As I write this, Barbara and I are safe and healthy. We’re hoping the same is so and remains so for you in these strange and perilous times. Sheltering-in-place has afforded me unrivaled opportunity to address a somewhat neglected aspect of my little wine venture: the business part. I throw myself into learning about viticulture and oenology, and taking care of the vineyard and wine. But the moment it comes time to think about promoting or marketing my product, I find some way to procrastinate. Wine fascinates me. Business does not!
And yet here I find myself in possession of more bottles of excellent wine than I can drink…
In 2004, the movie “Sideways” extolled the virtues of Pinot noir while relegating Merlot to the realm of the contemptible. The movie had a profound impact on sales of both varietals, boosting the sales and price of Pinot noir and depressing the price of Merlot. While there is one-dimensional, fruit-bomb Merlot, there are also wines made from Merlot that are complex and fascinating (some Grand Cru Bordeaux, for example).
In 2016, we produced my first commercially available wine with Pinot noir grown exclusively on our property in Cotati. If you bought some of that from me and still have any, it has really come into its own now and is drinking great. The following year, the custom crush where we make my wine threw me a curve by requiring all clients to process at least three tons of fruit. I only grow about a ton of grapes, and I couldn’t find a custom crush that would allow me to process such a small amount. So I was faced with a choice of expanding by buying fruit, or ditching the whole enterprise.
Searching for quality fruit, I scored two tons of Merlot from the Coombsville AVA, which is just east of the town of Napa and has a cooler, more temperate climate than the Napa Valley further north, as it’s closer to San Pablo Bay. Lisa Bishop Forbes, formerly director of winemaking at Chalk Hill Estate and winemaker at Dry Creek Vineyard, 80 of whose wines received a 90 or higher from the Wine Spectator, the Wine Enthusiast, and the Wine Advocate—and now at Ektimo Vineyard and Ross Road Custom Crush—has made a spectacular wine out of this fruit, which was harvested in September 2018. Aged in French oak barrels for 18 months, our Merlot has developed a lot of structure and complexity. It’s only 13.4% alcohol. We’ll be bottling this wine on June 15, shipping in mid-August. I’m offering futures of it for a special price now of $25 a bottle for a six-bottle minimum. (The normal price will be $30 a bottle.) Shipping is free during the special.
I also have the ’17 Russian River Pinot noir (sourced from our place in Cotati), which comes in two versions. The North Block, 13.6% alcohol, is quite complex, has a sweet floral nose with hints of rose, orange peel, red cherry, graphite and dried mushrooms, with flavors of tart cherry, orange, cranberry and cardamom. It has a long finish with bright acid and a full mid-palate. The second Pinot, the South Block, ripens later due to the different clones planted there, as well as the marine air that sweeps across the south end of our property. This wine, only 12.2% alcohol, is an amazingly graceful light-weight Pinot, featuring raspberry and cranberry notes, nice tannins, with a powdered sugar nose and savory overtones of coriander. It will be great on a warm day—it may even be the red to have with fish. It’s drinking really well right now. The North Block (normally $45) is on special for $35 a bottle for a six-bottle minimum. The South Block (normally $28) is now $23 a bottle if you buy at least six bottles. Again, shipping is free. (We’re only shipping cases and half-cases now.)
Perhaps you could do a vertical tasting of Pinot and Merlot as you watch “Sideways” in a comfortable place where you can make a safe transition to the horizontal.