Korbin Kameron Estate & Winery
Gracianna
By Michael Keel
6910 Westside Road, Healdsburg, CA 95448
(707) 694-6644
www.gracianna.net
Case production: 500
Planted acres: 1.5
Grapes planted: Pinot Noir
Wines produced: Pinot Noir, Zinfandel and Chardonnay
Employees: 4
Lisa and Trini Amador wanted to go beyond sending their kids, Trini and Ashley, to college. They stumbled through many different ideas until the day they caught their son making wine in their Forestville garage—when he was 15 years old. On his 16th birthday, they gave him a winemaking kit. Lisa says, “Over time, his commitment confirmed the idea that we wanted to make wine as a family business.”
Today, the younger Trini is 26 years old and has a bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University. His parents owned a large ranch, with cattle, when he was younger and he didn’t want to take over the ranch, but in his gut he knew he wanted to live in Sonoma County and work in agriculture. “Grapes were the natural next step,” he says. Trini was interested in winemaking because he loved the thought of taking a raw agricultural element and turning it into an elegant product that has its roots deep in history and is a staple of many cultures’ food experience.
“It fascinates me. I also like the meld between art and science. Depending on your approach to winemaking, you can lean to one side or the other.” He walks the vineyards on a daily basis checking the grapes and looking at the overall health and wellness of the vines. On these walks, he thinks deeply about the process, procedures and human interaction with the vines. “If they’re happy, I’m happy,” he says. This coming harvest will be his 12th.
The name Gracianna comes from the Amador family’s great great maternal grandmother, who is French Basque. Gracianna stands for grace, graciousness and gratitude. Lisa says, “It’s about getting the family together and reminiscing, the whole concept of the name and brand is celebrating and being thankful for what we have.” The vineyard on their new estate is named Mercedes Riverblock Vineyard, after Trini’s paternal great grandmother. They’ll be producing estate Pinot Noir from this year and will hopefully have their goal of a new home breaking ground and official tasting room finished on the estate by spring 2012.
The Amadors all have full-time jobs aside from the winemaking business. Ashley works at Sonoma State University, the senior Trini is a global marketing consultant and Lisa works at Sutter Medical Center. “We’re doing what we love, and that’s what the brand means. We like to eat, drink, have fun with each other and bring new people in our lives. It’s truly about being grateful for what we have and putting it into a bottle,” says Lisa.
When you pick up a bottle of Gracianna, you’ll notice yet another family connection with their label. “The picture of the gift on the bottle is painted by my [paternal] grandfather. We use that painting on the bottle to symbolize having a gift every day, like togetherness, or simply being thankful for the many gifts we have,” says the younger Trini.
Aside from Trini’s winemaking skills, the entire family works together in the business. Ashley heads marketing and sales, Lisa takes care of accounting and sales, and the elder Trini is CEO.
The Suzanne’s Blend Chardonnay is sourced from the Dutton family in Green Valley of Russian River Valley, and Gracianna is currently made at the custom crush facility Vinify in Santa Rosa. Up to six tons of Pinot Noir will be harvested from Mercedes Riverblock Vineyard this year, which will only equal 300 cases. Both Trini and Lisa agree that, “We want to keep it small and special, quality over quantity.”
Mercedes Riverblock Vineyard’s soil is a sandy, shallow river loam, which is ideal for growing grapes because it’s well-drained, has good water availability and great sun exposure. The family also offers a Zinfandel and Pinot Noir made from the Bacigalupi family ranch, which has a perfect acidic balance with a delicate taste and robust finish. And I look forward to the year I’ll finally get to taste the Pinot Noir from their estate Mercedes Vineyard.
Ovid Napa Valley
255 Long Ranch Road
Saint Helena, CA 94574
(707) 963-3850
www.ovidwine.com
Case production: 500 cases of Ovid Napa Valley, varied production (100 to 500 cases) of Experiment label
Planted acres: 15.5
Grapes planted: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot
Wines produced: Experiment and Ovid Napa Valley (each a Bordeaux blend)
Employees: 5
The more time passes, the more often I look back on my college days with fondness. Except for my Latin language studies—that’s where the memories turn to torment. Until I take my first sip of the 2007 Ovid Napa Valley, a sensory explosion with its candied cherry aromatics and silky tannins. Two sips in, my view of the language changes. It’s hard to know if it’s because of the ceiling-to-floor chalkboards scrawled with verse from Publius Ovidius Naso’s Metamorphoses, or, if it has more to do with the heady view atop Pritchard Hill.
Co-founder Dana Johnson speaks to the winery’s Latin roots, which were set when she, husband Mark Nelson and friend Janet Pagano (who has a degree in fermentation science from UC Davis) purchased the property in 1998, planted the 15.5-acre vineyard in 2000 and founded the winery.
“My husband is a classicist at heart. He loves all things Latin. We chose the name because we loved the idea of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, in which he retells classic Greek myths in Latin and celebrates nature, the cycle of life and the process of change. Wine is also a common theme throughout the tales.”
