Wine

NAPA WANTS TO KNOW: What Do the Fires Teach Us? BY KEN FRIEDENREICH

“THE WORLD WATCHES TELEVISION AND THEY BELIEVED NAPA Valley burned down.” So, Gladys Horiuchi, Director of Communica- tions for the California Wine Institute told me last fall after this latest crisis ended. It only ended, of course, for TV news crews that sped off to the next train wreck. Admittedly, flashing footage on the nightly news intoned gravely with knitted brow, leaves much of the story outside the frame. So, it becomes tempting to contrive the narrative less as a record than a soap opera. I know--I was in the television news business for most of the 1990s. Being first is better than being accurate. Witness the Napa coverage at William Hill Winery. Located on Atlas Peak Road, this area sustained considerable conflagration and damage. The signage at the roadside announcing the name of this winery had fallen, a bit scorched worse for wear--but salvageable, if only as a token of what happened. The various network news crews and others made sure to use the unfortunate sign as bump or lead image to intro- duce their “package” or from the scene standup coverage, all the while ignoring the property itself, spared the fire damage. More contrivance characterized the narratives. Most fruit had come off the vines, was sorted, stemmed and crushed. The bulk of the big haul rested in fermentation tanks or was already in barrel. Speed is the essence of winemaking once grapes come in from the field. The images shown belied these circumstances. What we didn’t see was the gallant stand at Regusci Winery on the Silverado Trail, where the family and its extended family of field and wine workers battled back encroaching flames licking at the main buildings. They beat the flames back to save their business for another vintage. The 2015 Estate bottled and Zinfandel attest to the character of these Stags Leap District wines. The heroics came later. Clos Du Val Winery staff braved the dry Napa River bed to gain access to their winery, start emergency power, and make sure the atmosphere inside the place kept fermenting juice happy and stable, despite the chaos leaping here and there under the curtain of smoke and noise. “We didn’t want our wine to taste like a wet campfire.” Up Silverado Trail at Baldacci Family in the heart of the District, Elizabeth Bouchard, manager of the tasting room, observed post-blaze, “Traffic is down in the Valley at hotels, restaurants and in TOP Perched on a green knoll overlooking the north end of the Stags Leap District, tasting rooms, thanks to over-sensationalized news coverage. Hey, Silverado Vineyards offers a portfolio of wines that are as accomplished as the view. world--Napa Valley is still here and open for business.” Photo courtesy Silverado Vineyards. ABOVE Made up of 17 wineries, the Stags Leap A salient point largely ignored by mainstream media is a common- District Winegrowers Association is a tight-knit group of wineries, each with a stellar portfolio. Photo courtesy Robert Bruno Photography. place. Grape vines don’t burn like kindling, and their yards usually act as fire breaks. We’re not here to minimize the destruction and losses

MAY/JUNE 2018 | 115 It’s a new day in the Stags Wine Leap District and resilience is everywhere in the attitude of this wine region. Photo courtesy of Bob McClenahan Photography.

of life--this was a real crisis. Resilience, may not show in tasting notes, but with his 2014 Cabernet and 2016 . it’s everywhere in attitude. Silverado Vineyards played host to us on their remarkable property in On a beautiful afternoon in late winter, we sat in an open and canopied the Stags Leap District. You cannot go wrong with the Sauvignon Blanc or dining space at Taylor Family Vineyards enjoying a cold lunch with their 5 Cabernet Franc. The portfolio is as accomplished as the view. wines, each worth a second pass--a 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, two Cabernets Tulocay--winemakers Bill and daughter Brianna Cadman take credit (the 2013 SLD Estate Reserve and the 2014 Napa Valley Cabernet), and that Buddy the Barking Dog insists belongs to him for such gems as 2013 their 2014 red blend. The small output and the reluctance of the family to and Syrah. become a public grange makes sampling these wines a pleasure worth Clos Du Val, also in Stags Leap District, is rebuilding its visitor center advance planning. You will need to make an appointment. haunt and the fires had less to do with the change than the arrival of Steve Over lunch, Patricia Taylor recalled just how close the fires came. “My Tamburelli as new president for a place well loved also for its Carneros son called, and said, you had best look outside. The flames were coming Chardonnay and . I adored these 35 years ago. Speaking of 1983, down the slope and then made a sharp turn on that side of Silverado Trail, we pulled a Zinfandel from the early Reagan years and it has aged with as if to avoid jumping the road. Good thing, too.” The recent vintages in our remarkable vigor. glasses behaved with the calm assurance of those people they please who Baldacci--maybe you will not notice the temporary classroom environ- know better than to believe what they see on television. ment of the visitor center as they remodel their tasting room. It’s one of Fire fallout is most visible sporadically, but damage from ash, smoke those Napa stories that never quite resolves. The wines, however, from and waste disposal pose stubborn longer-term consequences. this legendary property should more than please. The blends now offered The DeKovens of Calistoga were stuck with 7 tons of Cab fruit under are joyful use of wine grapes. The Carneros Syrah, a beloved interloper, contract when the winery buyer backed off alleging smoke taint. The takes its place without demur with the Cabernets. DeKovens filed suit. More troubling, the latest Napa acceptable use rules Bialle--no question, the Black Chicken rules this roost. The story is on the ballot pit icons like Randy Dunn of Howell Mountain against almost as good as the wine. Visitors here will view rows of Zinfandel, now a Caymus’ Charlie Wagner, Jr., as to whether good farming is not as good as rarity on the 40,000 acres of valley floor. This is wine for the grand feast no farming. It’s so Napa. with good crystal just as much at home on the patio. Fires? Quakes? Ballot initiatives? Kudos to Californians who work Prager--okay--money of all denominations and all nations hang from serenely and well with or without a net. the ceiling like sleeping bats. This place is for sailors, who know port from Road 31: 2016 Pinot Noir was in the caves at rest when the fires swooped starboard. You can drink port. Get your sea legs here. down. The area at Soda Canyon Road looks like a petrified forest. Hold this Stags’ Leap Winery--Christophe Paubert, winemaker grew up in wine for 2-3 years. Bordeaux. He has made wine here for nearly a decade. The wines made are Ilsley Vineyards, in the Stags Leap District, allocates most of their fruit not transplants. This is a serene, self-assured portfolio set within a late to Shafer. But the siblings oversee an operation of beguiling beauty with Victorian manse, complete with high ceilings, big hearths, stained glass, wines in small lots to justify the view. Make an appointment. and furniture smaller than a Buick sedan. Nostalgia is good when you’re Stewart Cellars in Yountville is just outside the areas most at risk. Blair able to drink wine like this. Try the 2016 Napa Valley Viognier, the 2014 Guthrie produces wine with more finesse than brashness. The wine club Financier blend, or the exquisite 2014 Cede Malis Petite Syrah. hideout and tasting room are stylish like the wines. You’re in tall cotton One nearly forgets the flames.CH

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