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Don't miss our older newsletters which contain tasting tips and other valuable information! March, 2005 Winter 2004 - 2005 in the Vineyard - According to Rudy If you live in California,
you already know that we received a lot of rainfall this winter. That's
a good thing as our reservoirs are full and the ground has soaked up a
lot of water. At Stone Corral Vineyard in the Edna Valley we see the benefits
of the rain in the tremendous growth of our cover crop and only a minor
negative in the form of erosion along some of the roads Generally, when the growing
season is preceded by high levels of rainfall, we see good vine growth
and the potential for higher yields. As of mid-March, Mother Nature had
dropped around 36 inches of rain on our fields in the Edna Valley. Furthermore,
the winter was fairly cool with temperatures in the 40's and 50's which
has allowed the vines to remain dormant. Two years ago during a warm winter
some of the vines on the south facing shallow soils woke up in January
and started to grow. This resulted in very poor fruit set and low to no
crop - quite discouraging. The other day I ran into Rudy Romero, vineyard
manager for Talley Farms, at Stone Corral Vineyard and he explained to
me with great pride the success of the cover crop. "It's growing better
as the soils become stronger from the yearly additions of compost and we
have succeeded in delaying bud break by keeping the soil cooler from the
shade created by the cover crop." He also mention that he is working on
putting in a special permanent cover crop directly under the vine row that
is a low grower and will alleviate the need to weed by hand or run the
in-row-tiller through the vineyard.
Wine & Spirits magazine rates 2002 Petite Sirah Thomann Station - 91 points In the January 2005 issue,
Wine & Spirits magazine reviewed the 2002 Petite Sirah and stated "You
could curse this wine when it stains your black sweater. You could try
to dismiss it as a cheap date with a hamburger. But how could you not give
in to the delicious burst of fruit? And you have to admit, there are some
fine, stony tannins behind all the juice. Put this away for ten years,
and it may turn out to be much more than a sweet, immediate pleasure."
Personally, I like the wine for its boysenberry notes and robust tannins.
So what is the story behind Petite Sirah? Is it Petite Sirah or Syrah? There is an excellent article
written by Steve Pitcher in the August/September 2003 issue of The Wine
News that helps explain the origin of Petite Sirah and that it is in fact
a different grape variety from Syrah. The article states that the durif
grape from France's Rhone Valley is petite sirah and has been widely known
in the California wine industry as such since at According to the article,
the grape we've always called petite sirah was discovered around 1880 by
Dr. François Durif, a French nurseryman working at the University
of Montpellier in the south of France. The article also noted that in almost
all American reference books of the time, the name was wrongly spelled
"Duriff."
When I worked at Louis Martini
winery in the late 1970's and early 1980's we blended Petite Sirah into
Zinfandel. It was such an impressive wine to those of us working in the
cellar that we often wondered why it was not bottled on its own. Well,
20 years later, I am doing just that. My current version, from Louis Martini's
Napa Valley vineyard, is from the 2002 vintage and it's a beauty. The wine
is really impressive for its dense, inky purple-black color, and mouth
filling soft tannins. It has ripe blue-fruit aromas very much like blueberry
and blackberry, with traces of violet flower and black pepper; and it is
rich and flavorful on the palate. It is such a showy wine that it may be
most appreciated accompanied simply by cheese and a baguette.
World of Pinot Noir 2005 - Another Great Event The fifth annual World of Pinot Noir took place March 5 and 6 in Shell Beach. The event offers seminars, tastings, luncheons and dinners with emphasis on Pinot Noir from around the world. I really enjoy events like this that bring together some truly extraordinary wine people, offer an environment for learning and showcase beautiful Pinot Noirs during lunch and dinner. Preceding the public event
on the 5th and 6th, the winemakers meet for a two day blind tasting of
2004 Pinot Noir taken from barrels with the purpose of "teaching us something
from the most recent vintage". For example, one thing that I learned was
a simple technique to reduce the level of alcohol in wine. As winemakers,
we are under pressure from the press and the market to produce wines with
abundant flavor concentration. Consequently, there is a trend in the industry
to pick late for ripe flavors, but unfortunately the high sugar levels
lead to high alcohol levels and in my opinion wines that are out of balance
and not food friendly. During the vigorous part of the fermentation of
Pinot Noir when the must is warm, by simply leaving the tank open or covered
with mosquito netting, some of the alcohol is allowed to volatilize out
of the tank. Traditionally, I cover The 2002 Bien Nacido Vineyard Chardonnay honored as Top 10 Chardonnays of the Year Under the heading "more good
news from Wine & Spirits magazine", in their April, 2005 issue they
rate the 2002 Bien Nacido Chardonnay 92 points. Out of 610 chardonnays
tasted over the past year this one was among the Top 10 and was featured
in a two page spread! Only three other wines had higher scores. Here's
what they said - "Stephen Dooley preserved the fresh complexities of Bien
Nacido fruit in this chardonnay, in scents of apple blossom, in flavors
of pear and peach, in the satisfying contrast between an austere structure
and rich texture. All the dry, gentle fruit would fill in the grain of
a thick cut veal chop; or age this and let the flavors develop further."
Wine Subscription Program, aka "Wine Club" We are really excited about
our new "wine club" program that we started last December. Since we do
not have a tasting room, this is a great way to receive the Stephen Ross
and Flying Cloud wines on a regular basis and enjoy a discount. Through
the wine program, subscribers will receive three shipments of four bottles
each per year. The shipments will average $75, exclusive of tax and shipping,
which reflects a 20% discount from suggested retail. Please see the outline
of the program on the order form included in this mailing.
PinotReport rates 2002 Pinot Noirs 91 & 92 points In the December, 2004 issue
of PinotReport, a west coast publication dedicated to Pinot Noir, the Bien
Nacido Vineyard scored 92 points and the Edna Valley bottling scored 91
points. "This is a bigger style than I'm used to from Steve Dooley at Stephen
Ross; still it has the terrific flavors and nuance that you always get.
This wine needs some time in the bottle and in the glass."
Upcoming Events - 2005
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winding
through the vineyard. Until this winter, the cover crop was never tested
in terms of erosion control, but in fact it held up beautifully. Only in
the roads did we see erosion. We are learning where the water travels when
it does not soak into the ground. By next year we plan to install drain
caldrons to assist in moving water off of the vineyard in hopes that the
roads will stay intact.
least
the mid-1970's. It also talks about the work that Dr. Carole Meredith of
the Department of Viticulture and Enology at U.C. Davis had done through
DNA identification and that she has clearly shown Petite Sirah's true identity
as a cross of an obscure southern French grape called peloursin and true
syrah.
my
fermenters with a plastic sheet stretched over a large plastic ring - I
think this next vintage I will have an additional set of covers made out
of mosquito netting to use during the heat of fermentation.