NAPA VALLEY REGISTER Napa CountyFRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018 | C1 coverage: Visit us online at NapaValleyRegister.com/wine for more coverage of the wine ON WINE industry. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018 | napavalleyregister.com | SECTION C

ON WINE Celebratory bubbles as A tale of two tintos needed, Part 1 Growing Tempranillo in Cabernet Country any food experts at this time of year suggest that TONY POER Mthe best libation to serve When he was coming up in the at parties and other celebra- wine business as a restaurant tions is Champagne or any dry buyer in the 1990s, Calistoga sparkling . winemaker-turned-grower Sam It’s for toast- Spencer fell in love with Spain. ing, they say, Not the country, per se, but the and people like it vinos tintos — its red wines. almost regardless Guided by savvy importers, of the style in the industry veteran became so which it is made enamored of Spain’s most fa- or how sweet it is. mous wine regions, Rioja and DAN But most never Ribera del Duero, that, just a few BERGER mention Cham- years later, he planted his fami- pagne’s greatest ly’s Lake County property with raison d’être: the vine that ties these denomi- pairing it with food. nacións to each other and is the I suppose we are all creatures Spanish calling card to the rest of habit when celebrations are of the wine world: Tempranillo. planned, such as year-end par- Two decades ago, Spencer ties, graduations, promotions, wasn’t the only North Coast and retirements. We launch vintner to focus on this noble, ships by sacrifi cing a bubbly on age-worthy variety. In a small the bow as the ship is named. but signifi cant way, the late And some people mistakenly ‘90s were an auspicious time for give the parents of newborns Tempranillo up and down Napa a bottle of Champagne to hold Valley. onto for the scion’s 21st birth- After a visit to a famous Ri- day. (Almost all will be about 20 bera del Duero estate in 1998, years too old at that point.) Napa importer-brokers Steve The trend of Champagne and and Faith Ventrello acquired an sparkling wines being so widely armful of Tempranillo vine cut- regarded as essential on festive tings from the owner and air- occasions has been around for mailed them back to California. decades. But I always see it as They used these raw ingredients a symbol. So do waiters. If a to establish a one-acre vineyard restaurant patron orders any- for Parador Cellars, Napa Valley’s thing with bubbles (Cava, Pro- fi rst Tempranillo-centric wine secco, Sekt) waiters often ask, brand. “What’s the occasion?” Need “The hardier red wine vari- there be one? eties have done really well up French Champagne makers here,” Steve Ventrello said in an don’t like talking about the interview a couple of years ago. subject since they have year- “I consider Tempranillo one of round issues, such as: How these.” to market bubbly in the eight Northern California’s climate months that celebrations de- is a factor. Recall that in “My Fair cline? The celebratory months Lady,” Eliza Doolittle carefully are June and the last three of enunciates, “The rain in Spain TONY POER PHOTOS each year. stays mainly in the plain.” Here The celebrations-with-bub- in the North Bay, it mainly just BOT- istoga — o er an intriguing look bles thing is based also on stays away — for much of the at how Spain’s signature grape sound. The well-known “pop” growing season, anyway. But in TLES can perform at opposite ends of of the cork and the sounds the Napa Valley, Ventrello noted TONY POER the Valley. coming out of the glass signify the weather works to Tempranil- PHOTO “I probably drank some Tem- happiness. lo’s advantage. Coquerel’s pranillo earlier in France, but I “They love to hear the pop “The dry climate leading up Calistoga don’t have the memory of it,” and the fi zz,” said one wine to the harvest, usually speaking, Tempranillo confessed Coquerel winemaker salesman to me 30 year ago. lends itself to it,” he said. “It’s an and Truchard’s Christine Barbe over lunch at As such, the quality of the early-ripening variety, which is Carneros are Zuzu Restaurant, Napa’s default sparkling wine rarely is an issue how it got its name: temprano Napa Valley locus for Spanish wine and food. for infrequent bubbly con- means ‘early’ in Spanish. So you examples “I’m from Bordeaux and we drink sumers. Most people wouldn’t know that is something that’s a lot of Cabernet and Cab Franc, know the di erence between benefi cial for the grape.” Left: Sal maybe a little bit of Burgundy. Dom Perignon and a $3.99 Around the same time the DeIanni But you know, Bordeaux people Brut from Arkansas. And most Ventrellos’ package was jetting is Tony barely drink !” wouldn’t care as long as there is west over the