This isn’t the first time Ovid made his way into the couple’s business. The name originally belonged to Nelson’s first venture—Ovid Technologies, a software company serving the medical, scientific and academic communities. Nelson was dubbed a “boot-strapper” (someone who builds a company without the use of outside startup capital) when he launched the company in 1988, ran the operation out of his New York City apartment, and later sold it for $200 million in 1999. “At first, Mark and I were hesitant to use our old company name again, but the idea of ‘metamorphosis’ applies perfectly to wine and also to our own lives. And Ovid has been a great choice, because his works are so rich and full of wisdom. With each release, we introduce a new quote from Ovid that’s related to philosophy, wine or nature,” says Dana.
Destined to experiment
Given the couple’s propensity toward history and technology, it didn’t take long for the roots of experimentation to replant at Ovid Napa Valley. This made me curious about any connections that might exist between software and wine. “Both are highly creative and demanding activities. In software, we worked on sophisticated projects adhering to the highest level of quality. We’ve aimed for that same standard here,” says Johnson. This is evidenced with one flyby of the wine lab. More floor-to-ceiling scrawls, this time, scientific in nature. The experimental roots dig even deeper when it comes to fermentation practices.
“When we were thinking about what kind of fermentation tanks to use, Janet [Pagano, now managing partner responsible for both strategic and day-to-day operations] suggested we consider concrete,” says Johnson. “So in 2003, we [Nelson, Johnson, Pagano and the winemaking team of Andy Erickson and Austin Peterson ] took a trip to the Bordeaux region of France, where concrete tanks are a common practice, to explore the idea. And we loved both what we saw and, more important, what we tasted there. So we decided to build our own concrete fermenters here with the assistance of some masons from Bordeaux.” Like any good experiment, theirs involved a measure of risk.
“The initial challenge was the first year,” says Peterson, who was appointed head winemaker in July. “None of us had ever worked with concrete tanks, so while we loved the idea, we weren’t sure what would happen—but the new tanks performed beautifully.”
Now he sees only the upsides. “It’s a natural product, and there’s the tremendous insulation that is inherent with concrete tanks. You get a nice, even fermentation temperature and purity of the wine. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing all the hard work of the vineyard come through in a pure expression of the wine.” Currently, two-thirds of the Ovid tanks are concrete.
Prior to coming to Ovid, Peterson studied enology at UC Davis, where he financed his education by making and selling his own wine. He went on to work in France under Michel Rolland, who serves as an adviser at Ovid, and also worked abroad in South Africa, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.
Enough just isn’t enough
Ovid’s next exploration came in the form of—you guessed it—more science. The vineyard team enacted a program through Fruition Sciences, which leverages a series of sensors to monitor how vines use water. “You put sensors on your vines that show in real-time how much water the vines are using versus what the environment is asking of them. Initially, we were interested in using Fruition to optimize fruit quality and timing of irrigation,” Peterson shares. “The happy side effects were reduced water use and using the water we do use as efficiently as possible. It started out as an experiment with just a few blocks, but it went so well that now it’s used throughout the entire vineyard.”
The never-ending experiment
As my visit spills into afternoon, I’m not surprised to learn how the “experimental” essence of Nelson and Johnson continues to work its way into the wines. One of the most notable experiments is a wine label called, suitably, Experiment, whose varietal composition changes with each vintage. “Because each year’s production varies, we thought about what we could do with wine that didn’t fit in with everything else. We also wanted to be able to continue to try new things,” says Johnson.
I probe further, hoping to uncork the secret recipe for next year’s blend. “With Experiment, we vow to never repeat the same wine. They’ll always have the signature of Pritchard Hill—alluring red fruits, beautifully polished tannins. But the Experiment label lets us explore different varietal combinations or to offer a wine that’s all concrete fermented. Who knows what will excite us next year!”
“We try to capture the hope and excitement of each vintage,” says Peterson. Despite her inner technologist, Johnson prefers to stick to emotions when speaking about the wine, “I taste a joyful, open and exuberant kind of wine. But it also has a lot of layers and is pretty structured. Seriously exuberant!” she lands on, before returning to her more serious roots.
“Software and the wine business are more similar than I once thought. With each, you’re constantly pushing to do better, to try something new. I initially thought there was a set of best practices that would lead to great wine, but there’s no such formula. It’s endlessly complicated…and always interesting.” With the sun dropping, I reflect on the words of Ovid: “Illic adiposito narrabis multa lyaeo”—there, sharing the wine, you will tell of many things. This wine speaks volumes on the transformative nature of fruit this mountain bears.
Terra Valentine
By Christina Julian
3787 Spring Mountain Road
St. Helena, CA 94574
(707) 967-8340
www.terravalentine.com
Case production: 8,000
Planted acres: 60
Grapes planted: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Mourvedre, Pinot Noir, Riesling
Wines produced: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Late harvest Riesling, Rosé, Sangiovese, Bordeaux blend
Employees: 9
“Storybook” is the only way to describe the view that unfolds as you haul up Spring Mountain and through the gates of Terra Valentine’s castle-like fortress. It’s indeed the stuff fairytales are made of: medieval stone walls, a tower fit for a queen and a grandiose villa to house her highness. A bounty of mountain wines that straddle the moat between subtle tannins, elegant texture and bold fruit flavors—the crown jewels.
