Conference Preview: The History of California in Six Glasses

Today we have a guest post from Michael Wangbickler. Michael will be presenting his session, The History of California in Six Glasses, next month at SWE’s 38th Annual Conference in Seattle, Washington. Read on to hear a bit about the history of California wine!

father serraThe story of the California wine industry is replete with interesting characters, historical milestones, and wacky situations.

Indeed, the history of wine in California is tied to the history of modern California itself. It all began with the Spanish colonization of the area. During the 18th Century, Spanish missionaries led by Franciscan friar Junípero Serra Ferrer established a series of missions ranging from San Diego to Sonoma. And, of course, the one thing that is absolutely necessary for Catholic mass is nor a chapel or church, but WINE for the sacrament. It was the friar, monks, and their parishioners who first discovered that California provided ideal conditions for the making of good wine.

It wasn’t until the 19th century and immigration of other Europeans that California wine became a commercial proposition. The discovery of gold in 1848 in the Sierra Nevada Mountains brought an influx of fortune seekers from around the world. The discovery preceded the annexation of California from Mexico by only about a month, and the following year saw the population of the state explode. While a few made their fortunes, many did not. But, one fact was certainly true… they were a thirsty bunch.

It was a ready and open market for alcohol that spurred many of the early pioneers in the business to plant a few acres and start making wine for the “forty-niner” gold prospectors and others who followed in their wake.

Most of the early stuff was produced from a random assortment of grapes drawn from buena vista winerycuttings brought from back east or the “mission” grapes brought by the Spanish. That is, until a Hungarian-American traveler, writer, town-builder, and pioneer winemaker named Count Agoston Haraszthy came onto the scene. In the early 1850s, he established a small vineyard in San Francisco to satisfy local demand, but found the area ill-suited to grape production due to the foggy weather. Finding his way 50 miles north of the Golden Gate to the town of Sonoma, he bought a vineyard in 1857 and named it Buena Vista, meaning beautiful view.

But the self-named Count wasn’t satisfied with only owning a vineyard, oh no. He wanted the whole state to be a new Garden of Eden for grapes. In 1858 he penned a “Report on Grapes and Wine of California,” which was published by the California State Agricultural Society. With practical advice for planting vines and making wines, it encouraged the planting of grapes throughout the state. In later years, Haraszthy’s “Report” was recognized as the first treatise on winemaking written and published in California, and praised as the “first American explication of traditional European winemaking practices.”

napa californiaIn 1861, Haraszthy made a trip to Europe to investigate the best European vine-planting and winemaking practices and to gather cuttings of European vines. He traveled through France, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain before returning to California with more than 100,000 cuttings of more than 350 different varieties of vines. His efforts in this regard solidified California as a future wine powerhouse and set the stage for those that followed. Too bad he eventually “disappeared” in a Crocodile-infested swamp in Nicaragua. But that’s another tale.

While today we tend to think of Napa Valley as the best that California has to offer, the early pioneers settled in other areas, such as Sonoma and Livermore. In 1882, three Czech brothers named Korbel built a winery in western Sonoma County and began making sparkling wine, one of the earliest wineries to do so. A year later in 1883, Carl Wente planted 43 acres in Livermore Valley and began a legacy; Wente Vineyards is still owned and operated by the fourth and fifth generation of the Wente family. Their contributions to California wine include the Wente clone of Chardonnay, which is widely planted throughout the state and the backbone of many great wines from many producers.

Others followed and carried the industry into the 20th Century… Georges de Latour, André Tchelistcheff, Cesare, Peter, and Robert Mondavi, and Ernest and Julio Gallo are but a few of a long list of names of individuals whose vision, determination, and spunk have made California wine what it is today.

M wangbicklerThis article is but a teaser of some of the subjects we will cover in my conference session titled “The History of California in Six Glasses.” We will taste wines from some of these historic producers, explore what each signifies in their contribution to the California wine industry, and generally have a great time exploring the lives of some of the business’ most interesting characters.