Atlantic, Tony Truchard’s Barbe arrived in the U.S. in a loud pop. Truchard got inspired by Rioja longtime 1996 after earning a Ph.D. in Some French folks I’ve met and planted two acres of Tem- winemaker enology from the University of have pointed an accusatory pranillo on a volcanic knoll at the Bordeaux. She worked for a de- fi nger to “you Americans” who eastern edge of his and his wife Jo cade at the volume end of the in- they indicate are daft to ignore Ann’s Carneros property. dustry, in viticultural research at the best reason to drink Cham- In 2000, the vintner Peter E & J Gallo and Robert Mondavi. pagne: serving it with food. Prager grafted the vine over from When she signed onto the Cock- When the bubbly and the Muscat in a Calistoga vineyard erells’ boutique project in 2006, food are excellent, pairing bub- he owned. He farmed it to blend she was tasked with shaping up bly with food can be an amazing into some of the Port-style wines Walnut Wash Vineyard, their wine experience. A key reason made at his St. Helena winery. the project was more conven- to be true to the grape. We want Calistoga property. is that most sparkling wines Prager still buys the fruit from tional: to produce a 100 per- to show you what the vineyard “We bought the vineyard next have better acidity than most the vineyard’s current owners, cent varietal wine that, like the can do here with each variety.” door in 2008, and the Tempra- table wines. Brenda and Clay Cockerell, who dozen other varieties his boss Seen, then, through Steve Ven- nillo was there,” she said over When I mentioned this sup- bottle Tempranillo under their grows, demonstrates how the trello’s lens of a dry, mild Napa the busy midday din at Zuzu, posed American penchant for own label, Coquerel Wines. cool Carneros climate a ects Valley, the bookended Truchard a Flamenco tune blaring in the For Sal DeIanni, Tony Tempranillo. As DeIanni put it and Coquerel sites — one in cool Please see ON WINE, Page C2 Truchard’s longtime winemaker, during a harvest break, “We try Carneros, the other in warm Cal- Please see TINTOS, Page C2

PLEASE THE PALATE Brooks Winery is sustained by friendship

n 1998, Jimi Brooks started pioneering varieties planted in They purchase Riesling from Brooks Winery, focusing on Oregon. Today, there are 782 vineyards across the Willamette IOregon’s potential for ex- acres of Riesling planted in Ore- Valley, including Yamhill-Carl- pressive, complex and balanced gon. It may be a minor grape va- ton, Dundee Hills, Chehalem Riesling and Pinot Noir. riety in Oregon, but Brooks Win- Mountains and McMinnville. In 2004, at the age of 38, ery is showing what a versatile This allows them to highlight the Brooks unexpectedly passed and expressive white wine it is. diversity of the region, and of away two weeks before harvest. Riesling is a grape that speaks the grape, and I experienced this A group of his friends donated to place, and it is very much at during a recent tasting at the their skills and home in Oregon, specifi cally in winery. time to make the Willamette Valley. The cli- Brooks 2016 Estate Ries- the 2004 wines mate is relatively mild through- ling, Eola-Amity Hills AVA in Jimi’s style. out the year, with cool, wet ($32) – A dry Riesling with 10.6 Twenty years winters and warm, dry summers, G/L of residual sugar, this wine ALLISON LEVINE PHOTO later, Brooks and the soils are ancient volcanic has lively acidity and makes the Winery continues Brooks Winery winemaker Chris Williams. and marine sediment. mouth water. The aromas of ALLISON to produce deli- Brooks Winery is located in lemon, cherry blossom and apple LEVINE cious wines under laKenzie Estate and Maysara and his desire to express the the Eola-Amity Hills AVA where give way to lime, lemon, honey- his name under Winery and also worked in the terroir of the Willamette Valley they have an 18-acre biodynam- suckle on the palate. The wine the guidance of cellar at Brooks. Chris was one of through the wines. ically-farmed estate vineyard. has a crisp and refreshing fi nish. Jimi’s sister, Janie Brooks, and the many friends who stepped in Oregon is known for its Pinot The estate vineyard includes fi ve Only 150 cases produced. his friend and winemaker Chris to make Jimi’s wine in 2004 and Noir, and Brooks produces el- acres of self-rooted Riesling that Brooks 2016 Ara Riesling, Williams. became the full-time winemaker egant ones. But, in addition to was planted in 1975. In addi- Willamette Valley ($38) – Chris and Jimi met in 1997. at Brooks Winery in 2005. He Burgundian varieties, Jimi loved tion to Pinot Noir and aromatic With 14.4 G/L of residual sugar, They met over motorcycle parts has continued Jimi’s gentle ap- Riesling and he imparted his white wines, Brooks produces the fruit from this dry Riesling but bonded over wine. Chris proach to winemaking, his com- passion for the grape to Chris. 22 Rieslings from 14 di erent worked alongside Jimi at Wil- mitment to biodynamic farming Riesling was actually one of the sites in the Willamette Valley. Please see WINERY, Page C2

