Steak Dinner and ‘08 Continuum, Deconstructed

It’s Friday night, at last. I’m home from a good solid day of Wine Scouting and I’m excited to try a new recipe for a grilled New York strip steak to pair with the bottle of Gigondas I claimed from the tasting lab leftovers. Where’s the beef? Whole Foods. Now, I’m sure you’re already totally clinging to my prose here, like a Matt Kramer oratory on how impressed he is with himself for being so hip, but there is a point to this story, and even a cameo by Tim Mondavi.

Let’s face it; Napa Valley is a circus, and a damn fun one at that! Napa is constantly on the stage, from daytime wine tasting to evening dining and, yes, the occasional late night dance-off contest in the Bounty Hunter’s Wine Bar. We’re a tourist industry, no doubt. I’m sure though, if you’ve spent much time in Napa, you realize that when we say “it’s just another day in paradise,” we mean it! We work together, eat together, drink together and do business together but, more importantly, coexist in a very small valley together. So it’s not too out of the ordinary that, while patrolling through my local grocery store, on the quest for provisions, I would just happen to run into Tim Mondavi (As an aside, I think Tim is secretly addicted to our pulled pork sandwich… he’s a regular).

We exchange formalities which, with Tim, are an effervescent back and forth of acknowledgement free of pretense. I introduce him to my wife and they exchange words about Prague (her hometown, which he knows a surprising amount about). He thanks me and the Bounty Hunter in general for all we do which I humbly return and I compliment him on a stunning ‘07 vintage and the huge response from my customers. Of course, I have to ask him what to expect with the ‘08. I now know one truth; asking Tim Mondavi about the 2008 vintage is like asking Bruce Bochy how he felt about his team’s finish this year.

Continuum estate vineyard

The man is passionate, and for good reason. In 2008, they are much closer to the goal of producing the entire makeup of the wine for Continuum from their estate property on Pritchard Hill (if you haven’t seen the site, I highly recommend getting up there on your next trip to Napa). With 70% of the final blend coming from the estate vineyards, it stands to reason that the blend has changed slightly. In fact, a new, as of yet un-utilized Bordeaux variety grape is coming into play. (I won’t tell you what grape, but you’re welcome to guess). Tim tells me with pure conviction how proud he is of the vintage and how much he can’t wait to release it. I am so captivated by his enthusiasm that I forget we’re in a grocery store; where are my manners! I tell him I can’t wait to try it, and I apologize, jokingly, for bringing up work in the produce aisle. He shakes my hand graciously, laughs and says “No, no, no. I love talking about the wine; I’m really excited about it!” And I knew he meant it. Just another day in paradise. Now, where’s the beef?
--Räm Hatley, Wine Scout

El Dorado Wine Country: A Toast to the Underdog

When most people think of California’s El Dorado County, they think of small, dusty ghost towns and of the region’s once-flourishing mining history during the Gold Rush. As a wine region, however, El Dorado is relatively unrecognized. Which is a shame when you consider the fact that not only was El Dorado County the third largest California wine producer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but that today, many of California’s top winemakers are drawing inspiration from the broad range of grapes being grown in the El Dorado appellation.

The draw?

“Mountain Fruit!” says Vinum Cellars and Horse & Plow Winery owner and winemaker Chris Condos. An El Dorado expert, Chris says he ventured into the region over ten years ago when he began looking outside of Napa and Sonoma Valleys for unique varietals such as Mourvèdre, Cabernet Franc and Grenache being grown at elevations between 1800 and 3300 feet. Perched as it is in the higher elevations of the Sierra Foothills, nearly every vineyard in the region, Chris discovered, is planted on hillsides rich with high draining volcanic, decomposed granite and shale soils. For Chris, El Dorado was, and is, a viticultural home run.