Before moving to wine country a decade ago, Michael Wangbickler knew virtually nothing about wine. Undaunted, he threw himself into learning everything he could about the subject and now holds a Diploma in Wine & Spirits (DWS) from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and is a Certified Wine Educator (CWE). Mike currently holds a position at Balzac Communications and Marketing in Napa, California. In addition, he also sits on the Board of Directors for the Drink Local Wine organization. Michael’s session will be presented on Friday, August 15th at 3:00 pm.

 

Guest Post: Unveiling Bobal: A Journey of Discovery

Today we have a guest post from Nora Z. Favelukes! Nora tells us the story of how she became an instant fan of Bobal, and how she arranged to have a world-class flight of Bobal wines lined up for the upcoming SWE Conference in Seattle! 

Meson Las Rejas – Albacete,  Spain

Meson Las Rejas – Albacete, Spain

Five years ago while on a business trip to Spain I was introduced to Bobal. My host was Rafael (Rafa) Javega, the owner of Exitalia, a company dedicated to the promotion of Spanish wines worldwide.

During our long car rides, Rafael’s eyes would light up when talking about the Bobal grape variety. This spiked my curiosity to no end, so much so that Rafa arranged for me to meet the members of Primum Bobal – an association of 7 producers dedicated to the promotion of this grape. At the meeting, where I had the opportunity to taste a few of their wines, my love affair for Bobal was born.

A few months later, my second encounter with Bobal happened at Meson Las Rejas in Albacete, Spain. Albacete is a vibrant city in Castile-La Mancha. Luis Jimenez, President of La Mancha’s Association of Winemakers, had invited Rafa and I to what would become one of the most memorable dining experiences in my lifetime: an eight course dinner solely based on different types of edible mushrooms served both raw and cooked.

We doused this exquisite meal, prepared by Chef Miguel Martinez Vilora, with several bottles of Luis’ Cien y Pico ‘En Vaso’ Bobal – a powerful and rich wine. It was the perfect match!

Antonio Sarrion and Nora Favelukes at Mustiguillo

Antonio Sarrion and Nora Favelukes at Mustiguillo

On my subsequent trips to Spain, Rafa and I would always meet with Luis, who by then had become a mentor and a friend. Bobal was never too far from our conversations.

A Bi-Continental Tasting 

When I was asked by the Society of Wine Educators to host a seminar at the Annual Conference in Seattle I jumped at the opportunity to bring Bobal to the attention of the audience! One the date was confirmed the countdown started.

Rafa sent an open call to Bobal producers from Utiel Requena and Manchuela to submit samples. In the meantime Luis Gutierrez, the Wine Advocate’s reviewer on Spanish wines suggested I speak with Antonio (Toni) Sarrion from Bodega Mustiguillo, a leading expert on Bobal. From then on Toni and I exchanged numerous emails and little by little I was getting a larger and deeper picture on this unique grape.

On Monday April 7th, we conducted my first ever bi-continental tasting via …..Skype! Rafa Javega, Luis Jimenez, Toni Sarrion, and Santiago Garcia with the Exitalia team in Albacete, Spain connected via Skype with my QWWE team in New York City for the tasting. We all had the same set of samples and for the next 3 ½ hours we proceeded to taste the wines in real time – blind – with the goal of finding the ones that best conveyed the expression of this variety in its different categories.

Antonio Sarrion at Mustiguillo’s vineyards

Antonio Sarrion at Mustiguillo’s vineyards

The only information we knew was that the wines had been sorted by flights. After each wine was tasted, Luis, Toni, and Santiago gave their impressions. I would then ask probing questions with my investigative hat and, after an animated discussion on styles and types, we selected the winners for each of the flights. At the end of the tasting we had the wines for the Bobal seminar!

Going to THE SOURCE 

Early June, Rafa and I – like two Don Quixotes – embarked on what would become an exciting exploratory trip through the land of Bobal: Utiel Requena in Valencia.

We arrived on a late afternoon to Bodegas Mustiguillo in Utiel where for the first time Toni and I met. He immediately took us on a ride through his 70 + year old dry farmed bush Bobal vineyards. While he was pulling leaves and grabbing the soil with his hands, he gave us a master class on this emblematic, indigenous grape.