M 1 C2 | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018 ON WINE NAPA VALLEY REGISTER Tintos From C1 background. “We also had [the Portuguese varieties] Tinta Cao and Touriga Nacional, but I re- grafted them to because they didn’t do well.” In the particularly cool 2010 vintage, Peter Prager opted not to purchase these two crops. But rain or shine, the Spanish vine has never been a problem. “With Tempranillo, it’s a better variety in all climates, because it resists very much to the drought,” she said, echoing Ventrello, “and we pick it just after Sauvignon Blanc. So it’s a good deal earlier.” With a focus on Bordeaux grape TONY POER PHOTOS varieties like Cabernet and Sauvi- gnon Blanc, it fi ts that Coquerel into some of the Riojas, and when ciated with Carneros. “We treat has a winemaker who comes from people let him taste some high- Tempranillo like Pinot Noir,” he there. Barbe even specialized in end Riojas, he thought, ‘That’s said. “And actually, to be honest, Sauvignon Blanc fermentation kind of a fun wine.’” we treat it more gently than Pinot while working towards her Ph.D. P&L considerations aside, Noir, because the skins on Tem- and makes outstanding versions perhaps “fun” is the main point pranillo are a little thinner.” Christine Barbe, winemaker at Coquerel. of the grape at Coquerel and under of Tempranillo for DeIanni and DeIanni limits punchdowns own label, Toquade. Barbe. With the Spanish grape during fermentation to one per Not that it doesn’t bite back a respected Lodi grower, Markus Tempranillo is a newer en- representing just a small fraction day, versus the three or four Pi- little. “Our Tempranillo’s got an Bokisch. deavor; except as a Languedoc of their respective wineries’ total not Noir can require to get the edge to it, especially when it’s With their case production at blending grape, there’s none to productions, it’s unthinkable that color and extraction he wants. young,” he said, circling back to just a fraction of Truchard’s, Co- speak of in France, and her fi rst it would ever replace , He laughed and admitted, “If I the topic of tannins. “It’ll even- querel Tempranillo mostly goes Calistoga harvest was in 2011. Pinot Noir, or Cabernet in either do that to Tempranillo, I end up tually age out and soften, but any- to the winery mailing list. It con- Since she has come on board, the portfolio. At the same time, the with a tankful of oatmeal” from thing you can do to get those tan- sequently stays o many restau- Cockerells have encouraged her to two winemakers’ shared science the meatier berries. Like Barbe, nins a little softer sooner, I think rateur radars, including Salyer’s. experiment not just with Tempra- training and attention to detail as- he’s had to fi gure out the grape’s is a good thing.” Tasting it for the fi rst time, he ex- nillo but also the Portuguese white sure that tackling Tempranillo is peculiarities on the job. Both winemakers’ early chal- tended Barbe’s Calistoga wine an grape, Verdelho. more than just a casual endeavor. lenges — Barbe’s surprising tan- informed compliment. “Coquerel Meanwhile, down in Carneros, Stretching back to the 2000 “I would think it’s nins and DeIanni’s “oatmeal” — is very reminiscent of Rioja,” he experimentation is the name of vintage at Truchard, DeIanni has going to be much more might conjure a less-than-refi ned said. “I would think it’s going to be the game in Truchard’s 400-acre an extensive track record with image of Tempranillo as a fi ne red much more fruit-forward, com- vineyard. There are an almost un- the grape. For Barbe, it’s been fruit-forward, coming wine. The results in the bottle are ing from upvalley, but it’s not. It’s precedented 13 di erent grape va- a shorter learning curve. The from upvalley, but it’s quite opposite. really well-balanced. It’s nuanced rieties grown there to supply the just-released 2015 vintage is the Sitting down in the Truchard like a Rioja.” winery’s 20,000-case produc- French winemaker’s fi fth in bot- not. It’s really well- tasting room to revisit last year’s In both practice and theory, tion, “which is pretty unique,” as tle. In a way, her experience mir- balanced. It’s nuanced release, DeIanni described their DeIanni and Barbe’s Tempra- Sal DeIanni pointed out, “because rors the vine’s own compressed like a Rioja.” excellent 2013 as lean, complex, nillos work alongside Zuzu Chef it’s a unique piece of property with cycle of vegetation. From the and food-friendly. “It’s