Greenville Wine Meetup Pinot Noir Smackdown

Richard Peck and I went toe to toe / mano a mano this past Tuesday night on Pinot Noir. Richard had four more restrained and elegant Pinots (at least in theory- more on that later) and I had four bigger, badder, bolder in your face Pinots (again in theory).

There were a number of ironies in this tasting. First, the Calicaro Anderson Valley was first up on Richard's lineup. So...here I was supposedly arguing against my own wine!

Next up for him was an Italian Pinot Noir called Grosjean, 04 Arcadian Pisoni (that tipped the scales at 15.9% alc, so much for light and elegant!) and a Morey St Denis Burgundy.

I poured 07 Siduri Sonoma County, 06 Lucia Garys' Vineyard, 05 Martinelli Bella Vigna and 05 Siduri Sonatera.

All showed reasonably well or better, although some of the bigger pinots were in the early stages of their drinking windows and would benefit from more bottle time.

We had 24 at the tasting and perhapos an even split in preference between the first four and the second four. However, the Burg and the Pisoni were both quite big wines, and the Grosjean was amazingly good for an Italian Pinot (this varietal is not their forte by any stretch) with wonderful zingy acidity.

So...the question for me was how the Calicaro would hold up against a $150 retail Burg and a $90 Arcadian from a highly regarded vineyard? The answer is very, very well. The Calicaro was widely praised and a number of folks called it their wine of the night.

My worthy adversary Richard sang its praises too. Were folks just getting behind the local boy and his wine? Maybe that was a factor but I was proud of the wine and it clearly was not outclassed. I am just glad it could run with the big dogs.

As for the bigger end of the spectrum, the 07 Siduri Sonoma County which is a relatively modest 14.1 % alc Pinot, was overshadowed by its predecessors from Pisoni and Burgundy, although it is a beautiful wine in its own right- just too small a wine to follow these two. The Martinelli and the Siduri Sonatera were both drinking wonderfully in my opinion. The Lucia needed a bit more time to soften up- at least another year and it should be in great form.

I poured some bonus bottles- a 2000 Beaux Freres that was wonderful, a 2007 Loring Clos Pepe, very big and well liked, a New Zealond Pinot from Mountford, not much talked about, and finally an 08 Tunisian Pinot Noir. Yes, a North African Pinot Noir! The amazing thing about this wine was that it indeed did taste like Pinot Noir and was not horrible. Actually for about $12 US (8 Euros) I would say it was as good as many similarly priced domestic Pinots.

Richard and I had fun and shook hands at the end although we clearly did not change each other's minds about things. All good fun and the wine world is better for having a diversity of views. How boring would it be if it were otherwise? Hope the participants were able to tolerate all of our bantering in order to drink some rockin' good Pinot Noir.

Cheers,

Dave

North African Pinot Noir??!!

Just got back from a trip that included a brief stay in Tunisia on the coast of North Africa. Visited the ruins at Carthage. Those who remember their high school world history may recall that Carthage was defeated by Rome in the Punic Wars.

It is hot, hot desert terrain. Not what I would consider a climate for a a cool weather varietal such as Pinot Noir. But there it was on the shelves, with a label describing the contents as Carthaginian Pinot Noir. Were there mountains in the area more conducive to growing these finicky grapes? None that I could see.

Nevertheless the shop keeper said this was THE outstanding wine produced in Tunisia. How could I resist that pitch combined with a price of 8 Euros, which is about $12?

Will plan to open the bottle at a Pinot Noir tasting next week as a bonus curiosity wine. One safe bet is that no one will have tasted this wine before! And it will be fun to see if they really can grow good Pinot in North Africa, a land better known for its camels.

Cheers,

Dave

Recommended Reading: Judgment in Paris

Judgment in Paris was written by the sole reporter who actually was present at the watershed 1976 Paris tasting in which California bested France in Cabernet and Chardonnay wine. The author's motivation is to tell the full story and set the record straight, which he does in admirable style. As a credit to the author, knowing the ultimate outcome does not diminish the intrigue and suspense of the storytelling.

The author has done his homework and we are made privy to the multitude of back stories and personalities that came together for that event. As California has moved from success to success in the last several decades, it is important to remember that such was not always the case. In the mid 1970s the vast majority of California winemaking was still jug wine, and the few producers of fine wine struggled to survive.

This small low key tasting event may have done more to bring California into the limelight than anything else. The importance of the event only became clear in hindsight. And for the fans of Cali wine, the reactions of the French judges makes for delicious reading.

Mid June Vineyard Update

Here is the latest from our Vineyard Manager- the short answer is that things are looking good.

After spending considerable time walking vineyards, a few things are becoming clear. First, the vines are catching up on developing the optimum shoot length / node number. Second, due to the May rains, there are an abundance of lateral shoots on most all varieties. Finally, there are an abundance of clusters. Lots of them.

In Burgundian varieties, berries are between BB and pea sized while Bordeaux varietal berries are about the size of a BB. Many clusters have persistent caps. If these caps fail to dislodge or fall off, it could create challenges, but there’s nothing to worry about at this point. Over the last few weeks, California’s weather has been about as changeable as a newborn’s diapers and the threat of powdery mildew has been high. However, despite the conditions, I have not heard of any outbreaks or problems.