When owners Angus and Margaret Wurtele purchased the Wurtele Vineyard in 1995 (followed by the Terra Valentine Estate and vineyard in 1999), a wine-fortress-in-the-making wasn’t evident. “The property had been let go by the previous owner. You could just barely see the view through the trees,” says Angus. Despite the “into the wild” nature of the land, the Wurteles saw its potential. Not even the lack of a reliable water source (aside from a spring) would stop this duo from making their fairytale a reality.
The cowboy heydays
Original owner Fred J. Aves purchased the estate in 1965, leaving behind a legacy of crafty inventions (including old-school car curb feelers and chrome license plate covers) in favor of his dream of owning a winery. Aves built the winery from the ground up, including one-of-a-kind architectural accents, stained glass and wood paneling originally brought over for use in Hearst Castle. But his reclusive nature led him to pull out the bulk of the vineyard plantings in the 1980s, right as they were on the brink of flourishing.
Much of the estate (reaching elevations of 1,800 to 2,100 feet) had reverted to native forest land and overrun orchards by the time the Wurteles arrived. Aves left the property void of not only its vineyard plantings, but also of power and a hot water system. The off-the-grid nature of the land and barebones state of the facility led the Terra Valentine winemaking team of Phil Baxter (of Rutherford Hill, Souverain, and Domaine-Michael) and his son Sam to dub it the “cowboy days.” The Baxters, together with Bill Pease of Madrigal Vineyard Management, took the 90-acre (35 planted) Wurtele vineyard (1,000 feet below the Terra Valentine estate and vineyard) through a massive overhaul, that lasted from 1999 to 2001.
“Things had gotten out of control, so we had to retrain the remaining vineyard with chainsaw pruning and changes in canopy management. It was during this time we started figuring out the vineyards and how we could get different flavor profiles out of the varied microclimates.” In 2001, unwilling to limit the winery’s potential, Sam kept the momentum flowing by initiating a replant of the Terra Valentine estate vineyard’s original eight acres. In 2002, the elder Baxter moved on to start Baxter Wines with youngest son, Phil, and Sam stepped up to head winemaker and general manager at Terra Valentine, eager to lead the winery into its next chapter.
Charm and sizzle
With the vineyard revamps underway, Sam turned his attention to the 17,000-square-foot winery building. The goal: to preserve most of the historical accents while upgrading it to include modern day advancements and a state-of-the-art fermentation system. The original 2.5 feet thick, stone walls still stand untouched, contributing to the “castle-like” essence. The renovations were completed in 2003, and the winery opened to the public that same year.
Sam spawned his next pioneering move in 2005 when he implemented a soil information system to aid development of the remaining 14 vineyard acres of the Terra Valentine estate. “This was something that had never been used on a hillside vineyard,” says Sam. It yielded a six-foot-deep, three-dimensional map detailing soil chemistry, structure and composition. “It identified relative areas of vigor so we could predict how the vines were going to grow in these sub-blocks. We spilt up the land, picked clones and rootstock based on location, and developed 40 separate irrigation blocks.”
It’s exactly this type of innovative thinking Wurtele had in mind when he put Sam at the helm. “At a very young age, I had so much opportunity and got to take over a company. I’ve always been a bit biased when it comes to giving young people a chance for opportunity and responsibility,” says Wurtele, who graduated from Stanford Business School at 27 and went on to take a lead position in his family’s business, Valspar Corporation (originally Minnesota Paints), which grew to be one of the largest paint and coating manufacturers in North America.
Sam credits his early exposure to wine as fuel for the redevelopment at Terra Valentine. “I was working and blending wines back in high school. Starting at such a young age with my father really shaped my approach to winemaking. I’ve always appreciated wines with a little more elegance and balance versus sheer showiness. Our wines tend to be subtle like that.” Sam earned a degree in fermentation science from UC Davis and gained field experience in Australia and at Sterling Vineyards. This year marks a milestone as the fruits of more than a decade of work come to bear. “We’re releasing the first lots of wine from the new plantings, many of which are new varietals for us.” If all that wasn’t reason enough to entice someone up the switchbacks of Spring Mountain, the visitor experience is also flourishing.
“We have a new estate tour on an off-road Polaris. We take people though the vineyards, tasting wines and ending up at Villa Valentine. It’s a really unique experience.” The villa smacks of the charms of Italy and France, with enhanced views, courtesy of a 50-acre conservation easement.
My storybook adventure draws to a close as I savor the last sip of my Amoré Sangiovese blend. Lush ripe cherry fruit flavors blend with notes of allspice and espresso, topped with a silky finish. I find the wines and the place equally enchanting, as Terra Valentine blends the charms of the Old World with just the right touches of the new. No fairytale would be complete without a storybook ending—Phil Baxter returns this year to consult on the wines, bringing this particular tale full-circle. “To taste again alongside my dad, next to the palate I’ve tasted with for my whole life, it’s exciting. There’s such a knowledge between us.” Let’s hope that includes remembering some of those rollicking cowboy days, as evidence of just how far things have come.
