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A Sense of Place

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Richard L. Thomas
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My world is getting turned upside down. Wineries are taking Sonoma County off of their labels in favor of lesser-known, smaller, but more ego-driven appellations. If that isn’t enough to give me a heart attack, Gallo, whom I’ve supported quite strongly, removed the word “Sonoma” from its brand name. Yes, they say Sonoma will stay on the label, just not as the actual brand name. Do you suppose it could just accidentally fall off when wines that aren’t from Sonoma appear in that jug? It’s certainly a possibility in my mind. And “Gallo of Sonoma” had such a wonderful ring to it. I suppose when it becomes convenient to use other grapes, it’s very easy to let the words “Sonoma Reserve” slip away.

Remember the recent Supreme Court ruling against Bronco Wines and the use of Napa appellation names on its labels? Might “Gallo of Sonoma” as a brand fall under that ruling as well if there were inadequate amounts of Sonoma grapes in the wine? What would it look like if a label said “Gallo of Sonoma-Mendocino Pinot Gris?” (Any different than “Napa Ridge-California Chardonnay?”) What’s going on? That’s what the Supreme Court asked Bronco Wines.

Maybe Gallo is taking a lesson from Fetzer, which turned the Sundial vineyard designate into a brand name and used “California” as the appellation. (I wrote this yesterday and today on the news found out Fetzer is selling the Valley Oaks facility—so much for supporting the local area.) What about taking the beautiful Valley Oaks in Hopland and making it a brand name? How can anyone keep up—or is that the purpose? Remember my statement about quality being a moving target? Maybe that’s what’s happening to appellation and brand names. Keep us wine drinkers confused enough and maybe we won’t give a damn.

Now that wine sales are picking up again, maybe we can bulldoze our way into keeping wine as a pseudo-sophisticated beverage. But as prices rise along with consumption, don’t let them be an indicator of quality. Price is a function of availability (or perceived availability, anyway) and really doesn’t relate to quality. The one-upsmanship game among the high rollers is what frequently keeps limited supply wines high-priced.  

While referring to high-priced wines, may I digress a moment? Recently, in the Bordeaux area of France (also known for its high prices), the winemakers are withholding the 2005 vintage unless they receive a minimum price of 1,000 euros per barrel. A sharp downturn in sales has resulted in a major supply problem. In January and February of this year, 34,000 hectoliters have been sold of the 2005 red AOC Bordeaux. In the same period last year, 213,000 hectoliters were sold. Sounds like a problem to me! Could there be a lesson in there for us? Or did we learn just a few short years ago about what happens when supply exceeds demand?
History seems to tell us that the length of our memories is measured in months rather than years.

Let’s see, where did we leave off? Oh yes, Gallo is disowning us. But is it really fair to pick on Gallo? On the surface my heart was broken because Gallo helped put us on the wine marketing map in the first place, and we should at least be thankful for that. It appears that many of the small wineries (and a few larger ones) are also forgetting where they live. I mentioned earlier about many local wineries settling only for the smaller, ego-driven appellation on their labels.

It must be assumed that every wine buyer in the country took a Sonoma and California geography class in the last few years. Thus, they all know where all of these obscure little grape growing hamlets are and fully realize that the Russian River, because it’s a river area, must be cool and great for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. And even though that same river runs through Alexander Valley, that’s what generates the heat to get Cabernet ripe. Of course, that all makes sense, doesn’t it? Maybe I should have been an attorney, given my ability to turn and twist the less than obvious. Maybe I’m assuming the wine drinker really cares about where the wine is from.

A few years ago, Sonoma County labeled itself the most award-winning wine region in the country—and it was true! Can the same be said today? I’m ashamed to have to say “no.” The one competition it always sweeps is the Sonoma County Harvest Fair. (Remember, though, the SCHF is only open to Sonoma County wines.) I’ll give you some recent numbers and let you make a decision. The first and largest competition (3,600 wines entered) of the year is the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Up until last year, Sonoma County has always been the big winner. Not all wineries enter, but that’s also an ego story we’ll discuss around Harvest Fair time.
In the under $14 Sauvignon Blanc category, only one gold (out of 11 golds and 65 wines) went to a Sonoma County winery. Not unexpectedly, it was Geyser Peak, again—but with a California appellation! In the $14 and above class for Sauvignon Blanc (80 wines and 11 golds), five were from Sonoma County. A little better, except I thought Sauvignon Blanc was like Zinfandel: God put it on Earth to be grown in Sonoma County.

Low-cost Chardonnay (less than $14) showed zero golds from Sonoma County out of 73 wines and 10 total golds. Mid-range Chardonnay ($14-$20) had two Sonoma County golds (out of seven) and 65 total wines. In the $20-$30 group of Chardonnays, 91 entries gave Sonoma County two golds out of nine.
For Pinot Noir (our stronghold according to the Russian River people), $20-$30 wines received four golds out of 16 and 80 entries. In the $30-$40 range, there were nine Sonoma County golds out of 32 and 124 wines. Out of all of the Zinfandels (350 total and 50 golds), Sonoma County received 16 golds, with six being in the $30 and above class.

What’s happened to our superiority? Would it have helped if some of our big guns had entered? Probably not, since they were afraid to enter in the first place. Syrah/Shiraz showed a total of eight Sonoma County golds out of 44 golds total and 326 entries. For Cabernet Sauvignon, 468 entries gave 50 golds, with 19 from Sonoma County. Perhaps a little better, but definitely not up to the good ole days.

I guess the real question is whether we’re getting complacent or everybody else is getting better. Looking at the Lodi and Paso Robles areas, I would opt for the latter—and you know it has to hurt me deeply to admit something like that. I guess if you stand still for a day you can get run over very quickly. The big question is: Are we smart enough to do something about it? Or do we even know we might have a problem? Where are those words “Sonoma County” on the label? Or are you doing us a favor by not putting it on there and we can hope Uncle Bill in Nebraska thinks Dry Creek is in Chile?

P.S. to Napa: Don’t let your egocentric winery people dilute your great name as is happening on this side of the hill. Also to Lodi and Woodbridge: Hold your heads high and wave those flags for your great success.    

Rich Thomas is professor emeritus, Director of Viticulture, at Santa Rosa Junior College. He is also a vineyard consultant in the North Coast.