Days in the El Dorado hills tend to be long and intensely sunny, but at night cool, even cold, breezes drift in from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and settle over the vines. Because El Dorado is cooled not by fog but by high elevation winds, vines planted here receive more direct sunlight than vineyards in nearby regions like Napa Valley, so grapes experience long, even hang-times that don’t ramp up sugar (and alcohol) levels in the resulting wines. It’s the perfect setting for a variety of grapes, including Mourvèdre, Syrah, Grenache and Cabernet Franc, all of which, as Chris says, need a lot of sun but also need the balance that comes from cold nights.

In fact, balance could be the key to El Dorado’s success. Well, that and diversity. Over 50 grape varieties are grown in the small Sierra Foothills sub-appellation. While each variety expresses its unique personalities, the region’s consistency in producing grapes with balanced sugars, acid and tannin makes it the ideal source for blending fruit. In the last few years, if you’ve enjoyed a Rhône or Bordeaux-style blend with a California or Northern California designate on the label, there’s a good chance you’ve enjoyed a wine at least partly comprised of El Dorado fruit. In fact, the Cabernet Franc for Vinum Cellars’ The Scrapper (call 800.943.9463 to inquire about availability), one of the Bounty Hunter’s most popular table reds, comes almost exclusively from El Dorado’s dramatic mountain vines. Chris calls it their “shout out to the wines of Chinon.” We call it an early autumn porch pounder and a tasty salute to one of California’s underdog wine regions.

So You Think You Want a Vineyard?

Part I The Rise of Insanity

Part II Making Your Own Terroir for Fun and Non-Profit
Part III A Plantin’ We Will Go
Part IV The First Year

Part V The Second Year (Fall 2011)

Part VI CH. Petruski at Last (Fall 2012)

Part I: The Rise of Insanity

Many years ago, when my wife and I first moved up to Sonoma County, we fell in love with the idea of learning everything we could about wine and the wine business, with an unfocused goal of maybe, somehow, being involved in the business – someday. At that time, working in corporate finance in downtown San Francisco and commuting 50 miles a day, it seemed like a pretty far-fetched idea.

Besides drinking our fair share of California wines, we decided to make our own wine. After all – what could be so hard about it, we naively told ourselves. Since we didn’t actually own a vineyard, and we had a nice dry garage I could insulate and put barrels into, and there were lots of small growers willing to sell grapes to garagistes like ourselves, we dove in. I took a series of courses at the University of California at Davis sponsored by the state agricultural cooperative extension, and got the basics of fermentation science down. While most of the wines we produced were drinkable (one was even rather good), it was obvious we needed a couple of things in place in order to, as Emeril says, “Kick it up a notch!” Like a better facility dedicated to home winemaking, and, most importantly, better control over the grapes we were trying to coax into becoming quality wine.

Part II: Making Your Own Terroir for Fun and Non-Profit
Fast forward about 15 years and we find our protagonist actually working in the wine business – although not in quite the way he’d originally thought about. After deciding to stay in the finance and operation side of business, but trading transportation for fine wine as the underlying franchise, the empty-nest syndrome kicked in, and we decided to move to the country. Finding a fixer-upper in rural Sonoma County on 2/3rds of an acre, we settled in to become grape growers for our own hobby. But wait! There is no vineyard – only about 35 evergreen trees and shrubs, courtesy of the previous owner who really liked the FREE TREES the county was giving away back in the 70’s…

BTW – when buying an old house, figure out what you think you need to do to fix it up, then quadruple it. Then, when you’ve made the place somewhat livable, you can get your vineyard going. So, after a new roof, new well casing, new septic drain field, new kitchen, new everything in the house, new pool equipment, new fences, new electrical service, etc., it was time to start prepping the land.