proba- Armando Ramirez’s cuisine. “I a lot of di erent soil profi les and get-go in 2011, bud-break to har- Mick Salyer, Zuzu proprietor bly the best food wine we made. don’t put Rioja or Tempranillo on aspects. You can fi nd a little niche vest, she watched Tempranillo de- It’s good tasted by itself, but you the list because it’s Rioja or Tem- for almost everything.” velop much faster than Cabernet There’s an aromatic and fl avor have it with cheese or something pranillo,” Salyer said. “It’s because Like Barbe, DeIanni has an ad- Sauvignon. symmetry to Barbe’s and DeIan- o the grill and it transforms the it’s a good wine. Whether it’s from vanced wine science background. “I’m amazed on the property. ni’s versions of Tempranillo. The wine into something else. It really Spain or the Sierra Foothills or The Wisconsin native majored in It’s the last one to bud-break, but main di erence goes back to the marries well with the right foods.” southern Napa, I’m going to put chemistry at Marquette Univer- early to pick. So when you start,” temprano, or early, nature of how At Zuzu, Barbe shared a simi- it on the list because I like it. And sity in Milwaukee and was midway she said, snapping her fi ngers, “it the grape ripens. In Calistoga’s lar thought. “That’s what’s good because it pairs well with our through graduate work at North- goes very, very quickly.” warm (and sometimes hot) cli- in the U.S., because there are so menu.” western when, courtesy of a few In that ’11 vintage, Barbe fi gured mate, Coquerel consistently sees many di erent tastes, and so The verdict may still be out, Chicago wine shops and restau- the large, ripe Tempranillo berries September pick dates that come, many di erent foods, so Tem- but the Spanish vine seems ca- rants, fermented grape juice re- would be less tannic than Caber- as Barbe noted, on the heels of pranillo goes with di erent kinds pable of succeeding in Califor- placed analytical chemistry as his net. To compensate, she worked Sauvignon Blanc, one of Napa of food.” nia. “I mean, Tempranillo thrives calling in life. In a familiar wine- them aggressively, with lots of Valley’s earliest-picked varieties. There’s probably no one in Napa in warm climates,” Sam Spencer maker’s tale, he packed his bags skin contact during fermenta- The weather in Carneros is no- Valley better qualifi ed to comment said recently, repeating a grower’s for California and ended up with tion to extract color and tannin. ticeably cooler and causes Tony on this point than Zuzu’s pro- mantra. “That’s what it’s designed a master’s degree in enology from She ended up with a wine she de- Truchard and his team to grow prietor, Mick Salyer. He opened for, if a vine can be designed for UC Davis in 1996. Two years later, scribed as “so tannic, we had to Tempranillo that fl ies somewhat his Main Street tapas and pa- anything. It can express itself the Truchards hired him from a age it a long time to soften it.” in the face of its early ripening ella restaurant in 2002 and has really di erently depending on job ad in this newspaper. Coinci- She has since learned to de- identity. DeIanni observed that, in since introduced his customers where you pick it.” dentally, it was the same year Tony stem, do a cold maceration, and the milder climate, “things ripen to scores of Tempranillo-based At the end of the day, people Truchard planted those two acres try to control the temperature here a little bit slower with the fog, Spanish wines. Rioja and Ribera tend to reach for their local wines of Tempranillo. during fermentation. “And,” she and longer hangtime on the vine del Duero are two of Salyer’s go- before most anything else. Barbe DeIanni described his boss as a added, “we don’t leave it on the just gives you more fl avor.” With tos, but he was also an early sup- had earlier mentioned that in Bor- grower who welcomes the chal- skins very long. As soon as it’s dry, his and Barbe’s 2014 Tempranil- porter of Steve Ventrello’s Parador deaux, they drink very little Bur- lenge of raising non-traditional we press it.” los each clocking in just above 14 label and, of course, Truchard. gundy Pinot Noir. The same can wine grapes. “It gets boring just If Calistoga Cabernet was Bar- percent alcohol, the additional He even partnered with Napa be said of Napa Valley and Tem- growing Chardonnay and Pinot be’s original template, the refer- weeks of Carneros growing season winemaker Mark Herold to make pranillo. But in their respective in Carneros. Tony was looking ence point for DeIanni has been didn’t translate to a more potent a Zuzu Tempranillo with fruit ways, she and DeIanni are putting for something di erent. He was the red grape most closely asso- Truchard wine. supplied by Sam Spencer and the tiny chinks in Cabernet’s armor.

