that would have been after some French hybrids and a couple of extremely esoteric Russian varieties. No joke.
Now, fast-forward 16 years and it is number 1 on my list. It is a magical variety that has the ability to express the site, soil characteristics, aspect, elevation, etc. so clearly and with such precision. Some see this extreme malleability as a fault or weakness, but for me this is the crux of its true beauty. Its natural acidity is such an important factor in California wines today and should be a driving force in the years to come.
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?
MD: A 2015 El Desafio de Jonata. Our Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend from our estate vineyard in Ballard Canyon. Mother nature gave us these tiny clusters with BB shot-sized berries and then perfect conditions throughout the harvest. The Cabernet Sauvignon fermentations went without a hitch, and we were able to capture all the quantitatively massive and quantitatively exquisite tannins. This wine needs time, but has so much fruit density to go along with its currently imposing stature and structure. In 10 years it’ll be just coming into its own. It should be a beauty. Also good drinking today with a long decant.
Matt Dees urges you to open the “big bottles” early in the evening.
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle? COVID-19 has put a crimp on going out, but pre-pandemic, where did you go?
MD: My favorite place to have a glass/bottle and more often than not, a magnum, is my brother’s home in Los Angeles. I take my family down and we join forces with my brother’s large family. We sit around a table, break bread together, pop some beautiful corks and have conversations that matter. I can picture the sun setting over Los Angeles. I miss it and I miss them. Looking forward to that opportunity again soon.
A sampling of Jonata …
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
MD: I think many of us find a really special bottle that we want to share with our family and friends. We plan a special night and a special meal together. Our guests show up (or used to show up, and will again one day!) and we welcome them with sparkling or beers and passed apps. We start with some fresh and easy white bottles. We might even open a few other nice bottles before we sit down and get into the main event: the bottle of impact and importance.
As humans, we’ve evolved to have the sharpest senses when we’re hungry and thirsty. By eating and drinking our way through the early hours of the evening, we’ve dumbed down our ability to sense and appreciate the beauty and special nature of the bottle in question. Next time, greet your guests with a glass of the “big” bottle, or at least make an effort to enjoy it earlier in the evening. If it is too late in the evening, it might as well be light beer.
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
MD: Drinking the 1995 Staglin Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and the 1989 Château Certan de May in New York City with my brother back in 1998-1999 changed my world forever. I had planted a vineyard in Vermont in 1998, but after tasting these two wines I knew I was going to be a winemaker, there was no doubt.
JB:What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?
MD: Oh where to start! I’ve had a tarantula walk across my boot in the cellar. A peacock wandered into our production facility. I’ve seen a giant container of meat pies fall into a press of Chardonnay (not in the U.S.). I’ve presented a series of wines I didn’t make to a large audience. I’ve been trapped in a festival tent in Chinon during a massive snowstorm. I’ve made three 45-minute presentations in French in Burgundy (in front of many of my winemaking heroes) without really speaking French. This is a great industry for strange incidents. I can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow …
JB: What is your favorite wine reference in a work of literature or a film?
Lilac Wine, Nina Simone
Dees has great taste when it comes to wine and music.
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!
If you are like most people I know, Zoom (or another online-meeting platform) has more than likely become a fixture around your home. This past Sunday, we used it to host my virtual birthday party, and a few days before that I participated in a virtual tasting put on by Benzinger Family Winery.
Chris Benzinger, the winery’s vice president of trade relations, hosted the tasting, and the tales he told of his family’s love affair with the land on Sonoma Mountain in Glen Ellen that they purchased in 1980 made me want to leave my lockdown in Los Angeles and head north for a visit.
Chris Benzinger
The occasion for the tasting was the 20th anniversary of Benzinger’s certification as a biodynamic farm by the Demeter Association, something of which Chris, who joined the family business in 1993, is clearly proud.
We began with the 2017 Reserve Chardonnay ($30), and followed that with the 2016 de Coelo Quintus Pinot Noir ($69), the 2016 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon ($20), and the 2016 Sunny Slope “Signaterra” Cabernet Sauvignon ($59). Each of these wines is drinking well now; I especially enjoyed the Sonoma County Cab and the de Coelo Quintus, and I want to taste the 2016 Sunny Slope Cab five years from now. (If you join a Benzinger wine club, discounts are offered on these bottles.)
The Benzinger family left New York in 1973 and headed out to California to make wine.
These wine are, of course, available from the winery, or you can check with your favorite merchant.
Next up, tastings of a Pinot Bianco and a Pinot Grigio from Alto Adige. Until then, drink well, with those you love, and stay safe.
Wine is without question the best liquid to drink while dining. Water comes in second in this equation, of course. But wine always. Hamburgers or pizza? Try a Chianti. Rouget or scallops? Open a white Rhône blend. Or if your palate calls for something entirely different, indulge it. Drink what you like, drink what pleases you and yours, by all means.