After visiting the winery and the impressive cellar we were invited to a dinner of traditional Spanish cuisine where Toni regaled us with a 1999 Bobal – his first vintage ever, a 2003 Bobal, the 2011 Finca Terrerazo and other incredible wines. I was surprised by the vibrancy of the color, the intensity of the fruit aromas and flavors and the concentration of these wines. Definitely, Bobal has great aging potential. Tasting those beautiful wines in such a great company was a clear reminder of why do we love so much our wine business.

Meeting with the producers of the DO Utiel Requena

Meeting with the producers of the DO Utiel Requena

A few weeks later, already back in New York, I learned that the 2011 Finca Terrerazo had been awarded by the Decanter World Wine Awards 2014 as the “Best in Show Red Spanish Varietals over £15” and was among the top 30 of over 15,000 wines from around the world. Did I mention that Finca El Terrerazo is 100% Bobal?

The following morning, Rafa and I left for the town of Utiel to meet with Jose Luis Robredo Hernandez, the President of DO Utiel Requena’s organization of producers. When we arrived they were all eager to hear about the Bobal seminar at the SWE Conference in Seattle and curious about the US market for imported wines. It was wonderful to see how interested they were about our country and its flourishing wine business.

 And then… “la pièce de résistance!”

Don Jose Luis Robredo Hernandez with two of his collaborators, Carmen Cárcel Pérez and Veronica Rodríguez, had arranged for a very special guided tour of the Lagar de las Pilillas, the oldest archeological site of an industrial winery in the Iberian Peninsula dating back to the VI century B.C…..over 2,600 years ago.

Archeologist Asuncion Martinez, Veronica Rodriguez,                           Carmen Carcel Perez and  Nora Favelukes at Las Pilillas

Archeologist Asuncion Martinez, Veronica Rodriguez,
Carmen Carcel Perez and Nora Favelukes at Las Pilillas

We could not have asked for a better or more passionate guide. Asuncion Martinez (Susy), the archeologist for the city of Utiel, has been working at Las Pilillas since its discovery decades ago. She climbed the hills like a goat, jumping from one stone to the other, showing us where the winemakers of that time did the crush. She also pointed out the pools (16 and counting), where the juice would flow down via gravity; how they worked with tree logs and special holes in the rock formations to pull, move, and stir; and finally, how they stored the wine in clay amphorae produced by a nearby factory. It was truly amazing to witness how an ancient tradition has been kept alive through the centuries. What a treat!

Nora Favalukes is the President of QW Wine Experts, a consulting firm she launched in 1995, which is dedicated to the nationwide public relations, marketing and sales of imported fine wines. In addition to representing clients such as Wines of Argentina, Wines from Brazil and Carolina Wine Brands, she serves as a consultant to a number of foreign producers and to import companies in the United States.  Nora will present her session, “Unveiling Bobal” at the 38th Annual Conference on the Society of Wine Educators on Thursday, August 14th in Seattle, Washington.

 

Guest Post: Finding the Sweet Spot!

Today we have a guest post by Laura Lee-Chin, CSW, CSS, IWS. Laura tells us about her personal journey in discovering the interplay between Rhône varietals and chocolate – sounds like a delicious journey!

Finding the Sweet Spot: Rhône Varietals & Chocolate – My Personal Journey

By Laura Lee-Chin, CSW, CSS, IWS

Chocolate and wine 1Wine with chocolate is one of my favorite food pairings. I was curious about how the relationship between their tasting components can create delectable matches between wine and chocolate. What better way to learn more about this topic than to write about it? I had already planned a trip to France to visit my husband’s family, so I turned it into an opportunity to research wine and chocolate pairings.

But where to start with the research? Fortunately for me, I have French family members with friends in the chocolate business and have personally established some of my own connections in the wine world. After a few emails and phone calls, I had booked appointments at the Cité du Chocolat Valrhona and Paul Jaboulet Aine’s Vineum, both located in the northern Rhône Valley city of Tain-l’Hermitage, just one hour south of France’s gastronomy capital, Lyon.