Early on a hot October weekend, Paul Bunyan and his brother and their fraus attacked the forest in what we laughingly call “the south 40.” The sole survivor was a 50 year old Mission Fig tree dead center in the south 40. Still very productive, we thought it set a nice mood when gazing out towards the mountains of Annadel State Park. Then, a few months later, Stumpy the Stump Grinder ( I’m not kidding – that’s what he called himself – don’t ask) shows up and removes the last remnants of the carnage. Ready to plant you say? Not quite yet…

I believe back in 1880, there was a rock farm here – probably was a fairly profitable business, judging by what was going on at the business end of my rototiller. Back to the rental shop, get a bigger machine. Try again. Spread out the ground up shavings from the stumps. Remove rocks. Rotovate again. Repeat as necessary for a couple of years. Finally get smart and rent nice new Kubota tractor. Remove rocks. Now – how to go about getting the trellis built, the plants bench grafted, the dripper system in? Who ya gonna call?

Part III: A Plantin’ We Will Go

In answer to my rhetorical question posted above, no, it’s not Ghostbusters, it’s Mr. G. and his crew (names are changed to protect the innocent). In just 2 weekends, they installed a very sturdy professional trellis system, drip irrigation, and 394 grapelings mostly Merlot and a bit of Cab Franc and Petit Verdot thrown in roughly the same proportions as Petrus. The end posts are leftover drilling pipes from the Alaska Pipeline project, manufactured in Napa, driven into the ground with a small pile driver attached to a bobcat way cool... us boys like our toys.

We decided on 3X3 spacing rather close, but I want to be able to drop a lot of excess fruit and manage the yield to produce better flavors. We will add the third and fourth wires of the trellis before the first fruiting year, which is year two.

Part IV: The First Year
We just got the protective sleeves on the baby vines a day before the first hard frost nothing like cutting it close! The danger in the first year is mostly due to these being bud grafts onto a phyloxera resistant root stock. Nearly all California grapes come from grafted stock, partly because we don't have severe enough winters to warrant growing vines on their native rootstock. In colder climates, like Washington, Oregon and New York, you will see mostly planted varietal rootstock.

We came through a rather mild but very wet winter and early spring. We only lost six vines - that's a good start. Then, the invaders arrived. Gophers (bad) and moles (not so bad). Towards the middle of summer I started feeling like Carl the groundskeeper in "Caddyshack." Poisoning, trapping, and gassing became my second business. While I didn't lose any vines to them, they managed to take a three foot lime tree completely down into the ground, with no evidence it ever existed except for the forlorn planting stake and the identification tag, left sitting near the hole in the middle of the tree ring. Nice $40 dinner for the little buggers. Sadder but wiser, I trudged back to the nursery, found a gopher wire basket and another tree, dug a hole and put the basket in, then planted the tree inside of it. Now, I am the proud owner of a nice little dwarf citrus that cost three times what it should have. I wonder do I need to hire dwarves to harvest it for me?

This was the summer that never was cool days, cold nights. I thought that would be OK for me, because my little vines were just producing a few leaves, and I was concentrating their growth on producing sturdy cordons, not fruit. However, upon returning from a two week vacation out of state, I discovered that my neighbor's powdery mildew had migrated into my vineyard. A good dose of Neem oil sprayed on the leaves, and subsequent sulfuring, saved all the vines. In total, of the 394 planted, we have 388 left - pretty good survival rate for an amateur.

Now, all the vines are starting to shut down as the days are getting colder, wetter and shorter. Time for the gophers to return (launched a major operation today dubbed Operation Underlord with apologies to the folks who participated in D-Day), the fig tree to give up its last fruit, and the vines to go to sleep until February or March.

To be continued...

--Craig House, CFO/COO

The Quick Sip on our Winemaker, Tim Milos:

Fifth generation Bay Area resident Timothy Milos jokes that he’s “dropped out of some of the best schools in the country.” The truth is, the biology and genetics expert spent three years at Cornell working toward his PhD in molecular genetics when he realized he would never be content to sit in a lab day after day. The son of builders, Tim missed that feeling of actively applying his science, or as he says, “of sitting on top of a foundation wall at the end of the day.” Fortunately for Tim and the wine world, Tim spent some time in the cellars of a Finger Lakes winery and stumbled upon the perfect intersection of biology, agriculture, architecture, history and art: making wine.

“Every fermentation,” he says, “is a living system. It is its own ecology, and it evolves over time. It is as complex a matrix as you could ask for.”

