Joel M. Fisher, Ph.D is Wine Instructor for the Culinary Arts Department, Art Institute of California-Los Angeles. He is Director of Public Affairs for the world famous Palace Hollywood, and conducts wine tastings and wine and food pairings in the Los Angeles, San Fernando and Conejo Valley areas.

08/17/02

A DAY IN THE COUNTRY: THE GROWING OF A CULT WINERY

I drove up the winding road towoards Amador County an area reasonably close to Sacramento. It was Saturday morning and outside the tasting rooms and winery operation of YOUNGS WINERY stood 150 people waiting to sample the house wines....

Not too long ago I took the time and effort to get myself to Amador County, and to the wine hamlet of Plymouth in the Shenandoah Valley. This, my friends, is neither the Plymouth of New England nor the valley in Virginia. It is a destination reasonably close to Sacramento. Thus, at 10:00 am on a Saturday morning, I drove up the road winding its way towards the tasting room and winery operation of YOUNG'S WINERY. Barely 10:00 am, I see 150 people standing in line to sample the house's wines. Around the side, with the weekend open house barely under way, 30 people are waiting in a small line to pick up the pre-purchased/ordered wine in the warehouse/cellar. In that warehouse is nearly $250,000 worth of wine going out in two days of shipping, two of pickup.

My assignment, never having been past the fence out by the highway, was to observe and take notes of what was going on throughout the property. As I continued around the side of the warehouse, towards the small lake in the back, I observed food being set out for people to nibble on up to almost 5 pm. A lady admiring the view said to me "among wine fans up here this is the major event!" So, I thought to myself, these wines may not be cult wines, but this is giving every sign of becoming a cult winery. As I meandered about, I looked up the hill beyond the little lake where a new house of 6,000 square feet is being built. Below the house and behind the tasting room 100 year old zinfandel cuttings from Napa have been planted. East of the house is their Barbera field; beyond lies Young's cabernet vines, and nearest the house are a few acres of Muscat. 

At 10:30 a.m. the credit card machine breaks. A massive search begins for a second machine hidden somewhere in the warehouse building. The tasting room is deluged, and the absence of a credit card operation just slows up the process more than anyone can bear. I offer to help, but my hosts determine that I should taste some of the new wines. I started with the 2000 Barbera, grown on some three acres with cuttings from the famous Cooper Ranch. The wine is balanced, with dark cherry color, some berries on the nose, with earth tones, and subdued fruit. There are some tannins on the roof of my mouth, but not severe. 

The catering crew keeps walking by the room where I'm camped out, and I go talk to the caterer, Beth Stovar, a chef from nearby Plymouth. She had 10 ladies serving and three back in the kitchen in Plymouth. They were originally estimating feeding 1200 plus people during the day -- good hor d'ouvres, chicken skewers, pork, brie cheese, etc. By 1:00 pm 900 visitors had eaten.

Returning to my little lair, we then tasted the 2000 Syrah. This varietal was smooth and silky, with rich garnet color, resplendent with dark fruits. The wine was very easy drinking, more so than I expected. By 11:25 am more than 150 people were jammed into the tasting room, and the line flowed around the corner past the pre-order pick up area. While there were some mix-ups in the mail/fax orders, the process was comparatively smooth. There were between 4 and 6 volunteers hauling cases to people, or out to their cars. Jerry VanderPol, President and CEO of Tri Tool, Inc., his European Manager, and several of the staff of the company where Steve Young serves as Director of International Operations, and their wives, were helping staff the tasting room, the loading docks on pre-ordered product, and supplying to that long line waiting for the tasting room. By 2 p.m. 450 cases of Cabernet had gone out, basically selling out the available supply. I walked back to my area and tasted the 2000 Cabernet. This was, as expected, tannic, but not overly so at first blush, with good fruits, cherry/berry on the palate with a flash of vanilla. It was also chewy, with tobacco substance on the mouth. All in all, I did not think it as big as last years vintage. 

On, I continued, with the 2000 Zinfandels, my favorite of Steve Young’s entire quintet of wine varietals. This was the same dark red I had come to expect and was still a big wine, with fruit and berry aromas. The wine was smooth, albeit with some tannic characteristics at the beginning, which faded a bit as pepper and brambles came to the palate.

I have to say the winery is one of those destination venues which would be perfect for weddings -- near that lake I described, with its sprouting fountains and a gorgeous meadow like area. Their sound system is good for this kind of event, but overall the winery already needs a larger tasting area. A kitchen in the facility would be useful, and for this yearly event, 5 more pourers would be helpful, with maybe another 5 volunteers on registers in the shipping room. Steve, of course, who worked all over all day, should be doing PR with those lines out back. He literally was doing everything, including tracking down his wandering son.