My first appointment was at the Cité du Chocolat Valrhona, where I met the Directeur, Franck Vidal. I took a tour of the Cité du Chocolat’s museum and learned tremendously. Unlike wine, cacao grows best in the tropical climates. The continent with the largest production is Africa at 71%, with Ivory Coast making up 36% of the world’s chocolate growers. Not surprisingly, the United States is the world’s largest consumer of chocolate; our land of chocoholics  consumes 20% of the world supply in chocolate. I also learned that Valrhona sources its chocolate from several countries and has cacao plantations in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. What surprised me most about this tour is how similar the tasting procedure is to wine: it also is based on understanding the tasting components of sweet, sour/acid, salty, bitter, texture—and I would be tempted to add umami as well.

Jean-Luc Chapel tastes Valrhona chocolates with Jaboulet wines.

Jean-Luc Chapel tastes Valrhona chocolates with Jaboulet wines.

As luck would have it, my meeting with Vidal quickly turned into a spontaneous introduction and chocolate tasting session with Valrhona’s Corporate Pastry Chef Derek Poirier, a James Beard Foundation inductee for the 2014 Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America. I showed him an initial list of the types of wines and chocolates I was planning to use for the SWE conference and he immediately pulled out some chocolates to taste. We selected chocolates to take to the Paul Jaboulet Ainé (PJA) Vineum (tasting room and restaurant) the next day. Valrhona also committed to providing all of the chocolates for our SWE class. Sweet (quite literally)!

At Vineum, Jean-Luc Chapel, Prestige Account Manager for PJA, and I agreed upon a tasting strategy for the wines and chocolate—see “Simple Guidelines.” A sampling of our tasting notes is below. Coincidentally, English journalist and Decanter Contributing Editor Andrew Jefford happened to be at Jaboulet. The wine gods were smiling upon me once again, and PJA donated 5 wines for the SWE Conference.

Franck Vidal & Chef Derek Poirier in kitchen at Valrhona's culinary school.

Franck Vidal & Chef Derek Poirier in kitchen at Valrhona’s culinary school.

Overall, my research visit to find out about wine and chocolate in France ended up being a much deeper journey into tasting. If you’d like to learn more, I hope you will join us to learn more about the featured wines and chocolates to be tasted in Seattle on August 15th. Santé!

Laura Lee-Chin’s Simple Guidelines for Pairing Wine & Chocolate:

To make your tasting of wine and chocolate more memorable, here are some simple guidelines of wine and chocolate pairing:

  1. Select a wine that is sweeter than the chocolate. The percentage of chocolate can give you a general idea of its sweetness—a higher percentage of cacao in the chocolate will have a lower percentage of sugar.
  2. Lighter bodied wines can be paired more easily with light, creamy and smooth chocolate (milk).
  3. Full-bodied wines (especially ones with higher sweetness and fruit concentration) can be paired more easily with dark, rich and strong chocolate.
  4. Chocolate can also have tannins, so to avoid too much bitterness, pair it with a sweet, white wine or lighter-bodied fruity red.
  5. Everyone varies in their sensitivities and preferences for wine and chocolate, so use these suggestions above as a guide and enjoy exploring these pairings.

Chocolate flows freelyTasting Notes:  

In France at Paul Jaboulet Ainé (PJA) Vineum

Wine: 2010 PJA “La Paradou” Beaumes de Venise AOP (Rouge) – dry, ripe red fruit, floral (violet, red roses), leather, minerality, hint of black pepper on finish.

  • Chocolate: Bahibe 46 % Milk Chocolate – sweet milk and intense cocoa notes, fruity acidity, hint of nuttiness, and slightly bitter flavor.
  • Notes: Balanced acidity in wine enhances fruit, floral, and spice notes while chocolate provides contrasting nuttiness and creamy texture for wine.

