Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Takin' it to a Whole 'Nother Level

I was talking with a new wine friend, Ray Walker, recently, who put things in perspective for me.

I was in my law office, talking to him between legal projects. I am making wine in California. Surely, I think, I am really puttin' it on the line, makin' wine, livin' the dream. But I continue to live (most of the time ) in Greenville, still practice law, and am making tiny quantities of handcrafted artisan wine.

Ray was a stock broker. He quit his day job and went to work for Ed Kurtzmann as a cellar rat. Ray is married and has a baby daughter.

And get this, because this is the real kicker: Ray is now preparing to move from California to Burgundy to start a French winery business. He will be what the French call a Negociant. This means, in his case, that he will buy grapes and make wine in Burgundy. He will also be working with two highly regarded Burgundy winemakers.

God knows how Ray talked his wife into doing this. Ray has been very busy learning French and studying French culture. The logistics are daunting to say the least. The winemaking itself may be the easiest part of this venture because Ray already knows how to do this!

So, Godspeed and Good Luck, Ray. I hope to come visit you in Burgundy some time after you have gotten settled in to see how they do it on the other side of the pond. Check out Ray's story at http://www.maison-ilan.com/. There is a link to Ray's website on my blogroll on the left side of the Calicaro blog page. Ray recently changed the name of his winemaking business to Maison Ilan from Domaine Ilan, which is more fitting for him as a negociant purchasing grapes rather than owning a vineyard.

And if anyone stilll thinks I am crazy, I am going to tell them Ray's story!

Cheers,

Dave

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Slow is Good at Reverence Vineyard

I recently received this report from Alan Baker, one of our California Calicaro people about our Napa Cabernet vineyard:

On Wednesday, April 8th, I managed to sneak out of the winery for a quick visit to Reverence Vineyard in Napa Valley’s Coombsville region. I met up with Aaron DeBeers who is the vineyard manager, and he gave me the scoop on what’s up.
Because last year was such a tough year for frost, Aaron is taking no chances this year. They did a partial pruning this winter where they cut the canes back to about 7-10 buds per cane. They saw buds swelling a couple weeks back and as soon as they saw green growth on the buds at the end of the canes, they went through and pruned each cane back to two buds. This last minute pruning causes the vine to stop pushing the remaining couple buds for a up to a couple weeks, which keeps the sensitive growth protected for that much longer in frost season. And due to that late pruning activity Reverence is only at about 5% bud break. Some nearby vineyards already have three-inch shoots.

The Cabernet Sauvignon at Reverence is planted in very rocky soil so the yield has been very low, typically below 2 tons per acre. And with frost damage last year it barely topped a single ton per acre. Aaron is on a long-term program to add organic matter into the soil. He added compost to the vineyard last October, and his guys were just finishing mowing the cover crop (mostly Rye) and mulching that between the rows. Along with adding nutrients back into the soil you want to get this cover crop down this time of year because it will trap cold air and magnify the frost threat...

Aaron doesn’t expect to apply his first spray for a couple weeks when the plants start to leaf out and become more susceptible to mildew and frost.
The Cab is Clone 115, mostly on 110-R rootstock.
Oh, and because the soil is pretty much just rock, it doesn’t hold moisture, and as a result the wells can’t keep up. This means they have to truck in water, which is basically someone’s full time job once irrigation starts. A lot of work for a couple tons per acre.
ab

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Devereaux's Clive Coates Burgundy Wine Dinner

I was fortunate to be able to attend the Clive Coates Burgundy Wine Dinner at Devereaux's on April 3. For those unfamiliar with Mr. Coates, he is a renown wine critic and writer who focuses on France. He has spent much of the last 30 years living in Burgundy and has written the definitive volumes on this complex and sublime wine region. His latest, The Wines of Burgundy" came out last year and runs to almost 900 pages. I bought a copy and he graciously signed it. It will be my new "go to" resource on all matters Burgundy- an area that confounds and overwhelms me with its inter- relationships and vast numbers of winemakers.