After leaving Cornell to study enology at UC-Davis, Tim made his way to Stags’ Leap Wine Cellars, then Opus Wine and finally wound up as winemaker for S. Anderson Vineyard. In 2004, he partnered with Marco di Giulio (another Bounty Hunter alum) and started his own consulting practice. He’s been consulting for premium Napa Valley wineries ever since.

Tim indulged our whims and engaged in a little oenological free association. Below are the results:

1. My winemaking role models…don’t exist. “I don’t have heroes; what I like most are wines that are expressive of a place and not the winemaker.”

2. If I weren’t making wine I’d…be completely lost. “Honestly, I cannot imagine doing anything else, but if forced to answer, I might consider teaching science.”
3. When I’m not drinking my own swill… “I’m drinking wines from as far away as possible. I’m constantly working not to develop a strictly California palate.” Rhône wines are a favorite, Cornas or Châteauneuf-du-Pape. North or South, he loves them all.
4. The food and wine pairing that makes me sit up and pay attention is… “Gewurztraminer (with lychee flavors and not too much residual sugar) and Thai.
5. The ultimate aperitif wine is… “An old fashioned.” While Tim prefers classic cocktails, he says, “Wine should be enjoyed as people want to enjoy it.”
6. At the end of the day… “Kiss your lover, open a bottle wine and enjoy the evening.”

Spotlight on The Napa Valley

Finding ideal sites for making wine in California is not as easy as many believe. The Pacific coastline can be too cold for ripening grapes and the flat inland expanses can be blisteringly hot. In between the two, however, are the “baby bear” locations, those “just right” valleys with optimal soil aspects, temperatures and cooling marine breezes and fogs.

At the top of the list of California winemaking hotspots is the Napa Valley, which stretches across a tiny valley less than 60 miles northeast of San Francisco. At its narrowest point, Napa Valley is only one mile wide and in length, the entire valley is only 33 miles (in comparison, the Central Valley extends 300 miles from the San Joaquin Valley up to the Sacramento Valley). In fact, Napa only accounts for 4% of all California grape production, but ask the average citizen in Missouri or New York, and they’d likely guess otherwise.

What Napa Valley lacks in size and production, it makes up for in uncompromising quality and diversity. The fact that a series of volcanic eruptions millions of years ago left the valley with almost three dozen different soil series, belonging to eight of the world’s twelve major soil classifications, only buoys the valley’s reputation. It’s a geologic potpourri that, combined with the dozens of microclimates within the valley, has resulted in the valley’s division into 14 different sub-appellations, stretching from Carneros in the South to Diamond and Howell Mountains in the north. For the majority of Napa Valley, classic Bordeaux grapes – Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, & Petit Verdot – thrive. Carneros in the south, with its cool marine winds and shallow clay soils, is a hotbed for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Temperatures rise as you move north, and the areas around Calistoga (which is awaiting AVA approval) and even St. Helena, are prime breeding grounds for juicy, jammy Zinfandel.

The limitless possibilities for winemaking have drawn iconic winemaking and winegrowing pioneers from Robert Mondavi, Joe Heitz and Baron Phillip Rothschild to current stars like Philippe Melka, David Abreu, and Aaron Pott to this goldmine region. The wines they help create are some of the most polished and complex in the country.

Annual Burgundy Adventure

There is not a single buying trip that I enjoy more than the one to Burgundy. The place breathes wine history and is home to some of the most storied vineyards on the planet. And it’s remarkably - and refreshingly - unpretentious to boot. In glaring contrast to the moneyed interests that dominate Bordeaux, the Burgundians are multi-generational farmers who know their individual plots of land down to single vines (it’s almost scary how in tune the best growers are with their vines). The dirt roads that meander through the Route des Grands Crus and the ancient catacomb cellars beneath the village streets are as authentic as it gets, and the very essence of the romantic side of the wine business.