Wine: 2010 PJA/Lagune “Evidence par Caroline” – dry, lilacs, blueberry, blackberry, cassis, earth, hint of cinnamon and mint, chalky tannins. (Not yet in U.S., but coming soon!)

  • Chocolate: Equatoriale Noire 55% Dark Chocolate – cocoa, vanilla, dark fruit notes.
  • Notes: A very interesting contrast of dark fruit and tropical notes. Wine brings out tropical notes of banana, coconut in chocolate, while chocolate displays dark fruit and silky texture in wine.

 

Customers waiting to take a bite out of the exhibit at the Cité du Chocolat Valrhona.

Customers waiting to take a bite out of the exhibit at the Cité du Chocolat Valrhona.

Bonus Liqueur: Chartreuse VEP (Exceptionally Prolonged Ageing) 15 yrs – sweet, mint, thyme, caramel, licorice, fresh cut grass.

  • Chocolate: Equatorial Noire 55% Dark Chocolate – cocoa, vanilla, dark fruit notes.
  • Notes: wine brings out cocoa, vanilla, dark fruit notes in chocolate, a lovely contrast to notes in wine.

Initial Tasting in California

Wine: 2010 Qupe Marsanne Santa Barbara County, California – dry, pineapple, citrus (lemon, lime) honeysuckle, butterscotch.

  • Chocolate: Valrhona Blond Dulcey 32% Dulce de Leche – biscuit, butterscotch, toasty, smooth & creamy texture.
  • Notes: Chocolate complements pineapple and citrus fruits along with creamy texture in wine.

Wine: NV Paringa Sparkling Shiraz South Australia – violets, bacon, dark fruits (plum, black cherry), spice (black pepper, clove).

  • Chocolate: Valrhona Le Noir Abinao 85% Dark Chocolate – mocha, dark cocoa, tannic, bitter.
  • Notes: Chocolate complements dark fruit and savory notes in wine.

chocolate laura and andrewWine: 2010 Domaine de Durban Muscat de Beaumes de Venise AOP France – floral (honeysuckle, jasmine, orange blossom), white peach, ripe citrus (lemon, lime).

  • Chocolate: Valrhona Ivoire 35% White Chocolate – milky, vanilla, creamy texture.
  • Notes: Chocolate draws out floral and peach notes emphasizing creamy texture in wine.

About the author: Laura Lee-Chin is an independent writer, wine educator and consultant. Laura is a featured wine and spirits writer for My Cookshelf.com and has contributed articles to the Caltech Women’s Club and other publications. She is a Certified Specialist of Wine and Certified Specialist of Spirits with the Society of Wine Educators, an Italian Wine Specialist with the Associazione Italiana Sommelier and a WSET Diploma candidate with the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, based in London. She is currently a member of the French Wine Society, Guild of Sommeliers, North American Sommelier Association, and Society of Wine Educators. Laura will be presenting her session, Finding the Sweet Spot: Rhône Varietals & Chocolate, on Friday, August 15th, at the 38th Annual Conference of the Society of Wine Educators in Seattle, Washington.

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Guest Post: The Emperor’s Glass

This week, we have a guest post from Nick Poletto, DSW, CSS, CSW.  Nick gives us a bit of history and insight into the wines of Gevrey-Chambertin, as well as a preview of his session at this year’s SWE. Conference. 

“I was… under fierce and continuous canister fire… Many soldiers, now incessantly engaged in battle from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., had no cartridges left. I could do nothing but retreat…” —Lieutenant General Przhebishevsky

Napoleon victorious - NPThe year: 1805. The day: December 2nd. The fight: The Battle of Austerlitz. 

France was teetering on the edge of financial collapse and was about to fall to the hands of the Russo-Austrian army, commanded by Tsar Alexander I and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II. However, one man and one wine stood in their way. On this day, overlooking the battlefield of Austerlitz, Napoleon Bonaparte had outmaneuvered and beaten his enemy. He had saved France. He had saved Europe. He stood victorious, with one hand on his sword, and another holding a glass of Chambertin. The only wine fit for an Emperor.