growth of French Champagne reserve-level or vintage-dated with rich acidity. The wine On Wine sales here. wines. Winery is mouthwatering; 500 cases From C1 But they recovered. Between As great as Champagne can be From C1 produced. 1983 and 1986, American wine with its unique aromas that in- Brooks 2015 Tethys Ries- drinking Champagne only at cel- buyers, spurred by a wave of clude hints of brioche, excellence comes from the estate vine- ling, Willamette Valley ebrations about 20 years ago to recently fl ush younger buyers, in high-caliber bubbly can be had yard and Yamhill Vineyards, ($25) – A sweet, dessert Ries- the New York-based head of the doubled their consumption of from at least a dozen U.S. projects, blending two areas of the ling, the wine is named after now-defunct Champagne News Champagne. many owned by European-based valley. Named after the con- Tethys, a mid-sized moon of Information Bureau in New York, Part of this growth must be at- bubbly specialists. Most sell for stellation of the aura, it was Saturn that is named after the he said, “It’s not just here. Even tributed to the early popularity of between $13 and $22 and the qual- first produced in 2003 by Jimi. Titan goddess of the primal in France, we have forgotten how what had to be one of the surprise ity of these can be sensational. Since 2004, Chris has made font of fresh water that nour- good it is with food.” successes of 1984 TV, “Lifestyles Between $8 and $20 are Spanish this special wine that has ishes the earth. The grapes are Champagne has always been of the Rich and Famous,” on which Cava, German Sekt (pronounced notes of pineapple, nectarine frozen in the freezer and the an iconic luxury wine, but about host Robin Leach would virtu- Zekt) and Italian Prosecco. Quality and lime. The aromatic wine resulting wine is rich on the 25 years ago, the category hit ally shriek about the “good” life, of these ranges from good to ex- has elegant minerality with nose with notes of apricot and some speed-bumps on the road “Champagne dreams and caviar cellent. mouthwatering acidity; 400 pineapple and elegant acidity to the checkered fl ag. In the late wishes.” Discovery of the Week: NV cases produced. on the palate. 1980s, at a blind tasting I staged of As younger wine buyers began Champagne Moutard Brut Rosé Brooks 2016 Bois Joli Riesling can taste so many moderately priced Champagnes, to discover other wines, Cham- de Cuvaison ($33) – Rosé Cham- Riesling, Eola-Amity Hills ways. Its flavor profile can be a number of professional tasters pagne remained a symbol of good pagnes are some of the most pop- AVA ($24) – A medium-dry anything you want it to be and challenged the authenticity of one living, celebrations, and promo- ular sparklings around these days, wine with 30.1 G/L of residual its levels of sweetness can vary highly popular French house. tions. Then sales again slowly partly as a result of the popularity sugar, this wine comes from from dry to medium dry to I called the American represen- declined again. of pink anything. This soft, straw- fruit planted in the 1980s. medium sweet to sweet. And tative of that brand to relay our Today, from various random berry-scented Blanc de Noirs- The wine has aromas of stone Brooks Winery has a Riesling suspicions about that wine, and bottles of true French Champagne style wine is charming and not as fruit, crisp apple and graphite in every style. Thanks to com- asked for a comment. The repre- I have tasted in the last few years, austere as many such wines. Soft minerality; 270 cases pro- munity and friendship, Brooks sentative ardently defended the some of the region’s most popular enough to serve as an aperitif, but duced. Winery is celebrating 20 years company — but has never com- brands are turning out some of with a solid mid-plate of fruit, Brooks 2016 Sweat P and Jimi’s Brooks love for municated with me since! the best “normal” Champagnes in it works nicely with semi-soft Riesling, Eola-Amity Hills Riesling lives on. The bottle was clearly not worth years. The drawback is that prices cheeses and lighter meals. AVA ($28) – A medium-dry a premium price. It has since im- for some of these so-called luxury wine with 36.5 G/L of residual Allison Levine is owner of proved markedly. brands are quite high. Dan Berger lives in Sonoma County, sugar, this wine was first made Please The Palate, a marketing Shortly before that, stories in Mumm Cordon Rouge Brut where he publishes “Vintage in 2008, the result of a stuck and event-planning agency. A some French newspapers alleged and Ayala Brut Majeur are nearly Experiences,” a subscription-only fermentation. Made with 100 freelance writer, she contributes chicanery (including discovery of $40 a bottle. Moët et Chandon weekly wine newsletter. Write to him percent native fermentation, to numerous publications while some fake Moët bottles that were Brut Imperiale and Taittinger at [email protected]. He is also the wine has notes of nec- eating and drinking her way seized and, later, the discovery of Brut La Francaise are closer to co-host of California tarine, mint and cardamom. around the world. some tainted Champagne). $50. Bollinger Brut Special Cu- with Steve Jaxon on KSRO Radio, On the palate, it has beauti- Contact her at allison@ Events like this slowed the rapid vée is $55. And these are not 1350 AM. ful salinity with a long finish pleasethepalate.com. Mail Quick & Easy! Lunch Special

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