Tasting concluded with the 2000 Muscat, which had that beautiful floral nose to it, was equally flowery on the palate, and is a semi-sweet wine. At the end of the day, more than 1500 fans had come, tasted, ate, bought wine, and enjoyed the music in the meadow by the lake. Sunday, where they anticipated 500 more visitors, saw 900 move through -- tasting, eating, picking up their wine orders and buying up what was left in the storeroom area. Another year, and I'm sure hardly any product remains behind. Mine arrived by UPS a week later since I had flown up, not driven.<Br>

CLOSER AT HOME

After many years of not having returned to Babcock Winery since I normally don't get that far away from the wineries located in the Los Olivos and Solvang areas, I had the pleasure to once again do so. There is a new winery there I can't even recall seeing before, as well as an enlarged tasting room and picnic type area. They are anticipating adding another building in the near future.

I very much enjoyed the 2001 Eleven Oaks Sauvignon Blanc, which threw aromas and tastes of pippin apple, citrus, and mango. The fruit, acidity and character remind one positively of Burgundian refinement. It’s well worth $22.00 at the winery.

The2001 Pinot Grigio, Santa Barbara County, was one of my favorites of the day. It threw peach, apple and kiwi, along with some herbs that I again enjoyed a great deal. Another product worth the $12.00 charge for the bottle.

One of their pinots, the 2000 Pinot Noir, Grand Cuvee (Estate) came with a lot of black cherry and boysenberry flavors and a combination of earthy mold and spiciness. An interesting product.

But I liked the 2000 Syrah, Santa Barbara County considerably more. This was both a rich wine, but exhibited a very nice soft fruit character, including aromas and finish containing berries, spice, flowers and some oak. There was also a not unpleasant combination of earthiness and vanilla that flashed in and out. Very nice, for $22.00 at the winery.

We concluded with a 2000 Gewurtztraminer, Cuvee Sublime. A dessert style, almost late harvest product, this wine came exclusively from the estate. With a nice balance of flavors and acidity, wonderful floral nose and palate, this was a zingy, spicy fruit laden treat. Enjoy for $20!

Later that same month I attended a tasting hosted at DU VIN WINE & SPIRITS, across from the Pacific Design Center. I had a nice chat with Rene Averseng, one of the partners and, if I remember correctly, a former chef. A delightful store, the selection was quite interesting with a strong selection of French wines. The tasting was a bit different: the focus was on Italian wines, made entirely in 100% or certified Organic. These wines, from Fiume Wines Inc. are from grapes generally hand-picked, with no chemo-synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and pharmaceuticals used -- just providing the benefits of nature to increase agricultural yields and disease resistance. Pouring this afternoon was Gabriele Penazzi, Regional Sales Director for Fiume, who is based in Nevada. I have invited him back to taste with some of the chefs and students at the Art Institute. 

here were 15 white and 15 red wines poured that afternoon. My notes are spread out across several pages, which have both red and white on the same page --but not served in that fashion. For instance, there was a Friuli Vnezia Gulia Cabernet Sauvignon DOC Friuli Grave. Basically 100% cabernet, this was a more complicated red than others sampled, with structured earth tones on the nose. You can find this selection for under Ten dollars! The Antica Masseria Venditti Vandari Barbera 2000 Sannio DOC received a 90 score from Wine Spectator. This was a big wine with a strong finish, a bit acidic, with strong aromas of berries, probably black berries, some licorice, and a hint of flowers. For a sparkling wine, the prosecco diValdobbiadene, from the Veneto area, was quite pleasant, and very Spanish in style -- available for under $15.00. I liked the Punset Barbaresco DOCG, which was fruity, nicely balanced, with a great finish. This 100% Nebbiolo was great with cheese. A sophisticated product, you can find it probably still under $40.00 in the stores. 

Two days later I conducted a tasting paired with the Asian foods prepared by Chef Haley Nguyen and her Asian Cuisine class for this Select Cru tasting at the Art Institute. A couple of surprises caught all of our attention: with a Vietnamese Shrimp Spring Roll, the Markham 1999 Sauvignon Blanc ($9.99) went perfectly! The kitchen changed the Beef Curry Stew to a Tofu Curry. The syrah I had intended for the beef did not work with the tofu. But, a Kenwood 1999 Pinot Noir Russian River ($13.99) contrasted and paired wonderfully with the stew. The hot sauce for the stew and the accompanying hot tastes smoothed out within minutes with the Pinot lingering on the palate.

We continue next month with a variety of activities, ranging from Monterey to Santa Monica to Pasadena. Enjoy some good wine until we chat again…