Western Civ Survey 101, Through a Wine Glass

I'm about midway on Thomas Pellechia's book, Wine The 8,000 Year-Old Story of the Wine Trade. Pellechia has been in the wine business forever, having owned a winery, owned a wine shop...but per his bio he is not a historian. Pay no mind. Pellechia has done his homework and then some.

The book feels a bit like a Western Civ survey course...it skips like a stone across the millenia. However there are fascinating details.

The excavation of Pompeii revealed some 200 wine bars, with the prices still written on the walls.

Rome had the first cult wine, comprised of three vineyards separately vinified. It maintained cult status for 300 years.

The early vessels for wine transport were amphora that were pointed on the bottom- they held them in place by wedging them into holes.

Grappa, still popular in Italy, is made from pomace, the mass of leftover skins and seeds, and was originally made by the peasants who could not afford wine.

Viticulture was studied and written about by early Romans who advocated the idea of terroir.

Overall, I am struck by how little things have changed. Status, prestige, competition for markets, debates among viticultural gurus, branding, taxes, distribution channels, wine experts who tasted and rated wines. It was all there 2000 or more years ago.

Cheers,



Dave

The Green Movement in Wine

Anyone can see that "green" is the new statistical mean. This is playing out in innumerable ways that I have to believe will be better for our planet.

How does this affect wine? In the rarified world of wine, it is easy to forget that wine is at its core an agricultural product that is brought to market and sold. In that sense it no different than a head of lettuce (although Gary Pisoni, the well known Pinot Noir grower in Santa Lucia Highlands, famously asked his father, when his father complained about the high price of a vineyard and said that he should have stuck with lettuce, whether his father had ever heard of a lettuce tasting? Twenty some odd years later we know who was right on Gary's crazy planting vines idea).

There are a mutltude of implications and consequences of the green movement. On the bottling end, we are seeing lighter weight bottles that use less materials and can be shipped more inexpensively. The conversion to screw caps from cork is becoming widespread, even on the higher priced wines. We will probably start seeing other types of containers for quality wines. I think we will see better wines sold in the box format.

This is anethema to some but I say let's have at it. I don't think there is anything magical about heavy glass and cork. Wine, properly sealed and stored, will taste delicious out of other containers.

In the vineyards, sustainable viticulture is now widely practiced. Organic has gone mainstream and is practiced by top vineyards with excellent results. The more avant garde are now adopting biodynamic viticulture, which goes well beyond organic. Some of the biodynamic practices appear sound and some seem mystical and superstitious. One can imagine what the wine scientists at UC Davis are thinking about this latest trend.

As for the eat and drink local movement to increase freshness and reduce the use of fuel in trasporting, well, wine is different and here we have reached the logical limitations. While there are wineries in every state now (yes, even Alaska has a winery but they import the juice to make the wine) the buy local movement is not going to extend to the point of convincing people to swap Cabernet for Muscadine. I'll buy local lettuce and I'll buy some local or regional wine- North Carolina and Virginia are producing some good wines- but for the vast majority I will look to the West Coast for wine for personal consumption and for the grapes that will become Calicaro wines that we make in California.

As to other green measures, Calicaro will try to be an early adopter of green practices within the constraints of what can be done and what is available to Calicaro in the marketplace. In many instances we believe this will be good for both the wine and the planet.

Cheers,

Dave
Calicaro Wine

Lawyers Just Wanna Make Wine (props to Cyndi Lauper)

I've been a practicing attorney for 30 years now. It is for me a gratifying and intellectually stimulating career. But it is a world of abstraction and symbols. For the most part, when the legal work is done, the papers are signed and filed away and everyone hopes it is not necessary to pull them back out.

Making wine couldn't be more different. I can't think of anything more tangible than wine (well, maybe one thing but unlike wine if you pay for it in 49 states you can go to jail). Taste, touch, sight, smell and, yes, even hearing get engaged. If it is good wine and you are present with the wine, these senses can be really engaged. And if you have some powerful good juice going on in the glass, it will command your attention. I don't suppose the Zen Masters had wine in mind when speaking of mindfulness, but I don't think there is any question that good wine rewards mindfulness.

Combine this sensory engagement with how wine is produced, the sheer physicality of the making of wine. And then combine that further still with the rootedness and struggle of the vine, the prodigious fertility, the historic methods and traditions of juice becoming wine, the sacramental role of wine, all inextricably tied to the endless cycle of nature itself. Clearly, there is some big time mojo at work here.

At its core, winemaking hasn't changed in 7,000 years. One historian joked that maybe winemaking is really the oldest profession (and again, having the distinct advantage of being legal in all states). To top off all of this, the end result, what is in the glass, is deeply connected to that entire process of earthiness, richness, ripeness, rootedness.

