Yikes! It’s September already and, by the time you read this, harvest will be more than underway. I can already hear the proclamations about it being the best harvest ever due to (take your choice) long hang time, short hang time, moderate summer temperatures, cool summer temperatures and so on. Claiming the best harvest this century is simply another one of the many French traditions we try to shake free from, but never seem to be able to cut the apron strings. No doubt the marketing tail still wags the entire industry. Be that as it may, it appears wine sales are continuing to improve but craft beer and flavored spirits are beginning to cut a wide swath through the alcohol industry. It will be very interesting to see what will happen about midway through harvest when wine tanks are suddenly full and we still need a lot more cooperage.
Longer hang times (past optimum picking time) will add sugar, which will in turn increase the alcohol—that is, until the Jesus units are applied. The layman term for this is adding water. It’s legal to a small degree, that is, to replace water due to natural dehydration, but who’s going to make that determination? You ask: What’s the big deal? Nothing really, except the grower doesn’t get the benefit and even loses because dehydrated grapes weigh less, thus he or she gets paid less. Meanwhile, with bulk wine worth between $10 and $20 per gallon, that free water can sure add to the wineries’ bottom line. Maybe that’s the Jesus trick—turning water into money!
Another competition has just been completed and it’s uniquely called the International Women’s Wine Competition. All wineries can enter but there’s an added element of judging for the outstanding wines made by female winemakers. Roughly 50 percent of the entries were wines made by female winemakers, something I think really shows a wonderful trend. Even in my short, 40-year career in the industry, I can remember in the 1970s, when you could name all of the women winemakers on one hand. Another unique element is that all of the judges are female and from across the United States. The panel was made up of not only winemakers, but also those involved in the retail side, writing side and other aspects of our industry. To my surprise, it was a great group to work with. I say this as a generality, since trying to get wine judges to agree is usually like trying to herd cats.
The Best Woman Winemaker of the Year was Shauna Rosenblum from Rock Wall Wine Company. (If you’ve heard the name Rosenblum, Kent is her daddy and this is their new venture since selling the original winery in Alameda). The Best of Show wine (and Best Red Wine) was a Rock Wall Wine Company, 2010 Zinfandel from the Harris Kratka Vineyard in Alexander Valley. Great job, Shauna! The runner-up for Best of Show was also a lady winemaker, Kathleen Inman, from Inman Family Wines, with a 2011 Russian River Valley Chardonnay. Also a great job, Kathleen!
The fact that the best red and white wines came from Sonoma County should not be a surprise. There were 800+ wines from all over the world and we (Sonoma County) stand proud. Other out-of-area winners (Best of Class) included a blush wine from Turkey (it was great), a Grappa from Greece, a Riesling from the Finger Lakes region in New York, a Tempranillo from Lodi, a Cabernet Franc ice wine from Pennsylvania, a Barbera from the Texas hill country and a Zinfandel from Paso Robles.
Did I hear you ask: Where is Mendocino? Didn’t win or didn’t enter. Either way, they’re the losers who can’t figure out why “I don’t get no respect.”
Enough bashing for now. The Russian River Valley did well also when looking at the list of Gold Medal winners, available on VWMedia.com. As I was thinking about this, an interesting article appeared in the Steve Heimoff blog regarding the loss of identity that has occurred as the Russian River Valley appellation has expanded over the years. On Steve’s blog, he looks at Jon Bonne’s Pinot Noir wrap up. Just a few figures to show the dilution: In 1988, there were 1,986 acres of Pinot Noir mainly along River Road and Westside Road. Last year, there were 12,062 acres—an increase of 512 percent. Much of the acreage increase was due to adding 30,000 acres all the way down to Cotati. Why Cotati you ask? Very simple: Gallo planted a giant acreage down there and wanted in on the Pinot Noir gravy train of the Russian River Valley. Heimoff appropriately states that, as the acreage increases, that fast mediocrity will follow to some degree. And it has. How many times have I stated here that no longer do the words Russian River Valley Pinot Noir demand $40+ per bottle?
What does it all boil down to? You no longer buy just a Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, but you look at the producer much more carefully. Remember names like Williams Selyem, Rochioli and Merry Edwards and start looking for the Sonoma Coast and its inevitable increase in appellations. Oh boy, I can’t wait to see Annapolis and Freestone as new appellations. I only hope some of you will remain with me and spread the word about Sonoma County before we have to explain that Freestone is right between Bodega and Occidental. You ought to know that if you’re a wine drinker. And Annapolis, that area where even deer carry their own lunch so they won’t starve, and all of the water comes from the Gualala River system, which is already stressed to maintain the great steelhead runs of the past—it actually lies about 32 miles west of nowhere.
Well enough ranting this month, but it’s been fun and perhaps your homework assignment should be to try a new Russian River Valley Pinot Noir each day and then we can vote on the best and maybe determine a definition for mediocrity. My thanks to Heimoff and his blog and certainly to John Bonne for his insight that I can share with my readers, who may not read their great opinions.