A Royal Pedigree

The vineyards of Gevrey-Chambertin date back to 92AD when the Romans controlled the land. This makes Gevrey-Chambertin the oldest of all the Cote d’Or vineyards. The Gevrey village name derives from Gabriacus, its name during the Gallo-Roman era.  Gabriacus was first recorded in 640 AD. During this time, Duke Amalgaire of Burgundy gave this land to the Abbots of Beze, whose monks planted the first vines.

Shortly after this land was planted by the monks, a peasant by the name of Bertin decided that he too would plant vines on his neighboring and adjacent plot of land. His plot of land was called Campus, or Champ Bertin, which is the origin of Gevrey’s great Grand Cru vineyard: Chambertin.

Gevrey ChambertinThe fame of Gevrey-Chambertin and its ability to make such exquisite Pinot Noirs was later sealed by the decree of Louis-Philippe. In 1847, King Louis-Philippe granted the village of Gevrey the right to suffix its name with that of Chambertin. The town name was changed to Gevrey-Chambertin to let the world know the location of their best Pinot Noir vineyard. They were the first town to do this, but it was an idea that was later copied by many.

The Golden Slope

Gevrey-Chambertin is located at the northern part of the Cote d’Or and is considered the starting point for the finest vineyards in the area. It is notable for being the largest commune in the Cote de Nuits as well as holding the greatest number of Grand Cru vineyards. A total of nine Grand Crus can be found here: Chambertin, Chambertin Close de Beze, Chapelle-Chambertin, Charmes-Chambertin, Mazoyeres-Chambertin, Griotte-Chambertin, Latricieres-Chambertin, Mazis-Chambertin, Ruchottes-Chambertin.

It is not a coincidence that Gevrey-Chambertin has the greatest number of Grand Cru vineyards; their unique soil and climate dictate it. All nine Grand Crus sit on perfectly east facing, gently rolling hillside. With an elevation of 780-960 feet, these vines don’t feel the effect of valley frost. They are also protected from the wind-chill of the west by the forest above.

A 150 Million Year Old Destiny

V-R MapEach Grand Cru has a soil that is unique to that site. In general, each of Gevrey-Chambertin’s Grand Cru Vineyards are planted on compacted limestone that originates from the time of the dinosaurs – over 150 million years ago. As the dinosaurs died off, layers of sediment were created from the remains of sea lilies and sea creature fossils. This became the basis of the limestone and marl now found in Burgundy. It is this blessing of perfect soil that set forth Gevrey-Chambertin’s destiny millions of years ago.

The topsoil of the Grand Crus is widely diverse, allowing each Grand Cru to produce a unique wine. However, they all have one thing in common – they are some of the most sought-after and highly prized wines in the world.

Click on the link to download a pdf of  Gevrey-Chambertin’s Grand Cru vineyards (and the infamous Premier Cru, Clos Saint Jacques, as well). The Grand Crus of Gevrey-Chambertin

Re-match! Nick will be presenting his views of the wines of Gevrey-Chambertin, and defending their honor up against Don Kinnan and the wines of Vosne-Romaneé, at this year’s SWE Conference in Seattle. Don and Nick, as well as their perspective regions, will vie for the title of “Burgundy’s Best Reds” and will settle the controversy in a true courtroom fashion, presided over by Judge Missi Holle, CSS, CSW. You will be the jury as you weigh the presentation of evidence, taste the wines, and hear the ardent claims of the attorneys representing each side. The verdict will be yours. Will Gevrey, with its Napoleonic endorsement and 9 grands crus, take the title, or will Vosne-Romaneé with its glamour and reputation reign supreme? Join us in Seattle to find out!

Nick PolettoNick Poletto, CSS, CSW, DWS has an extensive wine background that includes studying abroad in both Italy and Argentina, working a harvest season at a winery in Martinborough, New Zealand, and teaching the WSET at Johnson and Wales University. Nick started his career at Kobrand as the company’s Massachusetts and Rhode Island Area Sales Manager and was promoted to Kobrand’s Director of Wine and Spirit Education in January 2012.

 

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