The focus in the vineyards is still spread out over weed control, disease control and canopy management. At many sites, the 2nd sets of wires are being positioned on VSP systems and hedging the canes is not far off. Many growers are walking vineyards looking at vine water stress levels to get baseline reference points to determine if and when to start irrigation. The priority right now is to open the vine canopy for disease control and to allow light on the interior wood and clusters. This is important for fertility of the buds for next year and to develop many of the favorable characteristics we all look for in the fruit to make great wine.

It’s about the time of year everyone starts to get excited about the vintage because folks begin to visualize what could be. Well, don’t get all knotted up just yet my friend, we still have a ways to go. But, it’s looking good at this point.

Thanks-

Mitchell

Greenville Wine Meetup- Pinot Noir Smackdown 7.21.09

Meetups are groups formed on line that then meet and socialize based on a common interest. The Greenville Wine Meetup now has about 310 members and is a fun a and casual group that meets 1-3 times per month to taste and discuss all things wine.

Richard Peck (who is the CWO, or Chief Wine Officer of the Meetup) and I are leading a Pinot Noir Smackdown on July 21 that promises to be great fun and very educational. Richard is presenting four Pinot Noirs that are in the more elegant and restrained style often called Old World. One of the four will be Calicaro's 07 Hayley Vineyard Pinot from the Anderson Valley.

I will be presenting four New World style Pinots which are bigger, darker and richer wines. While our '07 Anderson Valley Pinot is Old World many of our Pinots including our '08 vintages for later release in the fall of '09 fit into the New World style.

Richard and I will square off mano a mano to discuss and debate the merits of each style in an Ultimate Pinot Noir Smackdown. We think it will be great fun and hope you will sign up and taste some great wines and participate in the fun.

Go to http://www.meetup.com/winemeetup/ to learn more about the Meetup and the Pinot Noir Smackdown- look under the calendar fior July and click on the program showing on July 21. Signing up as a Meetup member is free.

Cheers,

Dave
Calicaro Wine

A New Update From Our Director of Vineyard Management

This report came in yesterday from Mitchell Klug, our Director of Vineyard Management. The short version is that things are looking very good at this point. For those of us geeky enough to really get into viticulture, read on!

One of the most influential and uncontrollable things growers deal with is the weather. Luckily, it’s been cooperative. A result of our collective good fortune has been a significant progression of bloom from last week.

Blocks on several properties for the earlier ripening varietals are now through bloom and have completed fruit set. If the weather stays as predicted, we should have very good fruit set in 2009. Between fruit set and veraison, lay a critical period where we can affect the berry size by how we work the vines. Managing the leaf canopy and soil moisture will play key roles in the final cluster appearance and chemistry.

I am seeing good leaf color on Bordeaux varietals. Pinot Noir also looks good and we should see the Chardonnay leaves move out of the yellow phase shortly. Syrah looks very good. Overall, the shoot length is a little short for being this close to bloom, but definitely adequate for the vine to be able to complete fruit set. I suspect we will have our desired shoot length relatively soon. Because of the May rains, I see many varietals are now pushing laterals. Growers will need to manage their canopies to prevent them from closing in and causing too much shade in the vine’s interior. That would reduce fertility for next year and increase disease pressure. Additionally, on some varietals, having a canopy closed in may prolong the problem of methoxypyrazine, which produces vegetal character in wine.

Many vineyards that use a VSP or vertical shoot positioning system have moved the first set of moveable wires in place to train the vines and a few sites have even moved the second set of wires in place.

I am optimistic in what I’m seeing at the sites and the next few weeks will show us a lot about the vines.

Mitchell

We're at Bloom: Weather and Vineyard Update

Received this report a couple of days ago from our Vineyard Manager:

Bloom is just around the corner. Even though bud break was about 5-7 days later than average, we're seeing hints bloom is about to occur. Technically, bloom is when 50% of a cluster has the calyptras dropped so you can see the stamen. The number of clusters showing this condition on a vine is a factor growers take into consideration before they declare that bloom is taking place in a vineyard block. The current heat spell will certainly speed things up. The 600 degree day mark is another indicator that bloom is surfacing. The impact of temperature can not be overlooked because the time necessary to complete bloom is directly influenced by temperature. Typically, faster bloom periods result in better fruit set.

The series of recent rain storms offered mixed blessings. While the storms certainly helped replenish the upper soil profile, the flip side is that we have seen weed pressure and the threat of powdery mildew.

Overall, shoot growth looks good. I'm still seeing quite a bit of yellowish color in areas where Chardonnay & Syrah grow. However, I suspect those soils will warm up and dry out a bit more and the leaves will color up.

Very soon, the first set of movable wires on vertical shoot positioned vineyards will get moved upward to catch the young growth. Timing this right can be tricky. If you wait too long, the tendrils begin grabbing the adjacent shoots and the canopy becomes tangled. But, if you act too soon, you don't get enough shoots above the wires. Nothing is as simple as it seems. Then again, if high-end growing was simple, vineyard managers could find themselves on a list of endangered species.

In reading this report there are a few conclusions I can make. Overall, the rain is very good news as things were looking so dry earlier. At the 600 degree days mark we are between 1/3 and 1/4 of the way there, as we typically wind up with about 2100-2400 degree days for the year. And there is more hands on care that goes into high end wine grape growing than people could ever imagine. While the growers in the Central Valley and other places may do industrialized farming, our Napa, Sonoma Coast and Santa Lucia Highlands vineyards are much smaller and more carefully tended (by hand).

Looks at this point that things are shaping up to be a good year!