Before I get into my love letter to the ’09 vintage, I need to tell you about our tasting headquarters for the annual Burgundy adventure. Our home base is supposed to be kept a secret, but the people running this place need to be supported: Castel de Tres Girard. It’s the old village winery co-op of Morey-St.-Denis lovingly turned into an utterly charming hotel and restaurant. It combines an historic stone building with modern amenities and cuisine, and your room will overlook the village and vineyards. Yes, Bounty Hunter has a wine locker in the foyer. No, we didn’t get a discount for saying nice things about them.

On to the wine…

  

2009 is the most profound vintage of young red Burgundy that I have ever experienced. Tasting from barrel is a black art, but I have enough merit badges to know the difference between “bad,” “decent,” “maybe” and “oh(!) s$%!(!) this is good.” My tasting notes for 2009 samples involved phrases like “I want to bathe in this” and “Excellent choice for the last meal of a condemned man.” I came out of several cellars literally shaking my head in stunned silence.

There is heartbreak to be had with Burgundy for reasons that cannot be adequately enumerated here, but there is also a magic in the glass that exists nowhere else. When they get it right, everyone else is fighting for second place. When I had my first “’09 moment,” I asked my importer liaison (and palate of 25+ years of Burgundian experience) whether or not I was really tasting what I thought I was tasting. He was in agreement that he had never seen such completeness and potential in barrel samples.

As you can imagine, we basically bought whatever was offered to us from this glorious vintage. I normally wait until I get home to review my tasting notes before making any decisions, but there’s no way I was going to let some German buyer come in two days later and pilfer the goods. Yes, the boss is likely to strangle me when the bills come due, but I’m gambling my reputation as a buyer and unapologetic Pinot freak that the mainstream press is going to lose their minds over 2009 (I know I did). The first batch of releases will start landing on our shores next month, and I highly recommend you talk to your Wine Scout about what’s on the water. It will be a feeding frenzy once they land.

--Rhett Gadke, Wine Director

Appreciating Appellations

When I arrived in Napa Valley in 1994, I thought I had a fairly broad knowledge of wine. What I didn’t know is that it could evolve and expand so quickly. For instance, when I showed up there were 69 different AVAs (American Viticulture Area) in California –– and most produced completely different styles of wine. I’m not just talking about varietals here - one region often produced a distinctly different wine from the neighboring area. Fast forward not even a quarter of a century later to today, the Wine Institute lists 107 AVAs in our great state, and several hundred nationwide. And, it seems like they’re adding more and more each year.

I’ve travelled and drank through many AVAs in my time – I bet you have too. For me it’s not just a viticulture area, but rather a precise geographic location with specific attributes that alter or define the wine from that region – or it should. After all, technically it’s a legal term that is required on all wines produced in America. However, its true meaning today is becoming harder and harder to understand. There was a time when I could taste through a roomful of Cabernets from Napa and tell you which ones were Oakville and which ones were Rutherford with ease. It’s not the terroir that’s changed, it’s just that within each sub-appellation (i.e. Oakville) we’re starting to see and taste the differences down to the microclimate and vineyard level. This is starting to feel like a lot of “inside baseball” that only wine geeks can keep track of.
For instance, the 2007 Screaming Eagle Cabernet (east side) is a lot different from Janzen’s 2007 Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet (west side) and the 2006 Tamber Bey Oakville Cabernet (south) is worlds apart from Nickel and Nickel’s 2006 “John C. Sullenger Vineyard” Cabernet (north). Wines in the northern part of Oakville are more similar to Rutherford – those in the south are more similar to Yountville. Perhaps this situation calls for sub-appellations within sub-appellations. While geologists and viticulturists would probably agree, they are probably the only people who would care, and the results would leave all of us thoroughly confused and bored. While I am still amazed at how people can appreciate and understand theses differences, and I look forward to what the next 20 years studies and research, I’m not losing sleep over it. Sometimes it feels like the more you know, the less you really know…ya’ know? My motto – if I like it, I drink it. If not, I pour it out.

That works for me.

--Mark Steven Pope, Founder & CEO