No wonder so many winemakers and winery owners are lawyers. It is the opposite of words on paper. It is as real as real gets.

Think I am wrong on this? Well, for starters, how about Robert Parker, the most influential wine critic in the past quarter century? He is a co-owner of Beaux Freres in Oregon. Jess Jackson of Kendall Jackson fame. Tom Stolpman of Stolpman Vineyard. Ross Stromberg, a health care business attorney who poured his wine for me at a lawyer conference and unknowingly started me on this journey.

Many, many others, some famous and some just making a little wine on the side. More than a few are what the French call garagistes, the cars parked in the driveway, the garage chock full of fermentation tanks, barrels and presses.

My takeaway from all of this? Love what you do and do what you love. And, because you will do that 40 hours a week for 40 years, find the opposite of that and love that too.

Cheers,


Dave
Calicaro Wine

'Splainin' Wine in Beer City

A classic routine on "I Love Lucy" involved Lucy getting busted in her not-so-clever ruses. When the jig was up, Desi would fold his arms in judgment, give her that look, and say "Lucy...you got some 'splainin' to do!"

I've learned that starting a California winery when you live most of the time in South Carolina means having some 'splainin' to do.

We were out for dinner recently with a group of skiing friends. The restaurant is a casual pizza place with an incredible craft beer selection. It is popular with this group of friends for two reasons- really good, big, cheap pizzas and two hundred plus craft beers. Its like a Wine Spectator Award list for beer.

As hearty brew was pounded down, I was questioned about this crazy Calicaro Winery idea, not the least of which had to do with why the wine cost over $15 a bottle.

I love this group of friends. But this is not the crowd that will swirl, sniff and talk about getting a hint of crushed violets on the nose. Its more about burning 3,000 calories on the slopes and then quickly and inexpensively replacing them so we can ski again tomorrow. But everyone was having a blast examining the never-heard-of craft made beers on the list and trying some of this and some of that.

In response to the Calicaro question, I stammered and stumbled, defensively trying to explain what I was up to and why my wine was pricey. Then the light bulb went on. Craft beer is to Budweiser as Calicaro Wine is to $20 grocery store wine.

Double the price but so much more going on in the glass. Character, personality, distinctiveness, intense flavors. Hand made. Yeah, double the price but about ten times as satisfying. Not something designed to stay on the center line so as not to offend anyone. Because when you don't offend anyone, you don't please anyone either. You are Middle of the Road and that is frankly boring.

The craft beer comparison connected. And these friends and others will try some Calicaro and other good wine soon, through some tastings. I'll try to control my missionary zeal. Nothing is worse than a well meaning friend intent on "improving" you. I really don't want to be that guy.

So, we'll see. They are all happy living in Beer City. But we'll take the bus over to Wineopolis for the day and do a little sightseeing. I'll try to be the tour guide and not the Wineopolis Chamber of Commerce President.

Cheers,

Dave

The Clone Wars

I participate in a wine bulletin board called Wine Talk on erobertparker.com. It is an amazing forum- some 7200 people from all over the world with a strong interest in wine.

Many top notch growers and winemakers participate and the discussions can get very lively, even heated about many issues.

One issue that got kicked around recently was Pinot Noir clones. Maybe a little esoteric for most folks but I find it fascinating. Basically, there are many variations of the Pinot Noir grape, all called Pinot Noir.

What was so fascinating about all of this, that even the casual wine observer might find interesting, was that on even the most basic ideas there was little to no consensus.

I will offer up one item on which there was broad consensus among growers and then mention a few items on which there was no real consensus.

Flavor and other sensory attributes are affected by what specific clone of Pinot Noir is used to make the wine. Yes- there was broad agreement!

On the following items there was broad disagreement-

The extent to which the clone selection was a factor in the wine- many saying it was very important but some saying much less than other attributes- even so far as to call it a red herring issue.

The extent to which clone selection was a factor over time- some saying the grapes mutate so fast that over a period of some years it doesn't much matter and others saying it is relatively stable and not mutating over 20- 30 years.

Whether the traditonal approach in the US of separate planting blocks of each clone is important. Some saying yes and some saying massale or field planting is a better way (mixing various clones together for growing and then harvesting and fermenting together- essentially throwing in the towel on the idea of blending wine made from different clones to make a better wine).

Is one group right and the other wrong on this? Well, maybe. But maybe not, too. Each of the growers is reflecting their own observations from their specific vineyards.

And there are at least four hugely important variables that can't be separated out. Terroir, weather, clonal sourcing, and chance.

Teroir is always a wild card, as it is in everything else in winemaking. Clone 667 may be one way here and a different way there.

Weather. There are weather variables within a single vineyard. Imagine how variable it can be when comparing different vineyards.

