The Next Generation in Wine

The final seminar of the day at Bern's Winefest Grand Tasting was titled "the Next Generation in Wine." Dr. Jeff and Capt. Dee, being Trekkies, just had to check this out.

The seminar was given by three members of a Napa-based group called NG, the Next Generation in Wine, a 30-someodd member group of (you guessed it) at least 2nd generation winemakers and vineyard owners. Representing the group were Janet Viader of Viader Winery (daughter of founder Delia Viader), Fernando Frias of Frias Family Vineyard (son of founder Manuel Frias, Sr.), and Chris Hall of Long Meadow Ranch Winery (son of founder Ted Hall).

Each had brought two of their family’s wines for the tasting, and the seminar began with a little introduction to each winery.

Viader Winery was founded in 1986 by Delia Viader, a native of Argentina who originally came to the US as a graduate student. Located on the lower slopes of Howell Mountain in the northeast portion of the Napa Valley, Viader specializes in Bordeaux varietal wines with an occasional Syrah or Tempranillo sprinkled in for good measure. The flagship wine, called Viader, is a 60%/40% blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

The current iteration of Long Meadow Ranch (LMR) was begun by Ted Hall in 1989, but the ranch property has a long and storied history dating back to the 1870s. The ranch is located on the opposite side of the valley from Viader, situated on the slopes of the Mayacamas mountains between Mount Veeder to the south and Spring Mountain to the north. Producing primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc, Long Meadow Ranch is also known for olive orchards and olive oil making, cattle and horse breeding, an egg-laying poultry flock, and the organic vegetable production. All crops are certified organic and aregrown without the use of herbicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers.

The Frias Family Winery is located just a little north of Long Meadow Ranch on the slopes of Spring Mountain. Growing up in San Francisco, Manny Frias, Sr. fell in love with Napa Valley and purchased 100 acres in 1977, and planted the first 5 acres of vines in 1985. With now 30 acres under vine, Frias Family makes several wines including Merlot, Syrah, and Sauvignon Blanc, but are known for their Cabernet Sauvignon.

We started off the tasting with 2 Sauvignon Blancs - the 2008 LMR from the Rutherford AVA, and the 2008 Frias Napa Valley. The Long Meadow Ranch SB is fermented in stainless steel, and is cold stabilized after fermentation to block malolactic fermentation. The citrusy fruit aromas are classic, along with a bit of cut grass. The wine is crisp, with bright acidity and relatively low alcohol. The Frias is different, seeing 25% neutral American oak, which makes this wine a bit rounder and fuller than the first, with spice notes to complement the grapefruit and candied lemon peel, guava, fig and gooseberry.

We then shifted to reds, beginning with the 2007 Dare (by Viader) Cabernet Franc (Napa). The wine has aromas of pencil lead, black cherry, and dark chocolate. It is mouthfilling with loads of dark fruits, well integrated tannins, and a long finish.

Next were the 2005 LMR Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa) and the 2006 Frias Cabernet Sauvignon (Oakville). The Long Meadow Ranch just leaps out of the glass with aromas of black fruits, cedar, and Yunnan tea. The palate shows some earthiness, with concentrated fruit, big ripe tannins and enough acid for the long haul. The Frias, not to be outdone, also shows a huge nose of dark chocolate, cherry, and blackberry, with barrel spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, and cigarbox. That cherry wrapped in chocolate shows on the palate, with big but silky fine tannins (an iron fist in a velvet glove) and brisk acidity that leaves your mouth watering.

We finished with the 2006 Viader Red Wine. This is a wine of two minds - there is cassis and minerality from the Cabernet Sauvignon, and floral and spice and dark red cherry components from the Cabernet Franc. There is a significant tannic grip, as this wine is from grapes grown on steep, rock strewn slopes that face the afternoon sun.

Left to Right - Janet Viader, Chris Hall, and Fernando Frias

What struck me as a I sat and listened was how at ease and unpretentious these three young people were. They have grown up around the business, have probably known one another most of their lives, and it showed. Janet Viader is, by her own admission, a bit of a geek, but watching her during the Grand Tasting and before and after this seminar, she knows how to work a crowd. Chris Hall is as passionate about food as he is wine and, in addition to the marketing he does for the winery, has opened a restaurant that features Long Meadow Ranch's all-natural grass-fed beef, organic vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, and honey. Fernando Frias has been in and around vineyards his whole life, and you can sense the familial pride he takes in representing the Frias wines around the country.

If these three are any indication of the knowledge, drive, and dedication of the Next Generation, there will be alot of great wines in our future.