Here are my notes from the dinner and the tasting:

Greeting Wine:
Jean Claude Thevenet Blanc de Blancs de Chardonnay Brut NV
Yeasty bread, Meyer lemon, orange, apricot, cream custard, crisp minerality. Excellent value at $28

Cauliflower Vichyssoise with Smoked Salmon Potato Salad, Sturgeon Caviar, Crispy Leeks

2006 Jean-Marc Pillot, Bourgogne Blanc
Gorgeous complex nose. On the palate, green apple, lime oil, various stone fruits, including apricot, minerality, short dry finish. Also good at $33

Seared Halibut with Bok Choy, Broccoli, Red Peppers, Five Spice Consomme

2005 Buisson, Saint Romain Rouge
Slight funk on the nose, with dried cherries. On the palate, dried cherries, sour cherries, truffles, earth. Finish with noticeable grain in the tannins. Nice light Pinot, a bit rustic. Beautifully paired with the Five Spice- each played and built off the other. Could benefit from more bottle age. Good value for a Burgundy at $36

Roasted Breast of Duck with Spiced Carrots, Onion Marmalade, Wild Huckleberry Jus

2004 JM Morey Santenay 1er Cru "Grand Clos Rousseau"
My Wine Of The Night. Slight but not objectionable alc on the nose with the classic cherry and earth. Well balanced, good acidity, dried cherries, pepper. Velvety tannins and lush mouthfeel. Med finish. Very good value at $51.

48 Hour Beef Shortrib with Celery Root Puree, Spinach, Sweet Garlic Emulsion

2005 Harmond- Geoffroy Gevrey Chambertin "En Jouise".
Noticeable alc on the nose and a little hot on the palate. Big and extracted, more like a slightly over the top Cali Pinot. Settled down a bit as it sat in the glass. Sour cherry. At $62 I would pass and go with the JM Morey Santenay described above, which had enough stuffing to stand up to the shortribs, a very rich dish.

Wonderful meal, great wines, an incredible evening, one I will never forget. Thanks to Clive Coates for coming to Devreaux's in Greenville, SC for this special evening. Thanks to Steven Devereaux Greene for an exquisite meal that worked so well with the wines. Thanks to Ed Greene and Richard Peck for the wine selections. And thanks to Richard and Susan, Donna, Ted, Malinda and Shauna, gracious and wonderful dinner companions, one and all.

Cheers,

Dave

Stepping Outside of the Bubble

Our new President has said he will try hard to keep in touch with the concerns of the average Americans. I don't know if this is possible, given the extent to which our Presidents are protected, but I think it is a good intention and I hope it works. If he can accomplish this I think it will serve his Presidency and this country well.

We try to take the same approach in our own small way. In other words, we believe any winemaker who drinks only his own stuff is living in a bubble.The same thing is true of a chef, a musical composer, an artist or anyone engaged in any form of creative endeavor.

So we try to keep in touch with a wide range of wines. Why?

First, we like a wide range of wines, and not just the varietals we make.

Second, even if you are making DRC, drinking the same stuff and only the same stuff all of the time gets boring. Yeah, drinking $800 bottles of Burgundy could get boring if that is all you are drinking.

Third, there are alot of Pinot makers whose stuff we like alot, and not just the Pinot makers working in our same style. We posted last weekend about a Pinot Noir Shootout and that list included some of our favorites. Others include Arcadian, Kosta Browne, Rivers Marie and many others. Some of them are very pricey and hard to find.

Part of our motivation in starting Calicaro was to make really super high end Pinot and bring it to the Southeast at a price below many of the high end brands. Given that many of these brands are north of $70 and sometimes north of $100 we can do that.

Other varietals we like include Syrah, Zinfandel, Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Chards, Sauv Blanc, and more exotic whites such as Viognier and Roussane. Alot of times I feel like the quality of the fruit and winemaking is more important to my enjoyment of the wine than the varietal. A well made Sauv Blanc can trump an inferior Cab Sauv most any day.


Cheers,

Dave