I recently received a few bottles from Joel Gott Wines, and two of them stood out to my palate. The 2017 815 Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2017 California Chardonnay. You can find the former for around $17, and the latter for $13 or so.
The (100 percent) Cabernet Sauvignon is immediately approachable, and it’s a fruit-forward pour, full of black cherry and raspberry. Eighteen months in oak produce a wine with pronounced, defined tannins and decent acidity. I paired it with a New York Strip, and was pleased.
The Chardonnay is made with grapes from Monterey, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo vineyards, and you can taste Napa and Sonoma fruit in the glass. Jasmine, citrus, and a touch of peach greet you in this easy-to-drink wine.
Both of the Gott selections are ideal for by-the-case stocking, and you can find them at a wide variety of merchants. (I’m going to sample Gott’s California Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc soon.)
I have been cooking a lot lately. I mean, I cook all the time, but since the evening of March 12, I have not dined in a restaurant, so I’m in our home kitchen even more now, for reasons of which you are aware. I have not yet given this much thought, other than being reminded that our public dining spaces, be they taco stands, food halls, or Spago or Le Bernardin, are a vital part of our existence. I hope you feel the same.
Orrechiette with green peas, zucchini, and feta
In our home kitchen, I’ve stocked up on beans and pasta, firm tofu (for saag paneer and other dishes), canned tomatoes, a lot more garlic than I usually have on hand, plus cold cuts, mushrooms, tuna, and … you get the picture, and I imagine you have done similar. My attempts at procuring yeast locally failed, but a few fine people have offered to send some, and my sourdough starter is under way (thanks for the reminder, Evan Kleiman!) We are ordering from Whole Foods and Ralph’s, and tipping the delivery workers well.
I have purposefully refrained from mentioning COVID-19 here, while I work out my myriad thoughts about what the world is going through. I am glad John Prine’s condition has stabilized, but grieving for Wallace Roney and Ellis Marsalis. I will say that I am touched by the selflessness being shown by so many medical professionals and caregivers, and disgusted by the examples of idiocy demonstrated by leaders of some states — I will single out the governors of Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.
The year past (2019) held many high notes regarding wine, including the opportunity — made possible by a generous friend — to taste a 1964 Private Reserve Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour. Capped by a wedding in Texas Hill Country, a honeymoon in Napa and Sonoma, and a move to Los Angeles, it was a vintage year.
Domaine Anderson is an Anderson Valley AVA winery whose Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays you should know.
As 2020 begins, I’m thinking of the final bottle I opened in 2019, and looking forward to all the pours the new year promises. That last bottle of the past year was a 2015 Pinot Noir from Domaine Anderson, a wine I paired with burgers (and would gladly drink with lamb chops or a steak). Here are my thoughts on the wine, which first appeared in PaperCity.
Those bottles to come? First up will be something hailing from Italy …
The holiday season is here, and we’re stocking up on some party and dinner wines. Two that will be on my table are the 2016 Carneros Chardonnay and the 2015 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, notable selections from Frank Family Vineyards. Their price points and characteristics are perfect for entertaining and pairing, and The Brockhaus recommends them.
There are times, when working on stories, that one comes across individuals who make an immediate impact. That impression and experience can, of course, be good and enriching, or it can be upsetting and frustrating. Both types of encounters provoke thought, in different ways, and while discourse with and exposure to jerks and zero-sum people can provide one with a level of amusement, I much prefer dealing with and learning from unselfish, self-secure subjects, people for whom life is a rollicking adventure, men and women confident enough to know that there is always something new to learn and that being kind and giving does not lead down the road to mediocrity. The world is a better place because of these types, and would, I am confident, be much more rewarding if the zero-sum cohort disappeared with haste.
I recently had the pleasure of meeting with and/or talking to individuals — both in the beverage industry — who make the lives of those around them better. They are passionate about their craft, they display infectious enthusiasm about what they are doing, and they are clearly and genuinely interested in what others do. They are worth knowing.
This woman makes some fine rum. (Courtesy Railean Distillers)
I’m referring to Kelly Railean and Joe Donelan (click on their names for additional words about them and what they do). I met Railean in December at her distillery in San Leon, Texas, took a tour of her workshop, and sampled her wares. I recommend you do the same. I have spoken with Donelan on the phone several times, each conversation thoughtful and attentive. The Brockhaus is partnering with Donelan Family Wines on an upcoming dinner benefitting an animal-welfare and shelter charity, a direct result of that pointed disavowal of the zero-sum mentality. In December, I had the pleasure of tasting Donelan’s 2014 Nancie Chardonnay, named after Joe’s mother, and it’s drinking well now. He’s built a business in California that honors his passions and his family, and, as has Railean, he’s added joy to the lives of many along the way.
Good people, making good things, doing good. I hope you have a multitude of such people in your life, and I hope you steer clear of that sad zero-sum trap.
Want more stories about wine and spirits and the people who make them? Read on:
Recent Comments