The Wines of Joseph Phelps

I was fortunate enough to be able to taste through a portion of the Joseph Phelps Vineyards portfolio with Damian Parker, their Director of Winemaking, as part of a seminar during the Grand Tasting at Bern’s Winefest in Tampa.

Joseph Phelps Vineyards was founded in the early 1970s by – you guessed it – Joseph Phelps, a construction company owner from Chicago. Mr. Phelps, who grew up on a farm, studied engineering in college, and later served during the Korean War, helped his father take a local home renovation firm and turn it into a prominent national construction company. Mr. Phelps’ company built several well-known wineries in both Napa and Sonoma.

The Phelps winery, located outside of St. Helena on the east side of the Silverado Trail, was crafted in part from redwood salvaged from bridge timbers. Although he initially started with white wine (Johannisberg Riesling), Mr. Phelps used France as his model, having fallen in love with the wines of Bordeaux and the Rhone while vacationing there years prior. Phelps rapidly added red wines to the portfolio, primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, but he also made a series of Rhone-style wines, and spearheaded a resurgence in the interest in Syrah, which had not been bottled as a “labeled varietal” in California since the late 1800s. In 1974, Mr. Phelps sought to create a wine that was styled like the wines of Bordeaux, but reflected the Napa Valley. What he created was Insignia, the first “meritage” wine; a blend of traditional Bordeaux grape varietals bottled under a proprietary name.

Mr. Parker began his wine career at Souverain Winery in Sonoma that, ironically, was built by Mr. Phelps’ construction company. Damian began working at Joseph Phelps Vineyards in 1981, starting as a bottling line supervisor, and held several positions before becoming VP of Production in 1997. Although he has years of on-the-job training, he does not have a formal degree in enology. But when Craig Williams left the head winemaker position a few years ago, Damian stepped into his current role of Director of Winemaking, with Ashley Hepworth serving as Winemaker.

The tasting began with the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, a 100% estate grown wine. The wine sees about 1/3 new oak in puncheon (a little more than twice the size of a standard barrel, so less wine to oak interaction), and 2/3 one to two year old French oak barrels and puncheons. The grapes come from three distinct blocks within the vineyard, each chosen for a particular characteristic. One provides a lemon tone, another grapefruit, and the third - planted to the Sauvignon Musque clone, provides roundness and some hints of honeydew melon. The wine is light and extremely aromatic (IMHO due to the Musque clone), with bright acidity and a long finish.

We then moved to the 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is sourced from the Stags Leap and Rutherford AVAs, and is 2/3 estate grown. It is aged in 50% new oak (French and American) and 50% two-year-old oak (the prior vintage’s Insignia barrels). This bottling has always been a favorite of mine, and in the early ‘90’s was (along with Beaulieu Vineyard's “Rutherford” bottling) the first wine I bought by the case. The wine showed blackberry, cassis, and tobacco on the nose, followed by cassis, black cherry, and raspberry on the palate. The tannins are very fine grained (perhaps showing some of its Rutherford heritage) and the wine is very well balanced.

Next came the flagship – the 2006 Insignia. 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot. This wine has been 100% estate grown since 2004. A blend from six (6) estate owned vineyards in Stags Leap and the Rutherford Bench. Each vineyard adds something specific to the blend – the Home Ranch supplies bright fruit, the Suscol Vineyard adds texture, color, and weight, and on down the line. Aged for 24 months in 100% new French oak. Opaque purple black with aromas of graphite, black fruit, spicebox, and oak vanillin. Mouthfilling with blackberry and blueberry fruit, chocolaty tannins, and a long finish.

We soldiered on to the 2005 Backus Cabernet Sauvignon. Planted in the early ‘70s by the Backus family, Phelps began sourcing fruit in 1977, began farming the vineyard in 1983, and eventually bought the vineyard in 1996. The vineyard was re-developed by Phelps from 1997 through 1999, and it holds the distinction of being the last vineyard permitted in the Napa Valley with a greater than 25% slope. Given the steep grade, all of the work throughout the year and the harvesting on the upper slope is done by hand. Cabernet is planted on the steep slopes, while an acre each of Petit Verdot and Malbec are planted on the plateau at the top of the vineyard. Aged for 24 months in new French oak. This wine comes across as a Pauillac – deep ruby color with aromas of cassis, graphite, espresso, and mineral. Palate is consistent with the nose, and there is sufficient tannic structure and acidity to suggest that this wine may be a crowd pleaser for many years.