Clonal sourcing. In France the government maintains strict control over the Pinot clones- a grower goes to the source and gets pure clones. Here it is uncontrolled - growers take cuttings from other growers and on and on. And who knows whether the original plantings were even accurate? Lots of growers brought back "suitcase" clones that were field cuttings from various vineyards in France and for legal reasons do not want to say where they came from.

And last, but not least consider the role chance can play in this. Maybe the grape mutates and maybe it doesn't. Chance.

I love that last element. Making wine by the numbers can work up to a point. But to make great wine, chance and risk are part of the blend. And I think most would be able to agree on that!

Cheers,

Dave

2009 Vintage Weather- Wise

Although it is premature to make any firm predictions, so far it is looking like another dry year in California wine country. We have been in drought for several years now. Growers are hoping for more rain, as water tables have dropped and wells have gone dry. While growers are having a very tough time due to the low yields, winemakers have loved the last several years, provided we can get enough fruit to make wine. The berries have been small, yields low and the flavors concentrated and intense. In short, ideal for making phenomenal wine. California has a couple more months of rainy season so this could change. But as things stand, we are looking for 2009 to be similar to 2008, hopefully without the early season frost and the late summer heat spike.

Every vintage has its challenges and the winemaker must be able to react to what Mother Nature dishes up. We think we are going to have some great fruit and will be able to have another very high quality vintage. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Cheers,

Dave
Calicaro Wine

Transparency

I've been thinking about the idea of transparency recently. It is a timely topic in many regards. Wherever you fit on the political spectrum, you would probably agree that the institutions of government and big business have not demonstrated much transparency in recent years. Even the institutions themsleves have fallen victim to lack of transparency, for example, in buying and selling the so called credit default swaps- the bushel baskets of mortgage backed securities filled with bad apples.

While Calicaro is about as far away from the world of high finance as you can get, I've been thinking about our responsibilities to our customers.

And transparency seems particularly apt, as it is a word many Pinot Noir makers use to describe wine revealing its terroir, ie, the sense of place showing through in the wine.

While we are a new winery, we are starting with a clear sense of who we are, how we want to conduct our business, and how we intend to deal with our customers. Here is our very simple code of ethics:

1. We will be transparent in our winemaking techniques and the wine in all of our communications.

2. We will provide detailed information on the label and our website about the wine chemistry so educated, knowledgeable consumers can make informed choices.

3. We will promptly respond to and address all customer complaints. Where appropriate, eg "corked" wine, we will provide a replacement bottle.

4. We will make the best wine we can. Compromises are for relationships, not for winemaking.

5. We believe high quality winemaking can best be accomplished by staying small. We will stay small to maintain quality.

6. Wine is for enjoyment, pleasure and sharing. As an extension of the enjoyment of the wine itself, we will endeavor to make all of our customer relationships enjoyable.

Cheers,

Dave

Andrea Immer's Great Wine Made Simple

Andrea is one of my favorite wine writers. I am on a first name basis with her even though we haven't met. Maybe it is bit presumptuous of me. But read Andrea and you'll see why. She is one of those people- the kind you just know you could sit down with, share wine, and have a very enjoyable and interesting time.

In a scant few years, Andrea went from Wall Street investment banker to Beverage Director for Windows on the World, the renown restaurant on top of the World Trade Center. Fortunately, the world did not lose Andrea in the 9/11 tragedy and it is a better place for her presence. The last I heard she is Dean of Wine Studies of the French Culinary Institute in NYC.

Her accomplishments are far too numerous to mention here. She has every reason to feel proud. But, unlike some of the wine world, Andrea's writing reveals that she does not place stock in her own importance.

She writes clear, expository, understandable, transparent prose. She grew up in Southern Indiana and she "gets" that most of the world is intimidated by wine. And she hasn't forgotten where she came from. She comes at wine from that perspective. She breaks it down and organizes it into simple charts. She knows that telling most Americans that a wine tastes like red or black currants is of little help because we don't see currants in grocery stores here. So she will find another way, a solution - suggesting we buy a jar of red currant jelly that can be found in the average grocery store.

You can learn alot about wine by reading Andrea. And you may learn something about life too.

Here are a few quotes:

" 'Don't think. Drink.' In that moment, in those words, I learned the true meaning of wine."

"The real purpose of wine is not about the snobbery, the fancy labels, the big bucks, and status symbols that are supposedly going to make you look and feel sophisticated. Its real purpose is simple: Wine is a lube for life."

"...when all is said and done, the wine is just an enhancement to living. It is the life part that matters-the occassion, the lover, the meal, whatever. Now that is real wine knowledge."

From pages 196-7, Great Wine Made Simple.

This advice is coming from from one whose every financial and career incentive is to convince you that it is ALL about THE WINE. That, my friends, is keepin' it real.

Cheers,

Dave
Calicaro Wine