Closing the tasting was Phelps’ dessert wine, Eisrebe, the 2008 vintage. Made from 100% estate grown Scheurebe, which is harvested when ripe (around 24° brix), and then the grapes are frozen and pressed, with a resulting sugar content of 35° brix. The juice is then fermented in stainless steel tanks to 8% alcohol (and 21% residual sugar!!). The grapes do occasionally become botrytis-affected prior to harvest, which, according to the winemaker, was evidenced in this wine by a predominant aroma of apricot (I typically sense the presence of botrytis as a smell of Mattel plastic – but that story is for another venue). Rich, ripe, mouth coating peach and apricot, but balanced by good acidity. A nice “sticky” if that is your thing.

All told, an hour well spent, with a bit of education, an entertaining speaker, and great wines.

Bern's Winefest-Grand Tasting

This past Sunday, Dr. Jeff, Capt. Dee, and I drove over to Tampa to attend what is billed as the "premier wine tasting experience in Central Florida" - the Grand Tasting at Bern's Steakhouse's Winefest. This was the 13th year of this 4 day festival that raises money for a variety of charities, including the Bern Laxer Scholarship Fund, which awards several scholarships each year through the James Beard Foundation in honor of the founder of Bern's Steakhouse.

The festival begins on Friday evening with a Winemaker's Dinner at Sidebern's (Bern's' Mediterranean-themed restaurant located just down the block from the Steakhouse) honoring one of the featured wineries from that year's festival, and builds through the Saturday Soiree, where Sidebern's is transformed into an upscale nightclub for the evening. The proceeds from this year's Soiree supported the recently opened Vincent Lecavalier Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center located at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg.

For me, the weekend culminates with the Grand Tasting on Sunday, where the chefs from all of the Bern's' restaurants go all out to create fabulous small plates to pair with over 200 highly rated wines. We opt each year for the VIP Party, which affords a limited number (somewhere around 150) of patrons full access to the food and wines for an hour and a half prior to general admission. VIPs are also treated to a greeting wine - 2000 Dom Perignon - which flowed early and often.

The wines were organized by country/region of origin (including the United States, France, Italy, Spain, Germany/Austria, and the rather nebulous 'southern hemisphere') and spread out through two huge air-conditioned tents. Within each region, wines were further organized by color and "weight," and then co-located with chef's stations serving food meant to be paired with those wines.

In the past few years, the food has been the highlight with a few notable wines. This year, the organizers, distributors, and wineries picked it back up and the wines were back up to the food's level across the board. On the domestic side, wines such as the 2006 Dominus, 2006 Phelps Insignia, 2006 Kathryn Hall Cabernet, 2006 Domaine Serene 'Evenstad Reserve' Pinot Noir, 2005 Cain Five, and 2005 Silver Oak were being poured, along with notables from around the world such as 2006 Numanthia, 2005 Pio Cesare Barolo, 2004 Pertimali Brunello di Montalcino, 2006 Sassicaia, 2005 Jamet Cote Rotie, 2005 Chateau Certan de May, and 1999 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron, among many others.

Dishes to be paired with the wines included crispy oxtail with pistachio, apricot and fennel, lobster and shrimp ravioli in a goat cheese tomato fondue, poulet rouge chicken with foie gras, wild mushrooms, and a lemon shallot cream, Rioja-braised rabbit stew, and curried fried pheasant with lentils, fennel and a tomato vinaigrette.

The VIP Party is very much a wine tasting - the guest has ample time to stroll through the event, picking out specific foods and wines to taste, interact with the knowledgeable people pouring the wines (who are often principals or regional representatives of the winery), as well as talk to the chefs at each of the food stations regarding their inspiration for their culinary creations and how the wines would complement/enhance the dish.

Once the general admission begins, the tasting rapidly morphs into a pouring, as you are joined by 400-500 of your closest friends, the space in front of the tables (and everywhere else for that matter) becomes crowded and loud, and you must pick and chose your targets carefully and force your way through.

Refuge may be found in one of the two wine seminars that occur throughout the afternoon (more on these in later posts), or in the silent auction area, where unique wines and other items have been donated by wineries from around the world. This year's lots included a 3-liter bottle of Quintessa, verticals of Pichon Baron, BV Latour, and large format wines (magnum, 3-liter, and 6-liter) from around the world.

The Winefest weekend ends with a final Winemaker's Dinner at Bern's Steakhouse on Monday evening, again highlighting the wines of one of the featured wineries. These wines are paired with a specifically-designed 5-course meal prepared by the Chef de Cuisine.

All in all, a fun time was had at the Bern's Grand Tasting, with some great food, fabulous wines, and good friends. Next year promises to be a great time as well - look into it.